The Disappearance of Osomatsu-san
by Angel of Apricots
Summary: Osomatsu wakes up to a futon that is only for one person, to a room that is decorated to match his personality and desires, and to a house that could have been the same, if not for the only three inhabitants. It could have been a perfect world, but for Osomatsu, any world without his brothers is bullshit. Will now update on Fridays and Saturdays due to school.
1. Chapter 1: The Disappearance

It could have been a normal day for Osomatsu Matsuno, the neighborhood's mischief maker and leader of the infamous group of bratty troublemakers, the Matsuno Sextuplets, in which he was the eldest child and brother. It would have been a normal day in which he faced the hilarious rage of the third brother Choromatsu, in which he commented on the painful and cringe worthy nature of the second brother Karamatsu, in which he watched the shenanigans the fifth brother Jyushimatsu drag the fourth brother Ichimatsu into, and hung out and talked about random topics with the sixth brother Todomatsu. It would have been a normal day, in which the twenty-something year old NEET sextuplets always hung around the block, showing the world their bond as brothers.

It would have been normal if Choromatsu's alarm clock, which was set to ring every five minutes, didn't blast his eardrums so early in the morning and awoke him from his slumber. Perhaps he could have lived on the dream longer, not facing reality at all, and just had to deal with an angry Choromatsu and Todomatsu scolding him for sleeping so late that they had to delay their breakfast.

Osomatsu chuckled at that. His younger brothers were really funny, with both Choromatsu and Todomatsu much more mentally mature than him. Still, he had to look out for them, especially since they all live together and had to deal with their own inner demons.

He shared a futon with five of his younger brothers as some sort of headcount and as a way to calm himself, which started during their early years in high school. An incident during their elementary days scarred Osomatsu, but he couldn't deny that he would have freaked out even more if any of his little brothers had been the victim instead of him. A knife had been pressed against his throat, he had been physically abused by a robber dressed up as a lodger of some sort, and his brothers and parents could have died if not for Chibita unintentionally interfering.

He stretched his arms as he yawned, eyes still shut. As expected, Choromatsu had gotten up already, probably along with Karamatsu. Osomatsu sometimes punched the mature brother during their slumber or as soon as he woke up. Jyushimatsu, despite his hyper nature, wasn't necessarily an early riser, especially in winter, which was the current season. Jyushimatsu was on his far left, so he expected to see his younger brother curled up into a ball or something. Oddly enough, Todomatsu wasn't beside him either, in which he usually felt the youngest's foot against his stomach in a kicking position. Ichimatsu probably got up already in order to get breakfast first or something.

However, Osomatsu felt something. Instead of feeling more of the futon as he plopped his arm down as he stretched, it fell straight to the floor with a "thud". While it wasn't painful, Osomatsu's eyes snapped open as he scrambled upwards into a sitting position and looked around him.

Normal. It was the bedroom he shared with his brothers, but today, it seemed a bit spacious. The sun was blocked by the curtains, in which Osomatsu cocked his head at. At this time, with Choromatsu already up and all, he could have opened the curtains wide and rendered the rest of the brothers blind as they got exposed to the sun. But it was winter, so Osomatsu brushed it off, thinking that even fussy mother hen Choromatsu got cold. Besides.. if Choromatsu opened the window during winter, not only will everyone freeze, but Jyushimatsu will also have one hell of a temper tantrum, as the sunny brother hated the cold.

It would have been normal if Osomatsu didn't look down, didn't look to his sides, or didn't wonder at all. He noticed that the comforter he and his brothers shared seemed smaller, almost like it was meant for one person only. They must be growing, he thought. Hm, but all of them had the same height, weight, and body type! They were all getting too big for the comforter, it seemed. At least, that was what Osomatsu told himself. But when he looked at his own sleeping area and expected to see a really big futon, one they all shared, he widened his eyes.

He was on a single futon. As in, a futon for one person, and one person alone. There were no signs of five other pillows for each of his brother. Taking off the comforter and standing up to have a better look of the room, he took awhile to scan everything wrong in the room. It didn't take him five whole minutes, because everything about the room seemed so wrong as soon as he stood up.

One, there was a desk and an office chair, one which was supposed to be located to the other room in which had the couch, the room dubbed as the second living room which was reserved for the brothers. Two, there were old textbooks and comic books on a bookshelf. They didn't have a bookshelf, and all the books they owned were placed in the closet. Three, Osomatsu's old toys and his current collectibles were arranged on a glass cabinet. Again, they didn't have a glass cabinet, and all of Osomatsu's old toys were stored in a box with his brother's. The collectibles were with the comic books in the closet, but they were in a box for safekeeping. Four, there were posters decorating the wall. And not Choromatsu's autographed Nyaa-chan posters, since he never hung them at all, but posters of random chicks found on the "very normal magazines" Osomatsu kept.

It didn't look like the empty for interpretation bedroom he and his brothers shared. Rather, it looked like a bedroom Osomatsu himself would have, if he didn't have to share with his brothers. He then noticed a thick book sitting on the desk, which Osomatsu recognized as the family album. He frowned. He thought he had taped it shut and hid it in an empty closet back then. Why was it on his desk anyway- no wait, why was the album on a desk in the first place? Where'd the desk come from? Whose room did he sleep in, and why didn't he wake up to hear himself being transferred somewhere else during his sleep?

He felt a dread in his stomach. It could have been normal if Osomatsu didn't reach out to the photo album with a feeling in his chest that was screaming at him that there was something wrong. Carefully opening it and flipping a few pages, but he noticed something wrong with each and every photo. From preschool to high school graduation, to every Christmas or New Year photo, and especially every birthday picture, Osomatsu felt something wrong. And the evidence that there was something wrong was laid out in front of him. It was a picture of Osomatsu on his high school graduation, holding the diploma above his head with a wide grin. What was wrong, you may ask?

It was a picture of Osomatsu.

Not the Matsuno Sextuplets.

Just Osomatsu.

No Choromatsu awkwardly smiling beside Osomatsu as he held his diploma in glee. No Karamatsu awkwardly posing in front of the group of brothers. No Todomatsu in a sitting position with fingers in a peace sign, as he held his diploma with his free hand and a catty smile plastered on his face. No Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu having their arms linked together as they held their diplomas above their heads, Jyushimatsu widely smiling as he ever was, and Ichimatsu having a small yet rare smile present.

But it was only Osomatsu in his graduation toga and hat, holding a certificate to signify he actually finished the educational hell known as high school. There was no secretly happy Chorofappyski beside him, no Shittymatsu raising a leg with his awkward flexibility, no Totty secretly wanting to kill his brothers hidden behind his not-so-cute facade, no Jyushimatsu with a mouth wide enough to welcome a fly into it, and no Ichimatsu to make the atmosphere seem darker than it already was.

The futon, the room, and the album held no place for the five younger brothers of Osomatsu. But something else on the room, just beside the futon, was the final nail to the coffin, the final clue to the case, to snap Osomatsu out of his fantasy and to realize that there was something absolutely wrong this morning. And all it took was for Osomatsu to realize something was definitely wrong was to simply glance at the alarm clock Choromatsu brought with his own saved money for all the brothers to make use of it. That small, silver alarm clock that had been decorated with scratch marks from Ichimatsu's cats, Jyushimatsu's and Todomatsu's colorful stickers, and Karamatsu's leftover glitter from the obnoxious articles of clothing he's worn, was all it took for Osomatsu to drop the photo album and look around the room in horror and realization.

The alarm clock, that small silver piece of technology, was clean and unscratched as it was sitting next to the futon meant only for one person.


	2. Chapter 2: The Message

"Osomatsu?" Matsuyo, mother of Osomatsu and supposed to be the mother of five missing little brothers, called from the other side of the bedroom door with her voice filled with concern. "You haven't been going out lately. Your friend Chibita stopped by to ask how you were doing. Are you okay, my little NEET?" No, he's not okay, because she has five other NEETs she should be concerned about, all of which are younger than Osomatsu himself. "You've been locking yourself up in your room recently. If you're not eating or going to the bathroom, you're always staying inside your room. Is everything okay in there? Are you feeling sick?"

A week had passed. Osomatsu didn't dare go see the world that functioned normally without the presence of his brothers. The photo album lay on the floor with Osomatsu, lying on his stomach on the futon as he flipped through the pages he had already seen before. A birthday party consisting of only Osomatsu, his parents, Totoko, Hatabou, Chibita, and Iyami. Class pictures without the rowdy group of sextuplets on front, and Osomatsu was just a regular student. His high school graduation picture of only him, no other brothers present. Every single picture had no place for Osomatsu's little brothers, and Osomatsu began to wonder if he was insane all this time. That everything about his little brothers had been a lie.

And that damn alarm clock, the one that Choromatsu bought and was supposed to have little traces of cat scratches and glitter as well as childish stickers, it was just sitting beside his futon as the time passed. A gleaming, silver alarm clock. No signs of Ichimatsu's cats laying their paws on it. No signs of glitter that rained down from Karamatsu's glittery outfits like snow. No signs of Todomatsu's and Jyushimatsu's cheap, yet colorful and bright stickers they bought from the little shop right next to Sutabaa. That alarm clock was just sitting there with no signs of Osomatsu's brothers ever laying a finger on it.

Osomatsu ignored his mother as she spoke. Bags were underneath his eyes, hair messier than Ichimatsu's, and he probably didn't eat much besides one bowl of rice and a few sides. Snacks were out of the question, since his mother tried so hard to get into his room, but seeing three snack cakes made him feel worse. He ate half of one cake and left it there, thinking that his little brothers would appreciate it more if he didn't eat their share. But of course, in this sick dream he's trapped in, he had no little brothers. He couldn't even sleep without them.

He was used to Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu rough-housing whenever Choromatsu and Todomatsu went to the bathroom. He was used to Karamatsu humming lullabies despite the fact Ichimatsu hated them. He was used to seeing Jyushimatsu roll up on the futon before he and the rest of the brothers slipped under the covers. Now, it was only him. It was only him, a futon for one person, and that alarm clock that Osomatsu desperately wanted to throw away, but couldn't. Choromatsu bought it. But there was no Choromatsu in this world.

Which begs the question.. if the pictures showed no sign of the brothers' existence, and the alarm clock itself didn't have the damages caused by the brothers.. why was the alarm clock itself even here in the first place? Osomatsu wondered.

"You have a package, by the way. I didn't open it, seeing as how it's adressed to you. I found it at the front door this morning, but I haven't had the chance to give it to you yet since you didn't even bother coming down for breakfast." Matsuyo continued to try to talk to him regardless. Osomatsu didn't have the heart to tell her to just go away. He didn't know why he was here in the first place or how he ended up being an only child, but he sure as hell didn't want to make his mother worry by making her think he's gone insane. "It doesn't have an address of who sent it. But it's from someone named Choro."

Osomatsu snapped his head up. He stood up as quick as he could, scrambling to get the comforter off him and nearly knocked the alarm clock in the process, but he slid his bedroom door opened and found Matsuyo standing there as she delicately held a box wrapped in green gift paper. Scribbled on the smooth surface of the wrapping paper were the letters "FROM CHORO" in big, bold letters. "Do.. do you know this Choro person?" Asked his mother, tilting her head confusingly.

He took the package. "Can you bring me some snacks later? Thanks a lot mom." He said distractedly, hearing his own stomach growl.

He didn't see Matsuyo seem to smile at the fact her son hadn't lost her appetite yet and was still acting like the spoiled little boy that he used to be and still was. Though she was a bit grossed out at his messy hair, she didn't say anything about it as she turned away from Osomatsu's room with Osomatsu sliding the door shut almost in excitement. Osomatsu sat down on the futon again, green package in his lap. He unwrapped it almost like it was a Christmtas present and underneath all that crudely wrapped paper lay a box. It wasn't any box, if anything, it was a seemingly normal square box that Jyushimatsu's autographed baseball was delivered in. Osomatsu's breath hitched as he saw marks on the box, like a cat had scratched it widely.

It was the same small box at the Matsuno household that was located near Ichimatsu's sulking corner. It was the box of that rare and somewhat expensive baseball Jyushimatsu ordered online using his own saved money. He gave the box to Ichimatsu afterwards, and the fourth brother probably used it to attract mice for his cats to play with, or where cats would sit. Kind of big for a box meant for a baseball, but that baseball was rare and had arrived in a cushion of packing peanuts, so it made sense.

He removed the lid of the used box and looked at the contents. As expected, some fur of Ichimatsu's cats were still stuck in the corner, but Osomatsu wasn't bothered by that fact. Inside the box was a red cushion, and Osomatsu instantly knew it was his. It was the same cushion he used when he laid down on the floor and nearly got stepped on by Jyushimatsu, as the fifth brother ran around the secondary living room. But on the top of the cushion were items that looked familiar; a pink phone with a glittery pink phone case of the Matsuno's family symbol, a worn-out yellow notepad decorated with baseball stickers, a red pen, a syringe, a bottle of unknown liquid, and finally, a colorful knitted scarf. The scarf had the colors red, blue, green, purple, yellow, and pink in that order, reminding Osomatsu of his little brothers.

Then again, the entire box was a reminder of his brothers, and Osomatsu didn't even notice a tear trail down his cheek. He really missed them. One week of not having them in his life and he missed them.

He picked up the phone and inspected it. He then realized it was Todomatsu's. When he unlocked it, surprisingly it had no password, he was confused on why the phone only had one option. Text. He frowned. This wasn't Todomatsu's then? Todomatsu's phone had a lot of games and social media accounts everywhere, but this phone only had one function. Odd, considering this was a smartphone that was supposed to do more than texting. When he took a look at the other items, he recognized two items that seemed familiar; Jyushimatsu's doodling notepad as well as the red one of his colored pens. It was a yellow, worn up notepad with baseball stickers. It practically screamed Jyushimatsu.

The syringe, the bottle of liquid, and the scarf looked unfamiliar to him though.

"The hell? This is Todomatsu's phone.. and that's Jyushimatsu's little drawing pad during our days in high school." He muttered to himself. Why was Todomatsu's phone and Jyushimatsu's notepad in Ichimatsu's "cat box"? He hadn't seen a trace of his brothers except for the alarm clock, but now, Todomatsu's beloved pink phone he got from somewhere and Jyushimatsu's little doodling notepad was with him. What gives? "What even is going on.. how did they get here in the first place-"

Suddenly, the phone started ringing, blasting Choromatsu's beloved Nyaa-chan's hit song and nearly destroying Osomatsu's eardrums. Osomatsu nearly dropped the music-blasting phone as he fumbled with it, before managing to open the only application installed in it. "DimensionTextingAppTest476..?" Osomatsu clicked his tongue as he read the application title. "Tch. What kind of name is this? For a texting application, it seems kinda gloomy.. and the hell was up with that ringtone? Fappymatsu, I swear to god."

The screen the lit up, displaying a wall of text that flickered from different letters and numbers before it finally formed one sentence.

 **"If you receive this text, please reply immediately. It's Choromatsu."**

He felt his heart skip a beat. He pinched himself. Was he in a dream? Was throwing him into a world where he didn't have any little brothers wasn't enough? Did he have to receive a package containing the belongings of his little brothers and also received a text from someone claiming to be the brother he was closest to? "Are you really Choromatsu?" Osomatsu muttered as he texted the words that came right out of his mouth. He had to know.

Almost instantly, he received a reply.

 **"Yes. I'm the legit Choromatsu Matsuno, one of your little brothers who hasn't gotten a decent sleep ever since you disappeared."**

What.

What the fuck.

What in the actual living fuck.

"The hell are you talking about?! I'm the one who disappeared?! It should be you guys!" Osomatsu nearly yelled as he furiously typed a reply which mirrored his reaction to the current situation at hand. "Where the hell are you guys?! Where am I?! Why am I in a world where I have no brothers?!" He yelled, his words mirroring his text exactly. He was just screaming to let his confusion out.

Another instant reply within a few seconds after he sent the text.

 **"I can't explain right now, it's kinda long and complicated. It's easier to tell you once you've returned. Anyway, you got the texts and it seems you're able to reply. Todomatsu's with me, but he's sleeping right now. Karamatsu's taking care of both Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu at the house right now. None of us have slept. Karamatsu and I can afford to stay up for another month, but those three can't anymore. Jyushimatsu's sick, Ichimatsu's moodier than usual, and Todomatsu acts like a teenage girl."**

A month.

A week.

Choromatsu claims that he and Karamatsu haven't slept for over a month, in which Osomatsu woke up in this odd place a week ago. And the three youngest brothers are having problems right now, with only Fappymatsu and Shittymatsu dealing with it. "What is going on." He nearly growled as he texted the same words to Choromatsu. As the eldest, he demanded an explanation. "Where are you. Where are all of you." They weren't even questions anymore, they seemed like demands. "How can I find you all."

 **"Long story short, we're communicating via Todomatsu's phone through alternate dimensions. We got it tweaked by Professor Dekapan, the same professor that made the bottle of liquid that came with the phone and the notepad. You're in another dimension, so asking Professor Dekapan to even find a way to communicate with you was already hard enough. Todomatsu was the only one with a phone."**

"Why am I in another dimension, Fappymatsu?" He clicked his tongue again as he texted his question, along with a supposed insult. More tears seemed to be streaming down is cheeks, but he didn't really pay any attention.

 **"Glad to see our separation from each other hasn't made you insane enough to forget your brothers. As I said, it'll be long and complicated, so I'll save it until we manage to get you back here with us."**

"And how does that happen?"

 **"Slow down, Osomatsu-niisan. I know you want to see us again as soon as possible. But you're currently in an unstable dimension opposite from ours. Hell, if you make absolutely one mistake, chances are, you're gonna die."**

Even though each word that escaped Osomatsu's mouth mirrored the words he typed and sent to Choromatsu, he wasn't planing to frantically type out a text of intense screaming, which he muffled by burying his face on his pillow. He forced himself up again and though he wanted to strangle the answers out of Choromatsu, he couldn't bring himself to be angry. A week without his brothers proved he couldn't stop his constant fussing over how they were doing. Their two weeks of failure at being independence (two weeks prior to the baseball match), Osomatsu could handle, since he knew they were still in the same world, just separated. But this?

His brothers probably weren't breathing the same air he was breathing right now.

"I want to go back." He muttered as he texted to Choromatsu. Something wet dripped from his cheek to the floor.. ah, it was his own tears. "I don't know how I got here, but I want to go back."

 **"That's why we sent you those. We can't necessarily go there and help you out ourselves, but Todomatsu was willing to sacrifice his own phone if it meant getting you back here with us. You may think you've been gone for a week, but really, you've been out for a month. Karamatsu-niisan's not even bothering to be painful or supposedly cool, since he believes he has to take care of all of us in your place. Ichimatsu and Todomatsu are both moody, but they really miss you. Jyushimatsu might be becoming a bit depressed, too. It's always best to have someone with him in case he tries anything stupid."**

If the sunny brother himself is getting depressed, it was already a big enough sign that he needed to get home. "Choromatsu, please tell me how to get out of here. I can't stay here any longer. It's driving me insane."

 **"You just got the supplies we sent you since you only answered my text today, right? I think it's best you let everything sink in. It's gonna be hard, but I think you already know dealing with us was never really easy to begin with."**

"Stop stalling, Fappymatsu." He muttered to himself, pressing his fingers against the screen. "I'm the eldest. It's my job to take care of all of you. I can handle anything, just tell me how to get back to you guys."

Choromatsu replied with all of his texts instantly, but this one took about ten seconds. Osomatsu bought the phone closer to his face as he squinted his eyes, tears blurring his vision.

 **"You need to find the us and the you in that dimension."**

..Maybe Choromatsu was right. He just dealt with waking up in a place which showed no sign of the existence of his little brothers. He just dealt with hearing he was in another dimension. But hearing there was another him, another version of his brothers, in the world where he was right now? He could say utter bullshit, but with everything that seemingly unfolded today..

It didn't seem far-fetched, Osomatsu had to admit.


	3. Chapter 3: The First Step

Matsuyo set down the plate of snacks on Osomatsu's desk as she watched her only son rummage through the closet to pull out a red backpack meant for travelling. He didn't use it much, but it seemed he was going to put it to use now. Though she didn't bother to ask the contents of the package, she watched worriedly as Osomatsu take out some clothes and stuff it into his backpack. "Are you planning to go somewhere, Osomatsu?" She decided to ask. Osomatsu couldn't have possibly used that week of sulking to think about leaving and getting a job. Sure, Osomatsu was in his twenties, but with his lax attitude and his unreadable mind, he wasn't going to survive all on his own. He might as well live in his parent's house as long as he could, and still get a job. It was possible.

Osomatsu nodded distractedly. "I'll come back, mom. Don't worry. I'm just gonna go look for something important to me. And it's not gonna be a job or a wife, sorry to disappoint." He was confused why his mom sighed in relief as soon as he spoke. Huh. In this dimension, being an only child must have made Matsuyo so worried about Osomatsu. In the dimension where he's from, she was probably tired of twenty-years of raising six identical brats that eventually grew to be their own individual and really hard to control. "I might be away for a few days. A week. Dunno. Depends, and I'm gonna come back."

"When are you planning on leaving?" Matsuyo asked.

Osomatsu pulled a box next to him, and Matsuyo guessed it was the package earlier. "As soon as possible. I have no time to waste. Sulking was a good way to recharge myself. Just got to eat the snacks, take a bath, and I'm all set." He told her, before turning to face his own mother. "I swear I'll be okay. Uh, but you don't mind lending me some money? I might need to grab a few shampoo bottles and boxes of soap from the bathroom too, so you might need to shop for yourself and for dad. The first aid kit and the sewing kit too.. and let me rummage through the fridge for some snacks-"

He flinched when his mother slammed her hands against his desk, causing the plate of snack cake and the mug of tea to clatter against the desk. "Of course I don't mind!" Matsuyo nearly cried. "You're my son, Osomatsu! If you're going on a journey of self-discovery, it's alright with me! I'm your mother, I will support your decisions even if you decide to be a mass-murdering cross-dresser, and I won't mind lending you some cash if it helps you! If what you need is in this house, then take it with you! Your father would say the same!"

Osomatsu blinked for a moment, making sure to hide the pink phone from her view so she didn't question it. Grinning for the first time in a week, he rubbed his nose with his index finger. He was confused on why his mom would think he'd commit genocide while wearing a pretty skirt though. That was probably Todomatsu's job, not his. "Thanks a ton, mom. I guess you could call it a journey of self-discovery."

Though it was actually a journey of finding his brothers scattered across Japan, Choromatsu assured him they wouldn't be outside of the country at all. Except for the other Osomatsu. Choromatsu assured him that Professor Dekapan was working on finding the other Osomatsu while he gathered the brothers. Osomatsu only texted with Choromatsu for thirty minutes before Choromatsu told him to pack up and start finding the brothers so he would be able to get home. Osomatsu also told Choromatsu to get some sleep for once, in which the green-wearing Matsuno brother declined. He needed to stay awake until Todomatsu went back to work and Karamatsu went back to the lab. He'd then hand the phone to the second eldest brother and head home himself to take care of the sick Jyushimatsu and the sleep-deprived Ichimatsu while Todomatsu continued his work at Sutabaa. Socializing might help Todomatsu become less moody and stressed, Choromatsu had said.

"I got the clothes. Three of my red hoodies, two of my gray sweatshirts, four pairs of pants, my jumpsuit, three shirts, two pairs of shoes, a pair of winter boots, a pair of rain boots, four pairs of socks, and my formal attire." He counted. He'd bring his blue blazer and pants just in case he needed to wear it. Choromatsu told him anything could happen in another dimension. It was best to be prepared just in case.

"Bring mittens and a heavy jacket with you. It's winter and it's absolutely freezing." Matsuyo told him as she prepared to leave the room to prepare some of the things Osomatsu needed, such as money to last two weeks, some snacks-to-go, and bathroom necessities. "I'll prepare the bath for you, hot water. Once you're finished packing and taking a bath, head to the living room. I'll explain everything to your father." She slid the door shut as she exited the room without another room.

As soon as she was gone, Osomatsu opened the lid of the box he received from his little brothers. While he knew the use of the phone, Osomatsu's cushion had been placed by Choromatsu because he knew the eldest loved to sleep on it, claiming it would give him dreams instead of nightmares filled with anxiety over the safety of his brothers. The notepad and colored pen, because Jyushimatsu wanted Osomatsu to write down or doodle everything that happened in the alternate dimension, as well as draw down his frustrations when needed. The scarf was knitted by Karamatsu to stay awake, and he sent it to Osomatsu out of brotherly love, to keep the eldest warm and feel the presence of his brothers with him. Cute and gross, Osomatsu had to admit, but he appreciated the colorful scarf. Lastly, there was a syringe and a bottle of unknown liquid. Choromatsu told him that Osomatsu's only allowed to use the syringe when he encountered any of his brothers, and upon finding them, he'd have to inject them with the odd liquid, as well as himself every time he injected a brother.

But wouldn't Osomatsu get arrested for stabbing someone with an injection, Osomatsu asked Choromatsu. The third brother texted that he was not supposed to randomly stab them as soon as he spotted them, but rather, ask them to comply or befriend them if necessary. Which, in Osomatsu's opinion, was worse. But Choromatsu did tell him to gather everyone, so that probably included befriending them and introducing them to one another. Osomatsu would cross the bridge when he got there, so he placed the bottle on the bottom of the pile of clothes with his cushion. He placed the syringe, already with the liquid, on the front pocket of the backpack. He placed the phone on his desk along with the scarf, the notepad, and the colored pen.

Just this once, Osomatsu didn't mind eating all of the snack cakes. He promised himself that he'd buy snack cakes for his little brothers as soon as he got back home.

After finishing all the snacks and taking a hot bath, he decided to get dressed. Since it was winter, he'd layer a lot in order to not get cold. He often wished Jyushimatsu had enough common sense to do that as well, since the fifth Matsuno brother always wore shorts.

He decided to wear a white shirt with his family symbol underneath his casual red hoodie, and layer a black coat over it so he wouldn't be cold. It wasn't leather, and Osomatsu was glad, because no way in hell was he wearing something that should only be reserved for Karamatsu. He also found a brown beanie, almost resembling Todomatsu's, in his closet. He decided to wear it as well. Finally, the brown mittens that had been knitted by his mother.

He stuffed the phone in his coat pocket just in case Choromatsu were to text him again. He wrapped the scarf around his neck and he felt himself gagging once he recognized the smell. Damn that Shittymatsu; he sprayed it with his disgusting and supposedly manly perfume! No use complaining about it now, though. The notepad and colored pen were also in his coat, since they weren't too heavy and he might need them for note-taking.

When he went down to the living room, he found the other necessities sitting on the table. He mentally thanked his mother as he also put them all in his backpack. Two bottles of shampoo, three boxes of soap, four rolls of tissue paper, a bottle of cheap cologne, his red toothbrush, a bottle of toothpaste, and a red towel. Those were bathroom necessities. Next for the food. Four sandwiches, two lunch boxes, a canteen of water, and two boxes of pocky. Snacks and two lunch boxes of food. Lastly were the other items. A red coin purse that looked heavy because it was stuffed with coins and bills and a small red umbrella.

As he finished packing them all, his mother went inside the room with his father. "So.. you're going to be leaving for a week or so?" His father asked. Hopefully, Matsuzo didn't expect anything too big for Osomatsu. The eldest Matsuno wasn't really fond of the idea that living meant having a job and marrying some chick. He really wished that he and his brothers could stay together as long as they could. "You'll be okay all on your own, son? I mean, you don't even have a phone. At least write letters if possible."

"No worries. I'll come back in one piece." He grinned. He had a phone, but it wasn't his. Plus, that phone could only text from dimension to dimension, not to other people in the same universe.

He didn't have time to respond as he was suddenly hugged by both his parents. He awkwardly hugged them back and felt really bad that he wasn't really coming back at all. He needed to get back home, to his real parents and to his little brothers. Plus, he was sure their son, the other Osomatsu, probably wouldn't appreciate it if Osomatsu took his place as the Matsuno family's only son. Osomatsu wondered where was the other Osomatsu, or what was he doing right now, but as Choromatsu said; gathering his brothers were a priority. He'd find the other Osomatsu, because he was probably the real son of the Matsuno couple in this dimension.

Pulling away from the hug and seeing the somewhat proud looks of both Matsuyo and Matsuzo, he mentally wished it were his actual parents. He wondered if they were fussing over his supposed disappearance. Were they even worried about the changes to their other sons? Choromatsu and Karamatsu both had to take charge of the house for now, with the absence of the eldest brother causing an impact on all of them. Ichimatsu being moody wasn't anything new, but a pissy Todomatsu was a force to be reckon with. Jyushimatsu could have offered them ease and happiness with his sunny nature, but as Choromatsu said, Jyushimatsu was depressed and sick. A bad combination.

"Well, see ya."

He headed out of the Matsuno household and glanced at it as he took a few steps away from the house. Not much change, but the inside was incredibly spacious because of the absence of five supposed adults. Right. The first step, leaving the household and preparing for the hunt had been completed. Now was the second step. He took out the phone from his pocket and opened the creepy dimension texting application, muttering his words as he typed it and prepared to send it to Choromatsu. "Choromatsu, I've already left the house. Maybe I'm gonna stop by Chibita's, but what's the next step? I got everything prepared, syringe and all."

Again. As soon as he sent the message, another instantly came by. It seemed Karamatsu still hadn't arrived. He wondered what time it was in his dimension.

 **"Good news. Professor Dekapan found the Karamatsu and the Todomatsu of that dimension. It took him five days to find them, so be thankful once you get your ass back in here. Apparently, even if you're not related to them, they might be acquainted with each other, or even brothers themselves. Problem is, they're in the city. Though you can get there by train, I'm sure having someone drive you is our best bet. It's easier, since chances are, the others might also be in the city, and walking everywhere is a pain. Anyway, go find someone nice enough to drive you around the city for a few days or so. Bribe them or something, you're good at that. I'll tell you the details later, but stop by the Sutabaa in that dimension first. It still exists so don't worry."**

Osomatsu shook with excitement as he read the message from Choromatsu. Two of his little brothers! He was going to see them soon! But someone with a car? He could just assure Choromatsu that he'll just run everywhere, but even sheer determination can't help him if his legs are too sore to find the rest. Still, hearing that Karamatsu and Todomatsu, even though they're not really his brothers, made him really excited. God, what did a week of not hearing about any of his brothers' existences done to him? He'll end up as doting as Karamatsu if he stays in this dimension any longer!

The car-thing was a problem to him though. Where'd he get a friend that has a car, would probably help him in any way possible-

 _Oh._

Of course.

There was someone, besides his brothers, that he could trust.

Even though he was in another dimension, he knew both of those individuals were acquainted with him one way or another. He didn't know if they'd agree to help him, but he hadn't left his house for a week after all. They'd help him with enough pestering, Osomatsu knew it. He wasn't leader of the troublesome Matsuno Sextuplets for nothing.

Adjusting his backpack and stretching his arms, he started running to Chibita's oden stand.


	4. Chapter 4: To The City!

Osomatsu hadn't been out of his house for an entire week, so it was natural that one of Osomatsu's only friends and childhood friends, Chibita, would worry. Totoko might not give a shit about the guy at all, and Hatabou wasn't living in their neighborhood anymore. He was living at the city, doing who knows what. Chibita dropped by Osomatsu's place earlier to pass a message to Osomatsu, but only his mother answered. That made the oden shopkeeper frustrated. "The hell's with that idjit?! He came here two weeks ago and got drunk as hell, but last week?! He barely stepped outside his house, damn it! Then when I go visit him, his ma says he's been lockin' himself up in his room and acting mopey! The hell's with him?! Damn it!"

Iyami listened as he ate the oden Chibita prepared. He could tell the shorter individual that it tasted as same as ever, but Chibita would probably skin him alive if he were to say that. "Osomatsu? That red-wearing troublemaker? Come to think of it, me hasn't seen that spoiled brat in a week! But me thought he would be pestering you instead. Me hasn't seen him at the horse races or pachinko parlors as well. He's a really lonely runt, isn't he?" He took a sip from the mug of beer he also ordered. Unlike Osomatsu, he could probably pay for his meals. He then raised his head up, pointing a finger at somewhere on the horizon. He was a bit tipsy, so his finger was shaking and he was letting out a few hiccups. "Eh? Isn't that Osomatsu right now?"

"The hell?! Really?! Where- ah! That idjit!"

Iyami was right; Osomatsu was running from far away, straight to the direction where Chibita's oden stand was set. The legendary red idiot Chibita knew since childhood had a large travelling backpack with him, and was most likely covered in snow. Osomatsu looked relieved to see both of them as he ran through the snow, brushing the snow off his shoulders. They could see his breath from a distance, meaning Osomatsu was panting really hard. Chibita prepared another serving of oden, telling Iyami it could warm up Osomatsu as soon as he stops by. "Iyami!" Osomatsu called, waving his arms around frantically. "Chibita!"

"You idjit!" Was Chibita's greeting, raising his ladle above his head and swinging it around. "The hell have you been doin', sulkin' in your room?! And what's with that backpack?! Don't tell me you're finally leavin' your ma and pa's house to get a job and a wife, damn it!" Of course, Chibita was joking around. But with a backpack that big, anything could happen. "The hell have you been doin', ya idjit? Off to travel somewhere?! The hell! Couldn't ya at least tell us about it?! Your parents worried that you'd be slinkin' into depression and decided to bring ya somewhere?! Idjit, we've all been through the depressed phase-"

"Iyami." Osomatsu cut Chibita off, sitting next to him and accepting the oden Chibita had prepared. To the surprise of both Iyami and Chibita, he denied the mug of beer. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"Eh?" Both Iyami and Chibita turned to face him in utter confusion.

Osomatsu was lucky to have both Chibita and Iyami in the same place at the same time. He needed Iyami's help, seeing as how Iyami was their only acquaintance with a car. Asking him for favors was nothing out of the ordinary for the Matsuno Sextuplets to do, but now, it was only Osomatsu and a phone that could text from different dimensions. He needed to have Iyami with him in order to get back home. "I'm facing the greatest dilemma of my life right now." He told him, mirroring exactly what he told to his dimension's Iyami months ago. "And I really need your help at the moment. Hell, I think I'm gonna be staying in a hotel at the city for awhile or something. If I don't do anything about this, I might be driven to insanity."

Chibita looked flabbergasted. "The city?! The hell?! Am I hearing things?!" Chibita couldn't believe his childhood friend and rival's words. This was the same guy that thinks groping people at mixers was definitely okay! "Are you serious?! Are you finally looking for a job, you idjit?! Are you finally graduating from being a shitty NEET?!"

"Ah, not really. Sorry to disappoint, but between us Chibita, you have a better shot at society than I ever will." Osomatsu sheepishly replied. Choromatsu instructed him that he should get a friend to drive him to the city and other places, but Osomatsu himself asked Choromatsu if he was allowed to tell either Iyami or Chibita. Exactly twenty seconds passed before he received another text from Choromatsu, stating it was alright, as long as only close acquaintances know. Plus, Chibita and Iyami were required to believe him if he did plan on telling them about it. Ah, but in this world, he was their Osomatsu. They might not see what's wrong with him, what's the difference. But they had to know. "Well, it's a really long story. But I can't tell ya if you're not willing to help. It'll only waste my time, and I have no time to waste."

"Is there anything me can do for you, then?" Asked Iyami seriously. It was rare to see Osomatsu so out of character, so he was willing to help in any way he could.

"As I said, I'll be staying in the city for awhile. I.. I need to look for something important. Problem is, only the bullet train is my source of transportation to the city, and running everywhere'll be a pain. A friend suggested I get someone to give me rides during my stay." He turned to Iyami. "Iyami, you're the only guy I know with a car. I don't have time for driving lessons, and I sure as hell don't have money to buy a car or anything. If it's not much trouble, do you mind accompanying me to the city? This is really important Iyami, I wouldn't be asking you of all people for help if it wasn't important at all!"

A moment of awkward silence. Shit. Osomatsu acted so out of character, this was probably not how their Osomatsu acted at all.

That was, before Chibita literally smashed the ladle against the cart which caused both of his regular customers to flinch. "You idjit! Of course we're gonna help! As long as you're not doing anything illegal, we'll help you, damn it! Iyami!" Surprisingly, he managed to snap Iyami out of his drunken state just by yelling at him. "We're gonna be headin' to the city with Osomatsu as soon as possible! I'll meet ya idjits up at your place Iyami, so pack up!" The small oden shopkeeper prepared to pack everything back into the cart as he grumbled orders.

Osomatsu blinked. "You.. you're honestly going to help me? Ah, Chibita? You too?"

"Naturally, idjit! Damn it, the hell's gotten into ya lately?! If this is some sort of secret mission, then I expect to be a part of it! The trip to the city by train is only an hour long, but in car? You might as well tell us your family history, idjit! Now what're ya idjits stickin' around for?! Iyami! You go pack up now! I'll go and catch up with ya and Osomatsu later! Just gotta get the cart back home. It's not like I have anything better to do than keep the shop running. Iyami doesn't even have better things to do. And ya better tell us what's going on, ya idjit!"

"Hey!" Iyami tried to argue with Chibita, but the smallest individual in the trio had already dashed off with his cart in tow. That was honestly impressive, seeing as how small Chibita was. He was sure to leave fire in the snow, if that was even possible. "Tch. Chibita's right. Me is getting a little bored in this town lately! Nothing interesting besides pachinko and horse races, unlike France and all their sources of entertainment. Hm, and me does have a car! But me won't drive you to a lot of places without proper pay-"

"If you're wanting something out of me, save it once I actually find the important thing. Money, working in the black factory for the rest of my life, actually finding a way to help you with your cruddy-ass schemes. Anything. Just save it for later." Osomatsu interrupted again, but this time, it seemed he was out of breath. And deadly serious. Was this really Osomatsu, Iyami wondered. Well who else could it be? "I'll forever be in your debt if you help me, Iyami. I swear it. Just please help me."

"You really get on me nerves sometimes.." Iyami muttered under his breath. "Ah, but you're gonna tell me what's up with you later. Me will go pack up now. You're coming with me, yes? Me has to start the car and everything. Chibita's probably packing up as we speak."

"Definitely."

Of course Iyami would get bored, Osomatsu thought. In his dimension, he literally had five copies of himself in which he often lead to such adventures that would result to Iyami's misfortune. They were the well-known Matsuno Sextuplets of the town, known for causing trouble and switching names around. But here, he was an only child. As Iyami lead the way in silence, Osomatsu made sure to take out his phone and text to Choromatsu. "Step two completed. Iyami and Chibita are going to help." He muttered under his breath so Iyami couldn't hear. Damn, he had a bad habit of saying everything he typed. He should fix that soon.

Another message came by.

 **"Wow, really? You're actually doing great, Osomatsu-niisan. It's up to you if you want to tell them of course. Are you planning to?"**

No hesitation at all. He promised Iyami and Chibita he would as long as they would help him. "Yeah, whatever." He murmured as he texted it to Choromatsu. Another message came as soon as he sent it. Osomatsu mentally noted that he'd ask Choromatsu about the creepy dimension texting application as soon as he got back. And demand that all his little brothers hibernate for the rest of the week.

 **"Alright then. It's time for step three."**

* * *

Osomatsu decided to wait inside Iyami's car, which was the same van he and his brothers rode months ago, during the Black Factory incident. Since the van was big enough, he just set his travelling backpack on his feet as he sat comfortably in the passenger's seat. He placed the red cushion on the back of his head, as well as removed the mittens, the beanie, and the scarf. Since Iyami was still inside his house rummaging around, he decided to continue chatting with Choromatsu. Hey, he hasn't seen any of his little brothers in an entire week, so he could justify his act of bothering Choromatsu easier.

"Iyami's still packing. Chibita's probably on the way. Is there anything vital you need to tell me? I mean, Sutabaa's our first destination, right? I'm pretty sure Chibita and Iyami would like to drop their belongings at the hotel first." He had a really bad habit of saying everything he just typed. He should ask Choromatsu for help with that habit of his. "Sutabaa.. then what?"

 **"Professor Dekapan says that the Todomatsu of that universe has connections with the Sutabaa Employees. Since we know both Todomatsu and Karamatsu are in the city but we don't know where they live, it's best to ask around. The Aida and Sachiko of that universe are probably friends with him the same way they're friends with him in our dimension. Todomatsu and Karamatsu are probably friends or something, since Professor Dekapan says they're connected in some way. Just ask the employees. If Todomatsu's there, don't jump in for a hug. He doesn't know you in that dimension and you'll probably be sent to jail for being such a creep. Same goes for Karamatsu and the three others. Just act casually and start up small talk. Also ask them to meet up with you in private if possible, so you could explain everything. You need them to be comfortable around you so you'd have to earn their trust and have them peacefully comply so you can use the syringe."**

"Are you serious about this? What'll I say, I'm from another dimension and I need to gather the five other siblings and the other me in order to summon some fucking dragon that grants my wish?"

 **"Very funny, Osomatsu-niisan. But we literally look like each other to the point people often mistake us for each other, even our parents did so when we were kids. Meeting someone that has the exact same face, birthday, height, weight, blood type, and age is weird and scary enough, so hearing that they came from another dimension and is practically your older twin brother seems pretty damn believable if you ask me about it."**

Osomatsu could feel Choromatsu's steaming flesh emitting from the phone. He grinned cheekily. Ah, he truly missed messing with his little brothers. Especially a pissy, short-tempered, sleep-deprived, and stressed Choromatsu that probably had bags underneath his eyes. He did feel sorry for the third brother though, so he started texting back to him. "Pissed off much? When is Karamatsu getting there? I can practically hear your lack-of-sleep ranting from the phone."

 **"Sorry about the attitude. Karamatsu's probably gonna arrive in an hour or so. I can't afford to sleep unless someone's in charge of the phone, since someone's gotta give you instructions. Todomatsu has work half the time, so it'll switch between me and Karamatsu-niisan. If Ichimatsu's up to it, I guess him too. But he's currently tasked with taking care of Jyushimatsu until he's better and he's not leaving his side until Jyushimatsu's hyper again. Todomatsu's probably not gonna miss out once he hears the phone is working, so he'll be in charge with the phone on weekends once he gets enough sleep."**

Jyushimatsu was sick, Osomatsu remembered. He really needed to get back. He wasn't really as doting as Karamatsu when younger brothers were sick, but as soon as he gets back, he will literally dote on every single brother. He'd get Choromatsu and Karamatsu something nice to thank them for taking care of the younger three. He'd bring home some cats and cat toys to make Ichimatsu feel less irritated. He'd get Todomatsu new cute clothes or anything the youngest would like. He'd play with Jyushimatsu if the fifth brother felt better, but if he was still sick, Osomatsu would take care of him in Ichimatsu's place. He was the eldest, so he had the right to dote on his brothers whenever he pleased.

Choromatsu would like something Nyaa-chan related, probably. A body pillow? Nah, knowing his third brother, he probably had one already and was just hiding it. Karamatsu liked anything painful, so inexpensive perfumes and supposedly cool articles of clothing would work. Ichimatsu adored cats, so stray cats and cat toys it was. Todomatsu would probably want his phone back.. or a new phone? He didn't really know, Todomatsu was the brother that kept the most secrets. For Jyushimatsu, he could simply get him anything childish such as a bunch of colorful rubber balls or anything colorful or destructive. Osomatsu remembered he still had some money back at home. Maybe he'd use those to get something nice for his brothers.

He jotted down notes on what to get for his brothers after sending another text to Choromatsu. "Well, take care of them. But don't push yourself too hard either. You and Karamatsu are in charge of the house and our three younger brothers for now, but if you two end up dead due to sleep-deprivation, I'm hunting both of you down if you actually manage to ascend to heaven. Take care of yourselves. And make sure Jyushimatsu doesn't do anything stupid. But I'm sure Ichimatsu's already watching him like a hawk. Jyushimatsu's much more of a hassle when sick."

 **"Who the hell do you think we are? He's in house arrest at the moment. Don't ask why, I'll tell you every single detail once you get back. Anyway, text me again once you're at the city. Depends if it's me or Karamatsu-niisan answering, but he knows what he's doing, don't worry. He's actually doing a good job at being an older brother in your place. Sutabaa's your first destination, so it's either gather information on Todomatsu and Karamatsu, or interact with Todomatsu himself. You have some shit to explain to both Iyami and Chibita in your little road trip too. Stay safe, Osomatsu-niisan."**

..House arrest? Okay, what in the actual living fuck. Another dimension, he could handle. Missing for a month, when really, he's been missing for a week, it was nearly mind blowing. Or maybe he was missing for a month when it had really been a week or the other way around, who really gives a shit anymore. Choromatsu had a lot of explaining to do, and keeping Jyushimatsu locked in the house was one of them. What harm could the second youngest brother do when he's sick? He stuffed the phone back in his coat pocket and patiently waited for either Iyami or Chibita to get in the car. "The hell I got here in the first place.." Osomatsu mumbled to himself. "Todomatsu and Karamatsu. The youngest and second eldest respectively. I wonder if Professor Dekapan can locate Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, and Choromatsu too. Might as well burn that bridge once I get there.."

"Oi! Osomatsu!"

Osomatsu rolled down the van's window, popped his head out, and saw Chibita sprinting towards the van. The smaller male had a travelling backpack as big as Osomatsu's, except it was white and orange in color. He could also see some clothes pop out of the biggest pocket of the backpack. Chibita decided to wear winter clothes, including a white sweater, an orange scarf, a mold-green overcoat, and brown winter boots. He didn't bother wearing a hat though. "Idjit! I'm takin' back seat, damn it! You have lots of explaining to do- Iyami's still not done packing yet?! Damn it!" He hastily opened the door and threw his stuff in as he slammed it and marched to Iyami's house. "Iyami! Idjit! You aren't ready yet?! The hell?!"

He was scary when impatient and fueled with excitement, Osomatsu thought to himself. At least there's no change in his relationship with both Iyami and Chibita, two of which he's known since childhood. "How do I explain this to them..?" He rubbed his forehead. "If Chorofappyski was here, he'd try to explain it as logically as possible. Karamatsu'd butt in with painful lines and make it sound more complicated than it already is. Todomatsu'd ignore the entire thing and just stare at his phone while saying useless comments to fill in pauses. Jyushimatsu'd probably do something weird with Ichimatsu and ignore the entire thing completely. Crazy little brothers.."

The door suddenly opened, an exasperated Iyami stepping in. "We're ready!" Iyami threw his briefcase at the back, where Chibita was sitting. The con-man strapped on his seat belt and started up the car. "We have a long trip ahead of us. Osomatsu, it's time to explain everything. Me agreed to help you with this as long as you tell me and Chibita what's wrong with you lately. You can't be going on a trip for nothing, you're too lazy to do anything like that."

Osomatsu nodded as the car started moving. He mentally said goodbye to the neighborhood, seeing as how he wasn't coming back as soon as he finds a way to return to Choromatsu and the other brothers. He didn't dare turn to see Iyami's face, or look at the side mirror to see Chibita behind him with crossed arms and an impatient expression. "You sure you won't react wildly to anything I say? Like, don't do your famous gag right here and now. It's dangerous, we're in a car, and dying in a car accident isn't really the way I wanna go." He mumbled.

Chibita scoffed from the back. "Depends, idjit."

"And you won't try to kill me?" He asked. Better safe than sorry, he reasoned with himself. He took out a notepad in order to doodle something. Damn, he was feeling anxious. He decided to draw an angry Choromatsu and a painful-looking Karamatsu in order to ease himself. If he acted oddly, it may worry Iyami and Chibita, and they were currently in a car. Having a panic attack in a car wasn't really the greatest thing in the world. Then again, having a panic attack in general just sucked.

"Eh? Why would me do such a barbaric thing? You may be a spoiled brat, but me doesn't want to kill you." Iyami said almost distractedly. They were at a highway right now. But Osomatsu knew he'd be seeing the same sight for about an hour or two. "You might as well stop beating around the bush, Osomatsu. We may have a long way ahead of us, but me won't budge or listen to any of your demands or favors unless we understand what's going on."

"I agree with Iyami, idjit. The hell? You think we're really gonna kill you? Is this illegal garbage you're doing?" Chibita nodded in agreement, raising a brow. He knew Osomatsu wasn't the guy to do anything illegal, but hey, anything could happen.

Osomatsu sweat-dropped at Chibita's lack of faith in him. Well, he's the realest guy out there, often helping him and his brothers realize the fact they're all walking garbage. "Not illegal I swear, just.. out of this world, I guess?" He couldn't find the word for it.

"Eh?" Iyami glanced at him, but returned to focusing on the road.

"The hell do you mean by that, idjit?" Chibita questioned.

"Um, so.. uh.." Osomatsu wasn't sheepish. But how the fuck do you explain something so vague and messed up as waking up in another dimension where you are currently missing five of your younger brothers?

"Spit it out already, damn it!" The smallest male in the car snapped. As the shortest, he comically had the shortest temper.

Iyami huffed. It could be directed at Osomatsu or the current traffic. This is gonna take forever. "You think we won't believe you? Hmph! Me is smart enough to know you don't go as far as going to the city to play a petty prank!"

He had a point. "Alright, alright! Well, I'm Osomatsu-"

"We know that, idjit!"

"D-don't cut me off Chibita! Well, I'm Osomatsu alright! You already know that, of course you do!"

"Me knows that ever since you were a runt." Iyami reminded. Osomatsu suddenly remembered that day. They met Iyami when the guy had attempted to rob them, only to end up bumping into one of the sextuplets whenever he tried to trick one of them. Hellish, but amusing to remember. Ah, those were the days. Back when they were supposedly innocent children.

Osomatsu tapped on the window impatiently. He was itching to see Todomatsu and Karamatsu already. "You know that, naturally! I'm Osomatsu, but at the same time, I'm not!" Oh god. Did he just..?

"..Sheh?" Iyami looked at him with doubt. Shit, shit, shit. The fuck? Why the hell did Osomatsu think that was a good thing to just spout from nowhere?

Even Chibita looked like he had witness a murder. In an almost quiet voice that could be as creepy as Ichimatsu's, he scooted a bit to the middle and leaned forward, head popping out of the gap where Osomatsu's and Iyami's seats were separated. "The hell did ya just say?"

It just slipped off his tongue. He was planning on starting with the story of how he woke up a week ago with that sick feeling in his stomach and realizing that he somehow ended up in another world, instead of straight-up telling them he was from another dimension, but well..

 _Ah, fuck it._

"I'm not your Osomatsu."

Somehow, Osomatsu managed to make the situation even worse. This will probably be the only time he'd ever see Chibita in such a state of confusion with a mixture of either disgust or cringe, as well as the only time he'd be thankful to traffic stopping the car. Otherwise, he, Iyami, and Chibita would have ended up going off the road when the con-man decided to express his feelings. Via his favorite gag.

"SHEH?!"


	5. Chapter 5: We're Friends For A Reason

The entire trip was the pinnacle of deafening, utter hell. Iyami's constant gag reactions mixed with Chibita's impatient yelling and outbursts caused Osomatsu to wonder if asking them for help was a good idea in the first place. None of this would have happened if he just chose the option of running everywhere, even if it killed him. Taking the train would have been faster, but running everywhere would be a nightmare. Good god, nothing was easy wasn't it? But Osomatsu was thankful that Chibita hadn't tried to attack him with a giant oden stick after Osomatsu explained the situation.

After Osomatsu explained everything he currently knew to both of his acquanitances, Iyami drove in silence while Chibita had told them something interesting with a sigh accompanying his words. Their Osomatsu had been a bit pissy a week before Osomatsu, the real one, woke up in his place and started sulking. Osomatsu's guess was that their little drunken piece of garbage, their version of Osomatsu, probably stumbled off somewhere as he left Chibita's oden stand drunk and probably an emotional mess. "He's a troublemaker, that idjit." Chibita murmured. "He started rambling about how lonely he was, how imperfect everything is. The hell? That idjit acted more of a brat than he already was, damn it."

"..Me isn't sure about this idea anymore." Iyami spoke up, eyeing the eldest Matsuno beside him with doubt. Osomatsu was initially worried that they wouldn't believe him and drop him off the city after thinking he played a cruel prank on them, but now, he was worried of them believing him, but not trusting him. He wasn't their Osomatsu. "This Osomatsu beside me.. it's not the Osomatsu me met years ago. Should we even be helping him, Chibita? What if he's from a dimension in which Osomatsu is some sort of murderer? What if this is actually our Osomatsu, but high on drugs?"

This was what Osomatsu was scared about. Being doubted and no one siding with him. He had spared no detail, because if he wanted their full cooperation with little to no questions asked, he had to be honest with them. He explained that he woke up on a futon meant for only one person to sleep on. He explained that the silver alarm clock his brother had bought was clean, no signs of satanic cats scratching it or blinding glitter decorating it. He explained that he received a package a week later that contained items of his little brothers, the phone in particular that could text through dimensions. Hell, he even showed Chibita his chat with Choromatsu, in which the smaller male asked why the hell did he nickname Choromatsu names like "Fappymatsu" or "Chorofappyski".

To his surprise, Chibita shrugged Iyami's suspicion off. "Idjit. Our Osomatsu isn't serious as hell, not like this guy. And drugs? Please. Guy can't swallow tablets for god's sake, and he can't even smoke. Beer's the only thing he can do right, damn it. Our Osomatsu was a lonely, spoiled brat. He'd get violent when drunk or messed with." He mumbled. "Even if this isn't our Osomatsu, he's still an Osomatsu, isn't he? I would have called the dimension-thing bullshit if he didn't back it up with legit proof, damn it. The messages on the phone are creepy. Couldn't have sent it to himself."

"Why would I even want to do that? I'm lonely without my brothers, but I'm not that lonely." Osomatsu chuckled weakly. They had been awkwardly doing this for an hour now. He wasn't used to dealing with his problems all alone. He usually had Choromatsu assuring him it would be fine. Karamatsu telling him he believed in him. Todomatsu offering pep-talk. Ichimatsu giving a pat on the shoulder. Jyushimatsu wrapping his long sleeves around his neck. Literally all his brothers were there in his darkest times. Especially after "that" incident. "Do you guys.. still wanna help me?" He decided to ask.

Chibita sighed. "Honestly? I dunno. Idjit, you're in a bigger problem than I thought you would be. Never expected you wouldn't be our Osomatsu either." At least Chibita was honest. "But leaving you out there in a world so familiar but at the same time isn't.. the hell? The guilt'll chew me out for weeks if I let that happen, damn it. I don't know about Iyami, but I'm stickin' with ya 'til you find your way back home. Besides. If you're gonna gather your brothers and the other you, we can bring back our Osomatsu home and have him cover for ya. I'm worried where that idjit might have ended up. He was drunk when he left, and his ma said he collapsed instantly as soon as he got home."

Ah. Chibita was going to help. That was a relief. Osomatsu didn't know why he was feeling so anxious. He wasn't like this earlier, wasn't he? What was wrong with him today? "I see. Thanks. I'm not used to facing my problems alone. Haha. Usually, I drag my brothers with me. Man, I must be as big as a brat as your Osomatsu."

"No."

Chibita and Osomatsu turned to Iyami, who seemed to look serious and less confident for once in his life. Osomatsu hitched his breath. Iyami wasn't going to help him, he thought. "Osomatsu, our Osomatsu.. me always thought there was something wrong with that runt." He admitted. "Underneath his alcohol-loving, lazy, spoiled, and literally gambled brain was a problem child. Sure he was lazy, he was a troublemaker, but he often had trouble with befriending people. Chibita was one of the kids he picked on, but even they turned out to be good friends."

Osomatsu could see Chibita sweat. "A-ah. Yeah. That idjit. He was a prankster alright, his parents sometimes spoiled him or disciplined him, so you'd expect him to be normal growing up. But he isn't. He's anything but normal. He's a mess, that idjit. I don't know what happened to him before I met him, but he was a messed up kid. He was sometimes seen playing with cats. He absolutely loved them. And then those cats would disappear from the neighborhood as soon as he gave them treats. He was also fond of baseball. He was so fond of it he accidentally sent a bully to the hospital while he claimed to have been practicing his swings."

Alright, what the fuck? "The fu-"

"I dunno, idjit. Our Osomatsu's pretty creepy at times. But half the time, he's just like you; a gambling NEET with no girlfriend, is still a virgin, probably will be fat once he turns thirty, and will probably be a salary man for the rest of his days." Chibita interjected. "But he's lonely. I don't know how he managed to not have any friends at all. I only met him after Iyami meddled with him. That's how I got to know Totoko and Hatabou too. But compared to him, you're kinda normal. Dragging your brothers with you into troublesome schemes sounds exactly what Osomatsu would do if he had little brothers on his own."

"But he doesn't. I guess that's why he's so lonely- Sheh? Osomatsu, you're blue."

Osomatsu didn't realize he was holding his breath up until Iyami pointed it out. He sputtered out a few coughs and gripped onto his chest, hacking loudly. He pounded against his chest hastily as Iyami drove to a more secluded part of the road and screeched to a halt, Chibita nearly bouncing off his seat and into the front window due to the impact and sudden stop. Instead of flying straight into the window, Chibita instead slammed straight to the back of Iyami's seat with a muffled shriek, while Iyami nearly choked on his own seat belt and his overbite nearly crashing against the steering wheel.

"Sheeeeeeh!"

"The hell?! Iyami, you idjit! You stopped!" Somewhere and somehow, Chibita grabbed and raised his favorite ladle above his head and smacked Iyami with it angrily, causing the other to slam against his window but not cause any harm to his overbite. "Are you tryin' to kill us?! We're only minutes away from the city, damn it!" He yelled in irritation, before turning to Osomatsu, who was still clutching onto his chest and panting. "And you! Osomatsu! Are you okay?! The hell did you hold your breath for, damn it?!"

Osomatsu continued to cough wildly until he felt Iyami pat his back to let it out. Chibita had somehow crawled from the middle to the front, his short stature enabling him to fit in the gap and sit on the dashboard with his head ducked down a bit, moving Osomatsu's other winter clothing. Chibita rummaged through his traveling backpack before spotting the canteen Matsuyo packed for Osomatsu and opening it as Iyami continued to pat Osomatsu's back. Almost like what Choromatsu or Karamatsu would do to their brothers if they were having a coughing fit. Those two were clearly the mom and the dad in their group of brothers. "I'm fine." He wheezed out.

A certain someone didn't seem convinced by the badly delivered line. "I fucking know you're not!" Chibita snapped, shoving the canteen to Osomatsu's chest, some of the water nearly dripping onto his coat. "Drink some water, damn it! Only a few miles away and you decide it's definitely the best time to try and kill yourself by holding your breath, damn it!"

"How is it that you're a troublemaker even when you just try to breathe air?! Even when you're not doing anything to us, you're still causing trouble! Me has to admit you kinda worried me for a second with your deathly blue face!" Iyami added in with an annoyed expression, though his voice seemed to be laced with concern. "Sheeeeeh! If you're going to keep doing this during your little hunt, who knows how me and Chibita will survive! You'll die from lack of oxygen unless me points it out!"

After Osomatsu drank half of the water from his canteen and coughed from how chilly it was, he eyed Iyami with surprise mixed with relief. "You're.. gonna help me?"

"What else does it sound like?! Of course he's gonna help! Hell, he has no choice, now that we're close to our destination! Driving back to the town'll be a pain!" Chibita smacked Osomatsu on the head, but didn't do it as harsh to the point he'd drop the canteen. "Damn it! Is this how you act in your own dimension?! I'm staring to think you aren't an Osomatsu at all, idjit." He shook his head, hopping off the dashboard and squirming back to the middle section of the car, flopping on the seat and crossing his arms. "No matter. First stop's that fancy café Sutabaa, right? Iyami. Start the car now. I don't wanna get tired on the first day of the hunt, damn it."

"Eh? I thought we were gonna stop by a hotel first-"

"How about this." Osomatsu interrupted, his mind already functioning properly. "You drop Chibita and I by the café. I'll hand you some money for the room and you go to the hotel and drop our stuff. Then you go drive back to Sutabaa to pick me and Chibita up, as well as figure out our next plan. I might also need a cup of coffee. I haven't had any proper sleep in awhile." Osomatsu suggested. "That way, we can just go to the hotel as soon as we get tired. It'll be easier."

"Solid plan, Osomatsu. You actually seem to be smarter than our Osomatsu. Or is it because you have brothers in where you came from? That'd make sense on why you seem responsible." Iyami murmured under his breath, starting the car again. "Also, if you hold you plan to hold your breath until you die, me will probably just force you to go to the backseat where Chibita can keep an eye out on you. Why did you even hold your breath anyway?"

Osomatsu didn't answer. Before Iyami could bug him about it, Chibita kicked the back of Iyami's seat, signalling for him to just drive. Osomatsu mentally chuckled at Iyami's statement. Responsible? Him? Please. It was Choromatsu who was responsible. Osomatsu was just a very worried big brother who didn't want Karamatsu or Choromatsu to worry so much about him. They had Ichimatsu, the sextuplets' vessel of darkness, to worry about. He was dangerous when pissed. They also had to worry about Todomatsu, the supposed baby brother who was the only one with a job and the other one with actual common sense and maturity. They especially had to worry about Jyushimatsu, the sunshine of the brothers, who was currently sick and probably depressed.

Osomatsu wanted to get back as soon as possible. He had to take the burden of being the older brother back. For the sake of his little brothers. Taking out his phone and Chibita worriedly watching him as he mumbled words to type, his thoughts drifted to his brothers. "We're close. I told them everything now. They'll still help, thankfully. How are things there, Fappymatsu?"

As always, the message arrived in less than a minute.

 **"That's great to hear, Osomatsu-niisan. You'll need all the help you can get. As I said, go to Sutabaa first. If Todomatsu or Karamatsu work there, it's best to try having small talk first. If they're anything like our brothers, the Todomatsu would be easily scared about what's going on and the Karamatsu would believe anything as long as you start sobbing your eyes out. Besides, you share the same face as them. They're bound to believe you."**

* * *

The city was a scary place, Jyushimatsu had once said to Ichimatsu as they shared a parfait. Though Osomatsu expected it to look the same, there were more buildings than usual. He also noticed it seemed to be a bit more advanced than the city in his dimension. For one, there were more vending machines, appliances shops, and cellphone stores. Second, the place seemed to have much more lights, meaning more electricity for some reason. It was almost different from the city in Osomatsu's dimension, which seemed to be normal.

Wrapping the scarf Karamatsu knitted around his neck and putting on both the beanie and the mittens, he stepped out of the car and shivered as he felt the winter breeze against his cheek. He slammed the door shut with Chibita following suit and Iyami giving a nod to both of them, driving away. "Jyushimatsu only likes winter for the snow." Osomatsu commented as he watched the snow fall, Chibita looking at him. He had told them of his little brothers too, as well as how they acted and what they liked. "He throws a major temper tantrum when exposed to the cold for too long." He started walking. Sutabaa was just around the corner, and as he walked, memories of him and four of his brothers in bizarre outfits came to mind, when they didn't know Todomatsu worked at that little café.

Chibita looked at Osomatsu's sadly smiling face. "He's the fifth one, if I remember correctly?" Chibita could tell Osomatsu had a natural big brother instinct, despite his story earlier. Osomatsu said that months ago, he had a fight with both his brothers Choromatsu and Karamatsu, with Todomatsu pretending he didn't know him and Ichimatsu somehow turning into a cat and running away. It confused Chibita, but this Osomatsu, though not his childhood friend and rival, was still Osomatsu, who was human and whose feelings mattered. He missed his brothers terribly, it was obvious.

"Yeah. Like everyone else, he looks like me, 'cept he always has this giant smile. He also likes floppy-long sleeves for some reason. I'm sure out of all of us, he's the kindest. Heh. That was always his weakness. Our Iyami would trick him a lot since he was so easy to manipulate. That's why when we split into pairs, he was often with the quiet guy, Ichimatsu. Y'know, someone that can keep 'im calm. Todomatsu was always with Karamatsu because he thought he was cool. Don't know about that now, though. As for me, Choromatsu was my battle bro. He's a stick in the mud, but he's still my partner in crime. Hell, he's probably the leader of this little operation. 'Operation; Get our stupid eldest brother back from the other dimension' is what he'd call it."

"Sounds fun." Chibita added in. "Even though you claim you're a bad older bro, it seems they all care about ya."

Osomatsu nodded, seeing his breath. Ah, it was so chilly! Winter was fun, but like any other season, there was a downside to it. "Yeah. But I wish Karamatsu or Choromatsu wouldn't stress over such things. Those three too. Karamatsu feels like he should act mature towards the four of them, Choromatsu feels like he should be a good role model to the younger trio, Ichimatsu feels like it's his job as the oldest of the younger trio to watch over both Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu, Jyushimatsu feels like he's a failure of a big brother to Todomatsu since the youngest is much more mentally mature than him and Jyushimatsu himself acts like a little kid, and Todomatsu doesn't like being the youngest if it means Karamatsu or Jyushimatsu always keep a constant eye on him. Those bastards. Worrying over absolutely nothing." He weakly chuckled. "I'm the eldest. It's my responsibility to take care of all of them. They've got nothing to worry about."

Chibita listened as Osomatsu rambled on. His Osomatsu always wanted siblings. And here he was, an Osomatsu that did have siblings, but got separated from them. Chibita wondered how it felt, to have the most important thing in your life ripped away from you one day because you took them for granted. While he wasn't sure about this whole "I came from another dimension" thing, he was sure this wasn't his Osomatsu that went fully insane. This was a different Osomatsu, and a seemingly warm feeling coming from the other individual was enough proof he was different. He really is different, Chibita thought.

Once they reached Sutabaa, Osomatsu stopped dead in his tracks, dread overcoming him. There it was. That feeling a week ago, when he woke up and realized the absence of his brothers. It was there again, and he didn't know why. Sutabaa looked the same, Todomatsu was probably there, Osomatsu loved his brothers, so why was he panicking? Osomatsu's breath hitched again but before he could start hyperventilating, he felt something nudge against his side. Chibita.

Oh yeah. Chibita was short and couldn't reach his shoulders, Osomatsu reminded himself. "The hell are you waiting for, idjit? You wanna see your brother right? Then go ahead, damn it! Even if he's not the brother of our Osomatsu, he's _your_ brother and you're responsible for him!"

Osomatsu wanted to argue that the Todomatsu in this dimension wasn't exactly his brother, but oh well. Exhaling sharply and carefully stepping inside, he made sure to act as casual as possible just in case the youngest sextuplet did work here. He reminded himself to not rush into him casually if Todomatsu worked here, because in this dimension, he wasn't Todomatsu's brother. Scanning around, he caught no sight of someone possessing the same face or someone with the same haircut with idiot hair popping out. Though it was disappointing, at least he didn't have to worry about random tears spurting out at the sight of his little brother.

Instead, two familiar looking girls were at the counter, smiling brightly with a golden light of confidence enveloping them. "Welcome, dear customers!" They both greeted Osomatsu and Chibita in unison. Osomatsu internally struggled to remember their names as Chibita greeted them with a wave and lead him to a table near the window.

Aida and Sachiko, was it? No no. If he stated their names in his first visit in Sutabaa, the girls would be suspicious. He had to act casual. He had to act like a boy from the near town who just arrived at the city and was definitely from this world and not another dimension. "Chibita." He whispered to the smaller individual as they both sat down. "I'm gonna have to text Choromatsu. Could you order something, please? Just to make sure we're not being suspicious." He handed Chibita his coin purse.

Chibita took it, but he knew Osomatsu wasn't going to treat him to anything. Chibita bought his own wallet, and Osomatsu rarely payed for things all on his own. "Fine. I'm disgusted they don't have oden in these fancy little cafés, damn it. Whaddaya want? I'm getting a parfait."

"Brewed coffee, please."

His friend nodded and approached the counter as Osomatsu sighed, liking the warmth the café provided. He wondered if his Todomatsu was enjoying the warmth of the café as well. He took out the other contents of his coat pocket, such as his notepad, the red colored pen, and the phone that could text through dimensions. He purposely left the syringe in his pocket, because he couldn't risk any other patrons seeing it with him. He might get arrested for carrying such a thing around. "Choromatsu." He muttered to himself, thankful that there wasn't anyone whose tables were next to his. Osomatsu's bad habit needed to be fixed soon. "We're at Sutabaa now. Two of Todomatsu's co-workers are here, but I don't see any Todomatsu. Or Karamatsu."

Ten seconds. Then the message appeared.

 **"Did research on that already. Professor Dekapan says that he has found everyone that has connections to Todomatsu and Karamatsu. While we can't specifically say where those two are, we do know they're in the city. Aida and Sachiko both have connections to Todomatsu, so even if he doesn't work there, they have some sort of connection to him. Friends, old classmates, whatever. They also seem to have connections to Karamatsu. Ask them something about those two, like where they live or something. Claim that you're an old friend and you're looking for them. That'll work."**

"Thanks."

 **"No problem, Osomatsu-niisan. I hope you find them soon. We all miss you and having you here actually calms us down. Also, Professor Dekapan's doing research on Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, and the other Choromatsu. We're gonna save the other Osomatsu for last. We'll tell you once we find anything about them. Send me a text later."**

"Alright." As Osomatsu stuffed the phone back in his pocket along with the notepad and pen, he noticed Chibita walking back to the table, wallet and coin purse on hand. Angrily, he pushed the coin purse to Osomatsu and sat down with a huff, legs crossed. Glancing at the counter, Osomatsu spotted both Aida and Sachiko offering awkward, yet apologetic smiles at their direction, before they turned back to the cash register and went back to serving other customers. "Chibita?" He cocked his head to the side, lightly poking the single cowlick on Chibita's bald head. "What happened there?"

The oden shopkeeper looked at him as if he was offended. "Those girls, damn it!" He yelled in frustration, Osomatsu awkwardly trying to calm him down. "I've been trying to get their attention! Then I realize that the counter was too high up for me to reach and I've been getting ignored for a solid fifteen seconds! Argh! You order! I'm not going near another counter too high ever again!"

Osomatsu couldn't prevent a snort from escaping. He couldn't prevent Chibita from somehow summoning a ladle from thin air and smacking him with it either.


	6. Chapter 6: Cunning and Cavalier

"We're really sorry about earlier!" Aida bowed her head, with Sachiko following her friend's every move. Osomatsu wondered if they even breathe air or drink water at the same time. "We really.." She made sure Chibita wasn't looking at their direction, lowering the volume of her voice as to make sure the other wouldn't hear. Thankfully, the oden shopkeeper was in a bad mood and was turned away, muttering something about his height. "..couldn't see him. We heard yelling from the floor, so we thought someone tripped instead." She whispered softly behind her hand, before waving it dismissively. "Well! It's all in the past now, I guess! What could we get for you two?"

Osomatsu snorted again, glad that Chibita couldn't smack him with his ladle, still wondering how he managed to summon it from thin air. He took out a few bills from his coin purse, as well as the money Chibita handed him for his treat. "Heh. I can see how you'll miss him with a counter this high up. It's fine though, so don't worry about it. He has a height complex sometimes and his temper's as short as he is. He'll get over it in an hour, or if we're lucky, just five minutes. As for our order.. I'd like black coffee please. Not too hot though, don't wanna burn my tongue or anything. My grumpy friend'll have a parfait, if that's fine."

"Of course!" Aida wrote the orders on her cute little notepad and ripped the paper to give to Sachiko, who scurried away to prepare the order. It seemed like they were the only ones working then, Osomatsu thought as he took out his own notepad and quickly scribbled notes with a red pen. He stuffed it back in his pocket afterwards, in which Aida didn't see him doing. "Alrighty then! Just sit back and relax sir as my friend Sachiko will prepare your order! We'll call you once your order has been done, mister..?"

Osomatsu looked up to her, grinning weakly. His anxiety was getting the best of him, as well as his lack of sleep from the previous week. But compared to Choromatsu and the rest of his brothers, who claimed to have stayed up for an entire month straight, his was pretty much nothing. "Ah. Matsuno's fine. Just call me Matsuno." Just to be on the safe side, he'll use his last name. He doubts Todomatsu is a Matsuno in this dimension, so using his last name won't hurt. "Also, I want to talk to you about something. If you don't mind me asking a few questions, that is."

The girl behind the cashier blinked, before letting out a sigh. "Oh? What is it then, Matsuno-san? Surely you do not plan to ask for a girl's phone number unlike the previous gentlemen that visited our lovely establishment?" Aida swore to god, if this was another man attempting to flirt with her or ask her for her phone number or her best friend Sachiko's, she will scream and tear her hair out of frustration and stress and probably quit her job on the spot.

"Ah? No. Not really." Osomatsu could have flirted with her on any other day and get rejected like he was a Karamatsu boy, but since he was busy worrying over his brothers, he set his priorities straight. "It's something important. Do you know someone by the name of Todomatsu? Or someone with a similar name that worked here? He's an old friend of mine, and I happen to hear from old buddies that he works here. I planned to see him, but guess he's not here." Though he planned to pretend that he would be disappointed, he really was.

Aida's shoulders seemed to tense at the mention of Todomatsu's name. Osomatsu hitched his breath again, feeling hopeful. "Oh. Uh. We don't know any Todomatsu who works here or had been an acquaintance. But we do know someone similarly named. His name is Katsuna Todo, and he used to work behind the cash register. Maybe he's the one you're looking for?" Aida suggested meekly.

..Todo? No silly little suffix at the end of his name? Then again.. it would make sense if Todomatsu didn't have the "Matsu" in his name, seeing as how he wasn't related to Osomatsu. Plus, their mom had been the one to suggest the little name at the end, to symbolize they were brothers. But Osomatsu was more focused on the fact that Todomatsu, besides having a different name, had a different surname as well.

Curious and deciding to go on with it, he rested his face on his arm as he leaned against the counter, trying to breathe properly again."Oh yeah! Todo-kun! Yup, uh, didn't see him in a long while. Silly me, I got his name confused with someone else's, haha. A-anyway.. I just got from the town to the city. I decided to see 'im again, since it's been awhile and all. Problem is, I don't know where he lives! He never really told me the name of his place. He always forgets." He made up on the spot.

Osomatsu patted himself at the back mentally once Aida seemed convinced at his little lie. She frowned though. "Are you sure? Todo's not really.. well, I won't sully your image of him. He used to be such a, well, normal guy. He was polite, he could be a bit teasing, but he was nice. I'm sure you know that by now." And Osomatsu did, because Todomatsu was his brother. "But recently, I think.. well, he's been hanging out with the wrong crowd. I don't know when he started it, but he's hanging out with the wrong crowd lately. He used to work here, but after attacking a customer once, he got fired. He's no longer allowed in here."

Okay, what? Todomatsu, his Todomatsu, didn't get fired from his job even though he literally dragged the older trio by their hoodies to hide in the bathroom and grabbed Ichimatsu from a table to throw onto a spoon cabinet as Jyushimatsu cleaned their deliberately spilled coffee. He didn't get fired, but Aida and Sachiko haven't been calling him by his nicknamed ever since, probably worried over the fact that Todomatsu himself was a complete nutcase just like his brothers. But Todomatsu, despite the fact that he was pretty damn dangerous and had the best aim and the best leg-game of all brothers, wouldn't attack a customer. Todomatsu didn't resort to violence as much as Ichimatsu or Choromatsu, and despite the fact he managed to make his words sound hurtful enough to stab through them, Todomatsu preferred to handle things in a civilized manner, like Karamatsu. That's why both of them went well together. They cared about their images more so than the other four.

Osomatsu was concerned. "Wrong crowd? Like.. bullies and all that stuff?"

"Something like that. Todo was so sweet, always being friendly to any customer. But there's always the other side of the coin." Osomatsu knew that too well, since his Todomatsu was the pinnacle of being two-faced. "I don't know what made Todo do it though. While he's not doing anything like smoking or anything worse, drug-dealing for example.. he's probably in the type of crowd that'd harass people on the street. Or if a person wanders to their hideout, they'd get a beating and get pick-pocketed. At least, that's what it seems like to me. With a name like Katsuna, you probably should know what kind of person you're dealing with."

"I see." No he didn't. Not at fucking all. "Do you happen to know where he lives?"

"Hn? Of course. That was your initial question, right? Sorry for babbling on." She scribbled something on her notepad, ripped the paper from the notepad, and handed it to Osomatsu. "He lives at Akatsuka Apartment Complex, room twenty-four at the fourth floor. He lives with a roommate named Kyabarie Kara. Heh. At least his roommate's nice and has enough patience to deal with the likes of him. His name matches him too, don't you think? It rolls off the tongue smoothly. Kyabarie Kara."

At first, Osomatsu thought that it was just some random guy named Todo when he decided to listen to Aida more. But hearing the name of the roommate, Kara, made Osomatsu instantly sure he was right on the money. Todomatsu and Karamatsu weren't brothers either, and instead of being named Matsuno Todomatsu and Matsuno Karamatsu, they were Katsuna Todo and Kyabarie Kara. Both had names that matched their personalities, Osomatsu concluded. He'd write that down in his notepad later. Folding the paper and stuffing it in his pocket, he bowed politely. "Thank you so much."

"No problem, Matsuno-san. Ah." Sachiko emerged from the door, holding a tray of the drinks Osomatsu had ordered. "Would you like Sachiko to bring it to your table?"

He smiled. "Oh, uh, sure. I still have a few questions, if that's okay. I mean, I haven't seen Todo-kun in awhile and I certainly would like to get to the bottom of this." He wasn't lying. He hadn't seen Todomatsu in an entire week, plus, he certainly wanted to know why his little brother was being a delinquent judging by Aida's story.

Sachiko was confused, but decided to bring the drinks to the table. Aida seemed to think for a moment before frowning. "How about later on my break instead, Matsuno-san? I mean, I still have a job to do."

"Of course."

Osomatsu headed back to the table as a curious Sachiko asked Aida what was going on. After the girl had told her best friend it was nothing to worry about, Osomatsu slumped against his chair as Chibita grabbed his parfait and started to furiously eat it. Still steamed. He was surprise Chibita could handle something so sweet. Then again, Chibita would probably tell him that Osomatsu must be bitter enough to handle black coffee, no cream, milk, or any sugar whatsoever. As Osomatsu asked, it wasn't hot to the point it was bubbling and emitting a deathly aura similar to Ichimatsu's.

Osomatsu scribbled the address to his notepad, as well as the few things he found out about this dimension's Todomatsu and Karamatsu. After he was done, he took out his dimension's Todomatsu's phone out of his pocket and started texting. "I've learned about Todomatsu and Karamatsu in this dimension. They're not brothers, but they're roommates, so they're probably close friends or something. Anyway, their names are different, but I'm sure it's them. Todomatsu's is Todo, and his last name is Katsuna. Karamatsu's is Kara, and his last name is Kyabarie. I'm sure the Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, and Choromatsu of this universe don't have a 'Matsu' in their name and have different surnames as well." He muttered to himself as he sent the text, Chibita ignoring him as he angrily ate his treat.

While the longest it took for him to receive a message was only ten seconds, this one took exactly fifteen seconds. As soon as Osomatsu glanced at the new message, he didn't know whether to feel happy or slightly worried. Or disgusted. Or ecstatic. Or angered. Or pained. Or everything he just mentioned. But mostly pained.

 **"Brother! I sent our little brother Choromatsu home five minutes ago. What you said certainly sounds interesting! But how can me, a guilt guy, a sinful man, deserve such a honorable name? I have informed Doctor Dekapan of this information and he has promised to research more about this matter as soon as he finishes his break. Such kind people are helping us into bringing you back to our world, my dearest and only big brother! We can only hope for the best and pray for your safety until our unity's powers are enough to bring you back from that hell in which you woke up at-"**

Chibita was confused on why Osomatsu suddenly drank his entire mug of bitter coffee in one go. When he asked him about it, Osomatsu only said he could handle the bitterness of the coffee and the text he received from one of his brothers caused his entire being to go numb from cringe. Chibita decided not to ask anything regarding the second brother afterwards, and even refused to look at the message in fear of feeling actual physical pain from a text.


	7. Chapter 7: The Blue Gentleman

Aida and Sachiko had different break periods, Osomatsu learned just by eavesdropping a few customers who attempted and failed to get either girl's phone number. While they worked together half the time, during a break of either two, they'd be all on their own for fifteen minutes until it's time for the other to help them again. As the café soon started getting more customers that prefer the warmth of the café instead of the winter coolness, Osomatsu learned more about what he had to do next and waited patiently for Aida's break to come around. Chibita was across him in his own seat, just chatting with Osomatsu about how offended he was at how Aida and Sachiko ignored him due to his short stature.

To be fair, Chibita only reached Osomatsu's stomach area. Or his chest area. Hell, Osomatsu couldn't tell at the moment, since they were both sitting down. But after Chibita's rant was over and he asked about Osomatsu's chat with Aida, Osomatsu told them that after he gathered more information on Todomatsu and Karamatsu, or Todo and Kara in this universe, they would head to Akatsuka Apartment Complex. "She said that they were roommates. Those two were battle partners, like me with Choromatsu or Ichimatsu with Jyushimatsu. They care about their images a lot, have a tendency to shine more so than the four of us, and are our fashion experts. Though Todomatsu's a two-faced bastard at times and Karamatsu's absolutely painful."

Chibita nodded. Unlike Choromatsu, Karamatsu seemed to text more about the fact that they all missed him, instead of clear instructions. After a little more texting, Karamatsu finally decided to text the next steps to the eldest Matsuno. "You seem really excited, idjit. Calm down, you're bouncing in your seat if you haven't noticed, damn it. Good thing no one's lookin' at us." Commented Chibita with a sigh, tapping the small spoon against the glass of where he ate the parfait. It was empty now, since Chibita had finished eating it minutes ago. "Ah. Here she comes. After you're done, let's meet up outside. Iyami'd probably be waiting for us already, that idjit." Chibita stood up from his seat and offered it to Aida, who once again apologized for not seeing him earlier. "Yeah yeah whatever. You two make it quick, damn it." He grumpily mumbled, huffing as he went outside.

Aida sat on Chibita's chair. "You want to know more about Todo's recent issues and his roommate Kara, right? I can tell you a few things about Todo, but Kara? Not so much. He only came here about four times, all in which are to bring Todo his lunch that he forgot or something. So it's pretty much a given that Kara seems to look out for Todo a lot, almost like a big brother." Which he is in my world, Osomatsu told himself mentally. "I think he and Todo were childhood friends. Todo and Kara started living together in an apartment ever since Todo's guardian died. Poor guy. Anyway, Kara has been living by himself since he was in high school. He and Todo haven't attended any other universities or anything of the like ever since graduating high school, since they think it'd be a hassle. Todo got a job as a cashier here, but we know how that ended up. He was here for a good three months. I doubt he's gonna look for another job now, since he's been hanging out with those guys. I wonder how Kara's taking it. I mean, they are as close as brothers!"

Osomatsu nodded, taking notes. Though he thought Aida would question him, she simply carried on with the conversation. "Todo-kun's guardian? Ah, I see. That really is a shame. Then, how about Kara? You did say he's been living all on his own since high school, right? Did Todo-kun say anything about that issue? I doubt I've heard about his roomie Kara." Osomatsu didn't know anything about Kara probably because he hadn't met the alternate version of his brother yet. He was looking forward to it though.

Aida clicked her tongue. "No. He prefers not to talk about it. As for Todo, well, you probably know he's a sweet guy. Sassy too, almost like a girl. But I never would have guessed someone like him would have a darker side.. but he has excellent aim and is really flexible, since he goes to the gym a lot. We went to a carnival once and playing darts was his favorite game there. He also likes fishing. He says Kara taught him how and they usually go fishing by the beach. But I doubt he has time for fishing now."

Fishing? That was what Osomatsu and Todomatsu did with Karamatsu, though mostly the youngest went with him. And darts? That made sense too. Todomatsu loved darts when they went to carnivals, or any game that required good aim. Besides, if he didn't like the prize he won from playing carnival games, he'd give it to any of his brothers. If it was a cat, it was straight to Ichimatsu. If it was some sort of cheap plastic accessory, it was either Karamatsu or Osomatsu. If it was a plastic bug or a stuffed insect, or anything that looks remotely close to being a bug, it was Jyushimatsu. If it was anything regarding cute anime girls, it was Choromatsu. Todomatsu only liked to play those games, and didn't particularly care for the prizes. "Still the same, I guess." He muttered under his breath.

Aida heard, but since she suspected him of being Todo's old friend, she didn't seem suspicious. "He loves those kinds of games a lot. Video games too, such as shooting games. Really, anything to do with aim." She added with a sigh. "Though now that he's kind of dangerous ever since we fired him, it's kind of worrisome on how he'll put his amazing aim to use when it comes to fighting someone.."

That went back to Osomatsu's question. "That reminds me. When did you fire Todo-kun? How did he attack your customer?"

"When did we fire him? About three weeks ago, I think. That customer he was serving was either illiterate or just wanted to mess with him, because he kept annoying Todo so much. Like asking him to repeat what he said about four times in a row, ordering things not in the menu at all, overall, just being a prick and a waste of time." She twirled a strand of her hair. "And I understand if Todo got irritated, I really do. But he grabbed a menu board and.." She fiddled with the cuffs of her polo nervously. "Threw it like a frisbee, straight to his eyes too. Then once he got to the ground, he crushed his stomach area with his foot. Then rolled him to the other corner before kicking him. Sachiko and I were on our break that time the customer started annoying him and we were only at the staff's room. We came out as soon as Todo had thrown the menu board. We stopped him too, along with our manager who fired him on the spot. It wasn't until a week later that we heard from our manager the things Todo has been doing. Sometimes, Sachiko and I see him in the city. And he looks a bit more punk instead of the feminine guy type."

Three weeks ago, Osomatsu noted and scribbled on the notepad. Threw a menu board at a customer at the same fashion with Karamatsu, but it was charged with much more anger and irritation. Stepped on the customer and kicked him mercilessly. Sounds like something Todomatsu would do if something absolutely pissed him off, but this Todo guy was this dimension's version of his brother. They had to at least have some similarities. As Aida said, he was somewhat of a feminine man, flexible as hell, had perfect aim, and liked fishing and darts. Yup. Sounded like his Todomatsu.

"Would that be all, Matsuno-san?" Asked Aida as if she was taking his order again. "You sure you want to visit him? I mean, he's probably not the Todo you know anymore."

"Even if Todo-kun were to end up doing something out of line.." Osomatsu said as he stuffed the notepad and pen back in his pocket. "He'd still be Todo to me." He'd still be Todomatsu, Osomatsu's snarky youngest brother, the same one he and Choromatsu always argued with regarding his secret life on the outside world. Even if one of them were to end up as murderers, Osomatsu knew that he would always be their big brother no matter what. They had the same face and the same blood flowing through their veins.

"I am me, and I am them" was his logic, apparently. After all, they had the same face. Six same faces.

"I see." Aida sighed. No use changing this guy's mind, as it seems.

Osomatsu stood up from his seat, bowing politely. "Thank you so much for all the help. I'll be sure to visit Todo-kun and his roommate. I'd like to help Todo-kun back on the right path as much as I could." Because I'm his older brother, Osomatsu reasoned with himself. "Uh, do you need some sort of payment? I mean, I did take half your time and all-"

Aida waved her hands frantically. Accepting money from a customer and pocketing it wasn't exactly allowed. "No no! It's fine! I'm glad to be of assistance to a customer, even if it has nothing to do with the café that much!" She assured. "But, Matsuno-san. If you're really planning on, well, bringing Todo back on the right path as you claim.. do be careful around him. I know you might see him as a really nice guy, and I'm sure he still is deep down. But he's changed. A lot. There's a chance you won't be able to bring back the old Todo. But if you have the confidence that you'll be able to make him see what he's doing wrong, go for it." She rubbed her forehead. "Just don't say I didn't warn you."

He had handled over twenty-something years of Todomatsu growing up to be a two-faced bastard, he could handle Todomatsu being some sort of yakuza or delinquent-wannabe. "I'll be fine. Thanks for the concern. I can handle myself just fine though." He assured. On the corner of his eye, he could see Iyami's van pulling up and Chibita impatiently waiting for him by tapping his foot against the snow. Osomatsu made one last bow to Aida. "Well, my ride's here. I'm off to see Todo-kun now. Thanks again for the help, Aida-san."

Osomatsu left his seat and waved goodbye to Aida, who did the same. As Aida was about to go to the staff's room in order to grab her sandwich and eat it before her break ends, she noticed something.

She didn't tell Osomatsu Matsuno-san her name, so how did he..?

* * *

Akatsuka Apartment Complex wasn't too far, but if Osomatsu had walked, it'd probably would have taken him an entire hour to get to his destination. As Iyami pulled up the van at the parking lot outside, Osomatsu had already exited the vehicle in order to go to the information desk. Chibita and Iyami followed him in silence as they watched a serious Osomatsu from another dimension gripping onto a notepad containing the notes he had taken from Aida. As the man at the information desk confirmed that someone named Katsuna Todo lived at room twenty-four with Kyabarie Kara, Osomatsu headed straight for the elevator with Iyami and Chibita.

"Karamatsu said that the next step is to figure out as much as I could about them." Osomatsu suddenly spoke up in the quiet elevator playing typical jazz music. Surprisingly, Karamatsu said that every brother, besides Jyushimatsu, knows what to do in order to get Osomatsu back in their dimension. Jyushimatsu didn't know because he had been sick ever since Osomatsu's disappearance and was only getting worse as time passed, hence he often stayed at the house instead of going to Dekapan's lab to see the progress. Karamatsu had told Ichimatsu about how they were able to contact Osomatsu now, and knowing how much Ichimatsu cared for the well-being of Jyushimatsu more so than the other brothers, he probably told the fifth brother. As some sort of motivation and something he could look forward to once he feels better. "And I have to tell them. Convince them that in another dimension, I'm their eldest brother and I need their help to get back to my world. If Kara is anything like Karamatsu, he'd be willing to help and would believe me instantly."

The tallest individual in their group snorted. "Just like that?" Iyami scoffed. "Heh. List your brothers and yourself from most to least gullible, Osomatsu. Me wonders how the Iyami in your dimension could manage to scam all your brothers including you. There are six of you. You have to be very gullible to fall for the same trick at once." He said. During the trip from the town to the city, Osomatsu told Iyami and Chibita about some of their little misadventures as children and even adults, including one where Iyami and Chibita often teamed up to cause trouble against the sextuplets, as well as pretend to be girls in order to steal all their money. He wonders how gullible the brothers are.

"Jyushimatsu's the most gullible for sure." Osomatsu sighed. "He may be the second youngest, but even Todomatsu agrees that he's practically the baby of the bunch. While he isn't as much of a scaredy-cat as Todomatsu is, he's nice to a fault. He would believe in anything you say and would listen to you as long as you promise to be his friend. Hah. But even with him being the most gullible, none of us would be so forgiving if someone messed with our brother. Next is Karamatsu, probably. Guy's sensitive and all and believes in anything as long as there's tears involved. Then it's me, I guess. I'm easily swayed by money. Next is Chorofappyski. Just tell him it has something to do with cute girls or idols. Next is Todomatsu, since he's cunning as shit, and the least likely to believe in anything is Ichimatsu. Which could be a problem when it comes to handling him in this world."

"The hell you worryin' about that one brother then? We'll cross that bridge once we get there, damn it. For now, you have to deal with the second eldest and the youngest, right? The second to be the most gullible, and the second that's least likely to be gullible. You're dealing with them, not your supposed vessel of darkness brother. He's our problem for later, damn it." Chibita reminded, the elevator doors sliding open as the three of them step out. "Room twe- ah! There it is! And it's painfully bright as hell too!" Chibita pointed to the room at the farthest east corner. Potted plants decorated with ornaments were outside, as well as Christmas lights and decorations meant for Christmas. Chibita squinted his eyes before spotting something that seemed to be weirder than the fact he was walking alongside his childhood friend from another dimension. "Is.. is that.. is that a sequin scarf.. wrapped around a ficus?"

Alas, it was. A ficus with a blue sequin scarf wrapped around it. On the top of the plant was a hand-knit blue beanie to match.

"The hell is that?!" Chibita pointed at it almost as if it was the most disgusting thing in the face of the earth. Forget the Karamatsu tank tops and glittery heels, Osomatsu had to admit it was extremely painful and somewhat disturbing to look at, so he didn't question why Chibita started complaining loudly about the plant. Thank god there were no people in the hallways. "It's a plant! It's a fucking potted plant with a scarf wrapped around it, damn it! Is this what city folks think is trendy nowadays?! The hell?!"

"Me thinks that isn't how you keep plants alive. Or warm. How does that even work?" Iyami added with a deadpan expression. Iyami knew he himself wasn't the brightest star in the night sky of their town, but this one? How the hell does this even work? Can plants even feel warmth? "Chibita, I know you're freaking about the scarf, but there is also a hat present."

"Fucking Karamatsu, I swear to god." Osomatsu sighed, though there was amusement laced in his voice. "Even in another dimension, he thinks dressing a plant up with a scarf'll warm it up or something. He did the same with our Christmas tree once, back when we were at high school. We thought it was a bunch of rainbow colored party streamers. Turns out, he knitted a long-ass rainbow scarf for our Christmas tree, and Jyushimatsu helped him put it around. Come to think of it.. this scarf looks similar to the scarf he used to wrap around the tree, just a different material.."

"The hell are we waiting for?! That plant to start wearing a coat?!" Chibita tapped his foot impatiently, obviously irked by the sight of a houseplant wrapped in a scarf and wearing a hat. "Go see him, idjit!"

"Right, right."

With each step Osomatsu took, he started to feel that sick feeling in his stomach again. He kept telling himself there was nothing to worry about. He was going to see his two little brothers. But there was something thumping in his chest, in which he calmed himself down by gripping onto the scarf Karamatsu knit for him. Rubbing the outside of his coat pocket with his free hand, he sighed in relief upon realizing he didn't forget the syringe. Or the notepad. He'd use it later when he needed to calm himself. "Easy steps." He murmured to himself. "This is Karamatsu and Todomatsu. The two-faced guys, the guys hiding behind masks." He reminded himself. "A nice guy hiding behind a supposed cool exterior, and a demon hiding behind a cutesy facade. A younger brother who is a gentleman and a crafty little sibling."

Opposites were common when they split into pairs, Osomatsu noticed. It wasn't intentional, since they were all so similar when they were kids. From faces to outfits, they had little to no difference at all, besides the fact Choromatsu wore a shirt underneath his hoodie, Karamatsu had his sleeves rolled up, Todomatsu had his pants rolled up in a fashion similar to Karamatsu's sleeves, Jyushimatsu had the longest sleeves as well as the only one who wore ankle socks and shorts, and Ichimatsu had jogging pants instead of the other brothers', except Jyushimatsu's, trendy jeans.

But as they grew, they became their own individual. Osomatsu became the lazy brother. Karamatsu became the cool-guy wannabe. Choromatsu became the fussy mother hen. Ichimatsu became the tsundere-ish loner type. Jyushimatsu became the oddball of insanity. Todomatsu became the sassy and spoiled. And their battle partners seemingly remained the same, even as they grew distant from one another. Well.. besides Osomatsu and Jyushimatsu with the rest of the brothers, because honestly, Osomatsu was the eldest and he often bugged the others and Jyushimatsu did the same, except in.. uh, a different.. way.

And by different, he meant by playing with them as if he was a child, even more so than Osomatsu.

That wasn't the point though. The lazy and the responsible. The cunning and the cavalier. The vessel of darkness and the entity of happiness. Opposites attract, even by accident and not in a romantic way. They were brothers, their bonds were stronger than steel, and no matter what they would end up as, either successful or a criminal, Osomatsu would love them either way. Because they were brothers, despite their differences.

Once he reached the door and felt the supportive nods of Chibita and Iyami, he swallowed the lump on his throat and gently knocked on the door, exactly six times. When he heard footsteps click against the wood on the other side of the door, he forced himself to not hitch his breath and almost kill himself in the exact same fashion as in the car earlier. He heard light switches click on the other side, the trudging of footsteps, and the sound of a lamp falling from a few rooms away. But despite that, the lock clicked and the door opened.

Osomatsu found himself face to face with a look-a-like with a few differences besides the thick eyebrows. His eyes were a deep blue color instead of the usual black, but at least his hair remained the same hairstyle and color. He was currently wearing the same hoodie as Osomatsu, but the family symbol wasn't present. Instead, it was a certain someone's painful face while wearing glasses. The sleeves were rolled up, which made absolutely no sense to Osomatsu since it was really cold. He was possessing normal jeans and was only wearing thick white socks. Not the long ones Jyushimatsu wore, but the ones that a schoolboy would usually wear. Hanging on the collar of his hoodie were a pair of gleaming sunglasses, painfully polished to the point it could ruin someone's sight if the sun were to glare directly at it.

"Yes?" The man behind the door asked as the door opened. "How may I help you?"

Chibita and Iyami's presences were forgotten by Osomatsu, as he felt tears prickle on the edge of his eyes. Nevertheless, he tried to force himself to stutter out the other's name. "Kyabarie Kara-kun, I presume?"

The other Karamatsu, Kara, raised an eyebrow. That was, before he made a painful grin that was supposed to look cool. To Osomatsu's relief and slight disgust, he felt a physical manifestation of cringe crawl on his back. "Heh. That's me. Are you another Kara boy from my fanclub, my friend? Haha, just kidding." He joked before seeing the stranger at his door accompanied by his two friends seemingly went deadly silent, not even their breaths could be heard. "And who are you, my good fellow?"

Osomatsu gulped. It was now or never. "Kyabarie Kara. My name is Matsuno Osomatsu and I'm your big brother."


	8. Chapter 8: I'm Your Big Brother!

Kyabarie Kara was considered a gentleman, despite his gullible nature and his tendency to be the victim to unfortunate events. But he needed to keep his cool persona for his Kara boys and girls! Katsuna Todo, his roommate, his number one supporter, his childhood friend, and practically his brother-figure, had always told him that by keeping his cool persona active at all times, even around strangers, he was sure to emit an aura that would make people believe in themselves and make the city seem like a better place, even with the criminal activity going on recently. Heck, Todo told him that if he showed the world he cared about his ficus outside, wonderfully named Rosa by your's truly, everyone would feel a little better every time they exited their apartment rooms.

He had no idea why this stranger who was claiming to be his older brother stood outside alongside two individuals, one taller and one shorter in comparison. Not to mention, the man had a frown! An actual frown plastered across his face! His lip was quivering and tears were streaming down his cheeks and Kara didn't know what to do, because he was sure Rosa would have lifted this man's spirits as soon as he saw her outside with the lovely scarf Todo had bought for her and the beautiful hat Kara had knitted, but this man was crying and his two accomplices seemingly noticed after an unknown amount of time and started nudging him on his sides and telling him to stop crying-

"Why don't you all come inside?" Kara gestured to his home and stepped to the side to make room for them to come in. He cleaned up all the mess Todo made earlier, since Kara was a neat freak ever since he was a little boy, and because he knew Todo would complain about how messy the house was, despite the source of the mess being Todo himself. Nonetheless, Kara wouldn't embarrass Todo with such a trivial thing like that. "It is rather cold. And I'm sure we can discuss this matter better with a cup of tea! Do excuse me if it is such a mess, but I didn't expect any visitors today at all."

Chibita and Iyami were taken aback by this painful man's hospitality towards strangers. After hearing a few more sniffles from Osomatsu, Chibita nodded and went inside as Iyami ushered his childhood friend to also go inside Kara's domain, while murmuring something to him that had something to do with the fact that he was crying. Chibita looked around the apartment, noticing the abusive amount of supposedly men's perfume wafting through the air as soon as he stepped in. Besides that, everything looked rather nice. The floors and furniture were polished, orange lights gave the room a somewhat calming feeling, and he inwardly cringed once he saw a frilly apron and a painful-looking one hanging on the doorknob leading to someone's room.

The sofas were soft too with about six pillows, so Chibita, Iyami, and Osomatsu sat there as Karamatsu busied himself in the kitchen preparing treats for his guests. Chibita would argue that he already had a parfait earlier, but Iyami probably didn't have anything to eat as soon as they got in the city, because Iyami only drank a mug of beer and ate his oden about three hours ago. Or was it four? Didn't matter. Besides, Osomatsu drank his entire mug of bitter coffee in one go with nothing else, so he was probably hungry too. Though Chibita wasn't really hungry compared to those two. "Ah, uh.. sir-"

"Please! Call me Kara! Formalities are nothing more than what you use to address strangers! And you are my guests, not strangers." Kara came back to the living room with a tray on one hand, a box of tissues on the other. He set down the tray, containing a pile of freshly baked cookies on one large plate, and three cups of green tea. "The cookies are still warm, thankfully. I hope you do enjoy it with the tea. And for you!" He gently set down the box of tissues on Osomatsu's lap, who was looking down at his own lap and was still sniffling. "My good fellow, there is no need for such tears! Do tell me what brings you to my humble abode! And help yourself to the cookies. My roommate loves those cookies, but I have another fresh batch awaiting him."

If there was any word Chibita and Iyami agreed on when deciding an adjective for the man's vocabulary, they would have to go with "painful". Not complex, not educated. Just plain painful. Honestly, at this time and age, who in the actual living fuck would still decide to speak like someone out of an old movie, and a bad one at that? "Uh.. thanks." Iyami said as he took one cookie and bit into it, which was hard to do so with his overbite and all. To his relief, it actually tasted good and was thankful it didn't taste like what his apartment smelled like; bad cologne. "Me thinks it's pretty good."

Kara swelled with pride, but it was more like a giddy teenager being praised. His cookies were one of the things Todo appreciated, so he made sure to make it a lot. "Really? Thank you! I'm glad I baked a lot of cookies today, even if I didn't expect such a visit." He sat across them, at the other sofa. "Oh. It is alright for you to take off your coats. It's warmer here than it is outside. I'm sure you feel stuffy with those on."

Chibita nodded and took off his own coat and scarf. When Osomatsu didn't make a move to remove his own, Iyami gently removed Osomatsu's beanie and took off his coat, as Chibita took off Osomatsu's scarf and mittens and set them to the side with his own clothes. "Oi, Osomatsu. The hell are with those tears?" Chibita addressed his childhood friend. "You were looking forward to meet this guy, right? Then stop sobbin' like a baby, damn it." He ripped a tissue from the box and handed it to Osomatsu's slightly chilly hand.

Finally, Osomatsu responded. He took the tissue, sneezed into it and crumbled it into his palm. "Sorry for the waterworks." He mumbled as he wiped his teary eyes with the sleeve of his red hoodie. He was the eldest brother and he wasn't supposed to react that way, Osomatsu told himself. Karamatsu was his slightly younger brother, and Kara, this blue-eyed gentleman was this dimension's version of his brother. He was still painful, hospitable, and kind of an idiot, so Osomatsu didn't complain. This guy was his brother. "Got overwhelmed by your presence for a sec. Almost thought you weren't real."

Kara chuckled in amusement. "I am very much real, Matsuno-san. Flesh and blood, as well as a perfectly healthy, beating heart."

Osomatsu thankfully had his senses back, so he snorted once Kara replied to him. "Hey, weren't you the one who said to quit it with the formalities?" He chided. It was almost like the time he went fishing with Karamatsu and got exposed to Karamatsu's ridiculous tank top and his contact lenses. Todomatsu somehow popped out of the river after that. "Just call me Osomatsu." Matsuno-san could refer to any of his brothers, Osomatsu thought. He reached out to his own mug of tea and took a light sip, regretting the fact he didn't take his time with his coffee earlier. Well how was he supposed to react when he suddenly got a painful text from one of his brothers? "And I'm sure what I said earlier isn't forgotten, am I right?"

"Osomatsu. It is a rather nice name." Kara commented with a smile, though Osomatsu could tell it was utter bullshit. For god's sake, his name meant "lame" and "ill-prepared", so where was the good in that? "You did claim to be my brother, correct? Specifically, my older brother?" Osomatsu nodded, in which Kara only made another painful grin at that. "I do very much believe you! After all, everyone in this planet is my brother and my sister! Why, we all live in the same earth, breath the same air, and mostly look at the same sun and moon. Or moon, we cannot directly look at the sun."

 _You can't be serious._

If cringe had a physical form, it would be both Matsuno Karamatsu and Kyabarie Kara, both who are practically the same person and practically had the exact same level of cringe. Iyami gagged on the cookies he had already consumed and Chibita felt like he just witnessed a murder of an entire family. This guy's family to be precise. This guy probably murdered his own family with his own words! "Is he actually serious..?" Osomatsu heard Iyami whisper to Chibita. The smaller male attempted to ignore what Kara had said and drunk the tea. "Me thought Osomatsu was lying when he said one of his brothers was painful.."

That disgusting sensation of cringe crawled onto Osomatsu's back, his mind slightly remembering that ficus from outside. "Kara- _kun_." Osomatsu rubbed his forehead in exasperation, emphasizing the honorific. He knew how to handle this, but it didn't mean he was used to it. It was like dealing with a spider back at home; he knew how to kill it. Just use a flamethrower! But it didn't mean he liked doing it. "I didn't come all the way from the town to the city to simply tell you what you believe in. I'm your older brother, really."

"That seems impossible, Osomatsu." Kara sighed. "We do have different surnames for one. You are a Matsuno, and I am a Kyabarie. Second, your eyes are as black as the night sky and mine are as a deep blue as the sea! Your eyes are pretty, nonetheless! You claim to have come from the town outside this city, but I have been here all my life! I was born into this world by my mother who is very much a Kyabarie, and I was bought into this world by my parents and the doctors of Akatsuka City's hospital! I grew up and studied at Akatsuka City's local schools with a dear friend I live with in my humble abode and a friend I grew up with, and-"

Enough of the painful language.

"We look alike, you know." Osomatsu pointed out the obvious. Iyami and Chibita, who had remained silent throughout their entire exchange, were honestly amused by the fact that Osomatsu went from a sobbing heap to a rather composed and immune-to-cringe clone of their Osomatsu from another dimension. Aside from pointing out that fact, Osomatsu crossed his legs as Kara finally realized. Slow. Kara was slow. He was a bit like Karamatsu, who was slow at times. "Kyabarie means 'cavalier'. I'm not that good with complex Japanese, but I do know that means something about being a gentleman, right? And I know for a fact that you are one." Osomatsu pointed out. "You're the kind of guy that has a little old lady fanclub, one that consists of all those ladies you've helped cross the streets or carry the groceries. You're the kind of guy to believe in nearly anything." Nearly anything, mainly because Karamatsu was the second most gullible, as he discussed earlier with Iyami. "You dressed up that ficus outside. It has a name, doesn't it? What is it, Daisy?"

"Rosa. Her name is Rosa. Daisy died a long time ago, I'm afraid. She was such a lovely plant, but alas, it was her time." Kara remembered yet another old potted plant he had dressed up with, except that one had a flowing white hat with blue ribbons tied around her stem. He couldn't recall if it was another ficus, though. But he did know that houseplant was dressed nicely for spring. "How do you know about my Kara girls? I doubt you heard it from a rumor, seeing as how I'm only a rumor in their little haven. What happens there stays there." Kara asked. That little, adorable fanclub of old ladies that were at the retirement house were fond of Kara ever since he helped the caretakers of that place with their groceries. Hey, they said he had a nice backside too! He took pride in that! "And how do you know about how.." He looked away, almost in shame. Todo always told him that was his biggest weakness. "How do you know about.. how gullible I am?"

He wasn't a victim to bullying due to how gullible he was. Kara was fairly strong and could throw a punch to anyone who would hurt the weak. But he was a sensitive person, a sinful man, a guilt guy. People always told him that he was easily swayed as long as a person had either a pretty face, or a sob-filled story to tell. He was ashamed that even of how cool he was (or he thought he was), he easily believed in anything anyone would say. Plus, many people said his vocabulary was painful! How can his words cause such physical pain to those he wanted to amuse? To those he wanted to believe in themselves?

Osomatsu, this stranger who claimed to be the blue gentleman's older brother, sighed. "You do have boundaries though, Kara. Like me telling you I'm your brother. You don't believe that, do you?" He grabbed a cookie by his fingers, eyes softening once he felt the texture of the snack. Exactly the same as Karamatsu's. "But I bet if I cried longer and harder, you'd believe me. Wouldn't you now?" A smirk crept onto his face.

The other clenched his fists which he used to clutch against the fabric of his own pants. "You don't know anything about me as much as you claim." Ah, Kara was losing his patience. Osomatsu wasn't fazed though. The only time he got to Karamatsu's bad side was when he kicked Jyushimatsu hard enough for the younger to hit the wall, and his anger only lasted until Osomatsu started crying. But that wasn't the point right now. "Are you making fun of me, Osomatsu-san?" And after all his hospitality? "And you come here in the coldness of winter, the loneliest and most quiet season of the year, and claim to be my brother? Claiming to know everything about me?"

Unknown to him, Osomatsu knew every single detail about him. Even with Iyami and Chibita looking at him in confusion and even the slightest bit of concern, Osomatsu continued acting like himself. "Nothing to be ashamed of, buddy. You name plants one by one, you bake cookies that taste good, and you have this vocabulary that you picked up ever since you were in high school, in order to be noticeable. And wearing that." He pointed to Kara's hoodie and sun glasses. "Makes your cool persona seem much more believable. And it's cool. Really. You don't need those ridiculous shades or that.. kinda disturbing hoodie in order to be cool. You're a nice guy, all in all. Or do you think that no one will think you're cool?" His shit-eating smirk was replaced by a genuine smile, one only a big brother with five little brothers could muster. "You don't have to pretend to be cool. You're pretty awesome for taking care of your friend, even if he's.." His thought shifted to this dimension's Todomatsu. "Not really.. the best example of a good guy."

And that did it. Kara raised his head and looked at Osomatsu with disbelief. "How.. how did you know about Todo?!" He made sure that every time Todo came home with bruises or with small stains of blood decorating his clothes, he washed it all off and wrapped each bruise or scar with bandages. He made sure that no one in this apartment complex would suspect Todo, his childhood friend, of being such a criminal. And no matter what, even if Kara would get accused of protecting a supposed thug that hung out with the wrong people, he would protect Todo. Because Todo was there for him when no one else was. "Don't.. don't tell me you told.."

So that was his fear in this dimension, Osomatsu concluded. He wanted to protect Todo. He was curious on what else Todo was doing besides dooming himself by hanging out with a bunch of bad influences for friends, but he was much more focused on Kara now. "I didn't tell anyone. But I guess your roomie's in a deeper pit. He dug way too deep and he can't re-surface all on his own." He sighed. This won't be easy then. "I learned from his old co-workers, Kara. I asked 'em. I don't think they know if your friend's doing anything much, much worse than what he's already doing. But that's not the point." Standing up from his seat and walking towards Kara, he slightly leaned forward to give a light pat on the other's shoulder. "Do you believe me now?"

"I'm not gullible." He said softly.

"You won't be gullible if you believe me." Osomatsu grinned. "In fact, you'd be really smart to believe me. I promise I won't tell any kind of police about Todo. Really."

Kara remained silent for awhile. He was gullible, he knew that. But this person, Osomatsu, there was something about him that made him feel at ease. Though he felt odd with Osomatsu seemingly testing his patience earlier, he wasn't.. it seemed like Osomatsu wasn't a bad person. A careless smile and the like to tease others, Osomatsu didn't seem like the type of person to break a promise. Kara hoped he wouldn't make anymore mistakes with this one. He had to protect Todo. "How are you my brother in any way?" He asked.

Ah. It was time. The time to drop the bomb and make it known he was nearly insane. Almost sheepishly, Osomatsu rubbed the back of his head. "Well, you may be an only child in this world. And so is Todo, if I'm right. But since you believe the fact I'm your brother, I guess it won't be hard to accept the fact that I'm also someone from another dimension. And in that dimension, we're sextuplets and you and Todo are my little brothers."

An awkward silence replaced the horrible smell of men's perfume, with the only sounds being heard were Iyami's nervous chattering with his overbite clicking against the tea mug, Chibita's heartbeat as he listened to the entire conversation and wished Kara would believe that fact as they believed Osomatsu, and Osomatsu's somewhat nervous foot-tapping against the wooden floor.

But with everything he heard today, Kara only released a heavy sigh. "I suppose.. that isn't all?"

Trust me, Osomatsu mentally told Kara. It wasn't all. He had a long story ahead of him, and these cookies were enough to satisfy his hunger as he explained to Kara what was really going on.


	9. Chapter 9: Familiar Faces

Iyami had asked permission from Kara if he was allowed to look through the apartment simply to satisfy his boredom, with Chibita chiming in and asking if he could at least cook something in Kara's kitchen to pass the time. Kara didn't mind and let the two men do as they pleased as he and Osomatsu had a really long chat about alternate dimensions and other selves. Again, Kara didn't believe in Osomatsu as soon as he started talking, up until Osomatsu demonstrated his creepy dimension texting application and texted to Karamatsu, and according to Osomatsu, Karamatsu was his version of Kara. The blue-eyed male was impressed at the application and was amazed at the fact that there was another him who was just as cool.

After explaining his situation perfectly, Osomatsu had carefully asked if he was allowed to inject the syringe into Kara. Naturally, he had been hesitant and really terrified at first, but after hearing what Osomatsu went through and his desperation to find his brothers, Kara couldn't help but be touched at how devoted Osomatsu was to going back to his little brothers. Besides, one of his little brothers was sick! Two of them were sleep-deprived! And the other two were in need of proper rest as well! He needed to get back to his own family and take responsibility of being the eldest! Thankfully, his sleeve had been rolled upwards so Osomatsu simply injected the liquid onto Kara. Kara wasn't afraid of needles, so though it stung, he shrugged it off.

A few minutes after Osomatsu finished explaining everything, he had collapsed on the couch, claiming that he told Iyami and Chibita the same thing a few hours ago and was tired from doing so. Osomatsu was currently doodling on his small notepad with his head rested against a pile of pillows and his legs dangling on the other side of the couch, eyes drooping lazily. Kara let them stay for a few hours before they went to the hotel, and as much as Kara would love for them to stay the night to get to know Osomatsu better, he knew they couldn't. Not until Todo came back home and Kara explained the situation to him.

He was just across the sofa Osomatsu was laying down on, noticing how peaceful he looked as he doodled on the little yellow notepad. "You seem calmer than you were earlier, Osomatsu." He told his supposed older brother. He did ask Osomatsu what he called the other in their dimension, in which Osomatsu only replied with either his name, or with the honorific "nii-san". Osomatsu did tell him he didn't have to call him by that unless he was comfortable, so he was still sticking with Osomatsu's real name. "Do you need anything?" He asked. The poor man had probably suffered an entire week of thinking he was insane, and he probably didn't have any decent sleep because his big brother instincts prevented him from doing so.

Osomatsu looked at him sleepily. "Nah. I'm fine. Thanks for the offer though." He murmured. "Kinda needed to cool down. Too much excitement in one day. We just got from the town to the city, plus, I spent half my morning packing and spent the afternoon setting my plans in motion. Y'know. Stopping by your bud's old workplace, gathering information, and dealing with a hellotta anxiety all at once. I just need to relax a bit before I start clucking around like a headless chicken again. One of my brothers told me that one of our younger brothers wanted me to use his old notepad to jot down notes and draw something to calm myself. Look." He showed Kara the notepad. "I doodled our family symbol. It's always been a pine tree. Lucky for my mom to have that name and my dad to have a nearly similar one, 'cept he also had a surname that matched."

It looked more of a bush to be honest, but Kara didn't dare to say that. He noticed it was the same symbol on Osomatsu's hoodie. "I see. So that symbol must mean a lot to you and your family. You do seem to miss them an awful lot." Noticing Osomatsu's eyes soften once he said that statement, he sighed. He still couldn't process the fact that this man across him was straight from another dimension, but it didn't matter now. "To wake up in a world where your loved ones are non-existent in the face of the earth, in which you feel their unwavering presence in your heart but your eyes cannot see them, your hands cannot reach out to theirs, and you cannot hear their voices or smell the scent their lives give off.. truly, it must be painful."

 _Not as painful as your vocabulary._

..Okay, maybe Osomatsu's emotional pain was much more painful than Kara's choice of words which caused pain to him physically. In fact, going through an entire week without it made him slightly miss the pain. Osomatsu shrugged, giving a weak grin to Kara as a response. God. He was really tired. And was probably turning into a masochist like Ichimatsu. "Yeah. But at least I know what's going on instead of mentally screwing myself up by thinking whether my brothers were real or not. And I found you too. It's enough to give me hope that I can go back to my own dimension."

Then his phone started blasting Nyaa-chan's hit song again. Osomatsu sighed. He wished that Karamatsu or Todomatsu would have thought of the ringtone instead of Choromatsu.

 **"Hello, my dear older brother who is also my only older brother! Since you have injected the liquid onto my other, yet equally beautiful self, he might experience slightly vivid dreams that can be quite disturbing. The effects of the syringe are to mostly 'share' our memories with them, and the more they accept those memories, the easier it will be to get you back home. Your presence in that dimension is causing a small bridge between ours and the one you're currently in. I suppose if we have enough, particularly six individuals with the same kind of energy, the bridge would be big enough for us to get you back home. They also only see the memories of their alternate self, so no need to worry about any of our alternate selves seeing the memories of others and causing problems. That is all you need to know, I assume? Please text me if there's anything you'd like to ask about. Again, do take care of yourself, Osomatsu-niisan."**

Osomatsu clicked his tongue as he mentally read the message. "The effects of the syringe are gonna take effect once you're sleeping, I guess. When you wake up, you'll probably remember some memories that aren't even yours. Karamatsu said that you'd need those memories to emit some sort of energy that builds some sort of bridge within this dimension and mine." Osomatsu told Kara, who was probably interested as he was repeatedly rubbing the spot Osomatsu injected earlier. "But I guess some memories would be disturbing. We all had traumatic events in our lives. It's best to sleep with a nightlight and a bottle of water beside ya."

Kara flicked his hair in an almost dramatic fashion. "Hm! I do appreciate your concern Osomatsu, however I can sleep even without a nightlight-"

"As your older brother," Osomatsu interrupted nonchalantly and raised a finger to silence Kara's protests. "I know what's best for you and you better listen to me. Probably. Whatever. When you go to bed later, leave your lights on or your lamp, if you have one. Have a bottle of water ready in case you need to drink something when you wake up from a disturbing memory. If you have any stuffed toys, keep 'em close. If you don't, make a pillow fort and bury yourself in it. Also, maybe have your roomie stay in the same room as you? It'll be safer that way." Osomatsu continued to suggest and Kara blinked in confusion as his response. Osomatsu frowned. "You don't want your poor onii-chan from another dimension to become as sleep-deprived as his other little brothers because he's worrying over you, right? Besides. You said Todo believes anything you say. He'll believe you as soon as you tell 'im. Put onii-chan's exhausted heart at ease." He said with a lazy grin.

Kara nodded slowly. "Uh.. of course. If it makes you feel at ease Osomatsu, then I will build the greatest pillow fort in all of Japan and gather all the stuffed animals both Todo and I possess from winning multiple carnival games and using our money in crane games. Hm, but should I also bring my darling Rosa inside? She might help me feel at ease with her lovely and graceful presence that provides me with nothing but a fuzzy feeling deep within my heart, but I am very sure she prefers the coldness of the winter season-"

"Leave the ficus outside. I don't trust that thing." Osomatsu shivered as he remembered the sight of a potted plant with a blue sequin scarf wrapped around it. And Kara probably used his free time to knit that ficus with a scarf. Besides that, Kara's vocabulary was jabbing through him and it hurts physically. Glancing at the window and seeing the city lights flicker in pretty colors, he sighed and sat up, grabbing his coat from the side. "As much as I'd love to stay and talk with you more, we have to get back to the hotel. I'm sure your roommate wouldn't appreciate coming home to a house full of strangers. And it's late. I'd hate to drool on your couch."

"Ah? So soon? Can you not stay for dinner, at least?" Kara asked in disappointment. "Very well.. I understand we should part our ways temporarily, but do not worry over a sinful man such as I! I will explain everything to my dear friend later and I know he will understand. Oh wait, I have something to give to you." He stood up from the sofa and went to his room, turning on the lights and seemingly rummaging through the drawers and cabinets. After a few more shifting, he exited the room and walked to Osomatsu with something gleaming on his palm. "Take this, Osomatsu."

Osomatsu took the tiny gleaming object, noticing it was a small rusty key with his apartment's number. "A key?" He inspected. It was a small silver key that was rusted, and if Osomatsu's version of Karamatsu was here, he'd probably say something about his heart being much more rusty than the key. But Kara spared him some of the painful lines, thankfully enough.

"Yes. Considering you are my older brother after all, I do not think this would be odd enough. Todo has his own, and so do I. This is just an extra key that I no longer use. My parents used to have it, but since they are no longer in this world, I might as well give it to someone else who is my family. My home is now your's! Though do clean up your mess yourself. I'll let you off today only because I just met you." He cheerfully replied, painfully grinning his painful grin. "So, feel free to-"

He was cut off when Osomatsu suddenly hugged him tightly, but not tight enough to destroy the sunglasses that were hanging on the collar of his hoodie. He might have to polish it later, but right now, it didn't matter. "Just take care of yourself, you painful idiot. Stupid younger brothers, always making the eldest carry the burden and making him worry a lot too." Osomatsu grumbled. And soon enough, Kara felt something wet stain his favorite blue hoodie. He didn't wear an undershirt today too, so he felt the hot tears against his rather chilly skin, even with the heater inside the room.

He smiled and ruffled the other's hair. Who cares if the older brother was supposed to do the hair-ruffling. Osomatsu probably needed comfort. And right now, Kara was his only family. It made Kara happy to finally be able to be seen as cool, even if he didn't have to keep that little facade Todo told him to keep up. Besides. Osomatsu was teasing him earlier for how gullible he was. Even if it were true, Kara couldn't help but be amused at how much of a kid Osomatsu was acting right now. "No problem, my brother."

* * *

Osomatsu and his two friends left fifteen minutes later, with Iyami awkwardly informing Kara that Chibita had accidentally made dinner and dessert as he tried to pass the time, using all ingredients in Kara's fridge in the process. Kara was nice enough to let them take some of the delicious-looking food Chibita made, and Osomatsu had asked if he could come to Kara's place the next day. Naturally he was allowed, since he already had his own key to Kara's house. As Kara watched his supposed older brother go inside Iyami's van as it drove off, he let out a sigh.

It had been a rather hectic day for Kara. But he knew Osomatsu had it worse. Osomatsu had learned too much today and had been informed by Chibita he nearly killed himself in the car by forgetting how to breathe. If anything, Osomatsu was dealing with all of this alone. Even with Iyami and Chibita around, Kara was sure that no one truly understood Osomatsu's pain besides Osomatsu himself. Rubbing his temples and giving a light and unnecessary pat to Rosa the ficus, he went back inside his house and started planning on what to eat first.

Chibita prepared a lot. There were usual meat dishes, with the addition of a rather greasy steak. Then there were salads and fruits on the side to make dinner seem much more healthy and to probably deal with the fact there were meat dishes everywhere. There was also enough rice to last four days. And somehow, Chibita had made oden. As for the dessert, it was something simple. Just a bunch of fruits from Kara's fridge that were slathered with chocolate syrup, the same one that Todo likes to add onto his pancakes every breakfast.

Todo was later than usual, so Kara decided to eat dinner by himself, but still left some for Todo. After eating, he decided to wash the dishes, clean the dinner table, and swipe off any crumbs from the cookies earlier. It seemed much more quiet without his visitors from earlier, though Kara reminded himself he was used to such loneliness when Todo wasn't around. He sighed and decided to clean the glass of his windows. He'd get to see the pretty city lights while cleaning it, so he didn't mind. Plus, he had nothing better to do, and cleaning was a productive hobby of his besides baking and knitting.

Before he was able to reach out to the cloth beneath the sink, the same cloth he used to clean anything that was made of glass in the entire apartment room, he suddenly felt something painful. His chest felt like it was housing some sort of wild animal. He slightly stumbled but managed to grip onto the sink, coughing loudly. He gripped onto his chest with one hand as he felt something throb, and it didn't seem to be his beating heart. It didn't take long for his head to start throbbing too. And it was more than painful. It was agonizing.

Images flickered in his mind, and Kara instantly knew this was what Osomatsu was talking about. But wasn't the drug supposed to take effect during Kara's slumber? He didn't care about that and focused on stumbling from the kitchen to his own room as unfamiliar images appeared in his mind and unfamiliar voices started screaming. He was also sure that he was the only one that heard the chanting of several different males, one of which sounded like his own voice and one that sounded like Osomatsu. Sitting on the edge of his bed and clutching his head with both of his hands, he silently started responding to the voices as they became clearer.

And when he opened his eyes, he could tell it was just an illusion that seemed so real.

In front of him, at the floor of his bedroom, were four identical-looking males. One was Osomatsu, wearing a red hoodie and pants, but lying on the floor and reading a manga book. On the corner of the room was a clone of Osomatsu and Kara, except he had messy hair and half-lidded eyes. He also wore a purple hoodie and black jogging pants, as well as purple slippers. He wasn't really doing anything besides watching yet another clone in the room, the one with the biggest smile and only one cowlick sticking out compared to Osomatsu and the gloomy-looking one. He was wearing a hoodie similar to Osomatsu's, but it was yellow in color and had longer sleeves compared to the others. Aside from that, he also wore shorts and ankle socks, and he was seemingly balancing himself on a big yellow ball. Finally, another clone was reading multiple magazines regarding work on the table while wearing the same hoodie as Osomatsu. Except his was green and Kara could see he was wearing a shirt beneath it. He also had the smallest pupils and had no cowlicks popping out.

Then someone entered in his room. Kara's eyes widened. An exact clone of Kara stepped inside the room and wore the same hoodie as he did, except it had Osomatsu's family symbol. He also wore his hoodie the exact same way as Kara, with the sleeves folded. Hanging on the collar of his clothes were identical sunglasses that were as polished as his. His clone and the others didn't seem to notice Kara's presence and acted normally.

The one in purple looked up with a look of disgust on his face. "Oi, Shittymatsu. Todomatsu was looking for you. He wanted to ask if you would go fishing with him." He grumbled, before he resumed to watching the one in yellow continue to play around.

Unfortunately, the cheerful one fell off the ball and nearly crashed his head onto the table, if not for Osomatsu reacting quickly and catching him before he hit his head. Everyone in the room then ran towards the duo in concern, particularly Kara's copy, who was fussing over the one in yellow more so than the green one, who was checking the sides of his head for any bruise. "My little Jyushimatsu!" Kara's copy cried in distress. Kara could swear he could see tears prickle on the edges of his copy's eyes. "Are you alright? Please be careful!"

"I'm alright! Hustle hustle! Muscle muscle!" The one in yellow, dubbed as little Jyushimatsu by Kara's copy apparently, squirmed out of Osomatsu's grip and jumped into the air, loudly cheering as if he didn't fall. The one in green and Kara's copy both seemed to act even more worried and started to fuss about his non-existent head injury, but Osomatsu and the purple one sighed in unison and in relief, before cracking small smiles. "Fishing with Karamatsu-niisan! I like fishes! Cats like fishes! Ichimatsu-niisan, can cats catch fish?" He started chanting loudly. "Fishy fishy fishy!"

The only sane one in the room sighed. "I doubt that cats go fishing, Jyushimatsu. Cats hate water and with their paws, they probably won't be able to hold a fishing rod properly, nor have the patience to wait for fish to let themselves get caught. Ichimatsu can confirm." The one in green rubbed his forehead, then looked at Kara's copy. "But yeah. Totty was looking for you. He wanted to go fishing to blow off some steam. I guess he had some flaming wars or something in one of his social media accounts. Someone said one of his pictures were fake."

"Specifically one of his recent selfies with us." Osomatsu snorted in amusement, rubbing his nose with his index finger and grinning the same grin he did earlier. Kara watched as they conversed with each other casually. "You know even if Totty pretends to hate us, he likes to take selfies with us and show off his older brothers on the internet. A lot. And some moron on the internet said he photoshopped all of us in the picture. How you fuck up that bad, I don't know. Seriously, aren't we famous enough? Choromatsu, we should cause more trouble to get more attention." Osomatsu pretended to pout, and the green one, Choromatsu, hit him on the head.

Kara's copy, Karamatsu, nodded. "He's probably at our usual fishing spot. Very well then, my brothers. I shall accompany our youngest brother. I do hope you have a good day." Three of them waved him goodbye as the purple one, Ichimatsu, ignored him as he left the room to grab his fishing gear. But as soon as Karamatsu exited the room, the copies suddenly disappeared.

As they vanished, so did the pain in Kara's chest and head. Everything suddenly went back to normal, almost as if that little illusion didn't happen in the slightest. "What.." He mumbled under his breath. What had he just witnessed? Were those Osomatsu's brothers? And according to Osomatsu, Todo was also their brother, but the youngest! He and Todo were still close, even in another dimension. But those other three.. Choromatsu, Jyushimatsu, and Ichimatsu.. though they seemed to be total strangers, Kara couldn't help but feel like they were familiar to him.

Then suddenly, his apartment door creaked open, accompanied by footsteps. "I'm back. Sorry I'm late. Boss was a pain in the ass. 'Specially Atsushi." A voice called out from the living room, somewhat tired and seemingly raspy, almost like the person calling out to Kara had been yelling. "Kara? Where are you? Oh! You saved dinner for me! Thank god, I thought I was gonna have to cook dinner myself. Why'd you cook this much food, anyway? Are we celebrating something?" The voice was getting louder, signalling Kara that the owner of the voice was approaching his bedroom. "Where in the hell are y- Holy shit! Kara! You look like hell! Slipped on the bathroom floor or something?!"

Entering Kara's bedroom was his childhood friend, and apparently, his younger brother according to Osomatsu. A rare worried expression was plastered across his bruised face, cherry pink eyes shaking in his panic. He had somewhat long pink hair, obviously dyed, but slicked backwards with the aid of a black headband holding it in place and preventing strands from getting in his eyes. He wore a white button-up shirt that Kara suggested for him to wear in order to be comfortable, because tight clothes or clothes with different material other than cotton or silk might irritate his bruised skin. Layering over the white polo was a black leather jacket with a skull on the back, a jacket that Kara gave to his friend as a present. He also wore leather pants, a brown belt, black shoes, and wrapped around his neck was a gray plaid scarf.

Kara forced himself to smile, still feeling the aftermaths of the pain on his chest and in his head. Nonetheless, he tried to reassure the other he was okay. "Todo. You're back." He addressed the other individual who was still in panic mode. To Kara's relief, Todo didn't get any new bruises today. He didn't have to patch him up then. "I got something important to tell you." Very important, as it has something to do with alternate dimensions and somewhat scary syringes that cause you to hallucinate and feel as if you got ran over by a monster truck exactly twelve times in a row.

The other blinked in confusion. "Something important?" He mumbled, frowning. "..Fine. But change your clothes first. You're all sweaty and gross. Ick. And you're the last person I expect to be like that. I'm honestly disappointed in you."

Kara weakly chuckled. "Sorry."


	10. Chapter 10: Night Terror

Osomatsu slept in the same hotel room as Chibita and Iyami. Not that he minded sharing a hotel room with his two acquaintances of course, at least there were separate beds. Iyami and Chibita had to share one which made both of them annoyed at the fact one of them was going to steal the covers in the middle of the night, but they decided it's best for Osomatsu to get the entire bed to himself to get some decent sleep, because he only had nightmares the previous week and maybe seeing Kara calmed him down enough to give him a good night's rest. Though Chibita kept lecturing Osomatsu to not sleep on his left arm, which was the same arm he injected himself with the syringe. Unlike Kara, Osomatsu couldn't really stand the pain that came with the needle, and it was feeling sore.

Once they arrived at their hotel room, made sure to tightly wrap the spot that was injected, and shared the food Chibita accidentally made at Kara's kitchen, Osomatsu took a hot bath and collapsed on his bed instantly, wearing his usual blue pajamas. He instantly fell asleep as soon as his head landed against the pillow, so Chibita and Iyami had to cover him with one of the thick blankets they found in the hotel room's closet to prevent him from catching a cold. He didn't seem to be snoring, a trait that their Osomatsu had. Nonetheless, they didn't try to wake him up just to shut him up, seeing as how he was out like a bulb and probably needed to relax after such a tiring and exciting day.

Iyami was just busy watching the news alongside a bored Chibita, when they suddenly heard a choked cry and the frantic shuffling of blankets. Curious and worried, Chibita stood up from his spot on the floor and rushed to Osomatsu's bed, taking off the blanket and throwing it to the floor. As expected and as they feared, Osomatsu was having a nightmare and was thrashing in his bed, sweat rolling off his forehead, face scrunched in pain, and one of his hands gripped onto his chest as if he was trying to rip it out. "Osomatsu! Wake up!" Chibita raised his voice, nudging the sides of his friend. "Iyami, you idjit! The hell are you just sittin' there for?! Get me a glass of water, damn it! From the sink!"

"S-sheh?! Right!" The con-man stood up from the bed and rushed to the bathroom, the sound of a glass clinking against the porcelain sink. He later came back with a glass full of water, which stained the hotel room's carpet but none of them cared about that at the moment. Osomatsu's free hand gripped onto the bed sheet as he started panting heavily, almost as if he was fighting with someone. Iyami's hand became shaky, drops of water pouring out of the glass and into the sheets. "Chibita, do you think this is an effect from the syringe-"

"Probably just stress and not the drug. The syringe wasn't supposed to affect him. It was supposed to affect the person he injected first so he could share some of his memories with them." Chibita recalled. Osomatsu told him the effects of the drug at Sutabaa when he secretly showed Chibita the syringe, and Osomatsu was probably just having a nightmare because of the fact he had to let a lot of bullshit sink into his thick skull all in one day, after a week of sulking and lack of any contact with any of his friends. Without hesitation, Chibita let Iyami pour the water straight onto Osomatsu's face which nearly went into his nostrils, causing him to snap his eyes open and sit up, panting heavily as he coughed the water out.

Normally, Osomatsu would roar at Iyami and Chibita for doing such a thing. But after that little nightmare in which he felt as if he was dying slowly, he couldn't. He just couldn't muster enough energy to become angry in the middle of the night, even if he was now soaking wet in tap water and his own sweat. He curled himself to a ball and started sobbing quietly, hating how weak he was looking right now. For once, he was glad his brothers weren't around. He shouldn't have to make them worry about stupid nightmares, and Kara was probably suffering the same as well. Except Kara had a reason to, and he didn't. What a selfish eldest brother, Osomatsu chided himself.

A hand tapped on his shoulder lightly. "Oi." It was Chibita. Reluctantly looking up, he was relieved to see Chibita wasn't looking at him with judgement or with a raised eyebrow, or even worse; a smug grin for seeing how the supposed best fighter in their neighborhood reduced to a bundle of sobs. Osomatsu thought it was logical, since Chibita was his childhood rival and he constantly picked on him for being smaller. Instead, his friend looked understanding and probably like a strict parent seeing their child come home from a day at school with muddy rubber shoes and bruises decorating their legs. "Go clean yourself up, idjit. We'll have room service change the sheets."

"A-alright.." Osomatsu panted as he nodded frantically, but was still trying to regulate his breathing by placing his hand on his chest and feeling his own heartbeat. Chibita was nice enough to get some water, the drinkable kind, and hand it to him as he lightly patted his back as a sign of comfort. Iyami placed the glass on the desk and rummaged through Osomatsu's bag messily, taking out the pile of clothes and the other necessities. Iyami picked out pajamas identical to the ones he was wearing at the moment, as well as his red towel and handed it to him. "Thanks.."

"Me and Chibita will fix your bag later. Leave your wet clothes at the sink or at the side of the bathtub." Iyami grumbled, obviously not happy that he was practically babysitting the same brat that had been a thorn to his side for a long time, as well as the same brat that always ruined his schemes. But Iyami had to remind himself; this wasn't him. This wasn't their Osomatsu, that creepy child who had multiple hobbies and was terribly lonely. This was a different brat that had the same name and face, but different characteristics and a different past. As well as different problems, apparently. He couldn't help but feel bad, because as much of a brat Osomatsu was, his ten years at the town hadn't been so dull. "For now, me will call for room service to change the sheets and to dry your pajamas. Maybe to bring a glass of hot milk too."

Chibita nodded. "That always makes someone sleepy and relaxed. We'll pay for any extra fees regarding the bed sheets." He agreed and glared at Iyami to ignore his hesitation to pay for anything else. Osomatsu was nice enough to pay for half the hotel fees, plus, the poor guy had way too much stress for one day which was enough to give him a heart attack. "Go take a quick shower to wash off the sweat. You can't sleep properly feeling like a disgusting wash cloth, idjit. It's midnight and you were lucky we were both awake to snap ya out of it, damn it."

He bit his lip, looking away as his cheeks flushed a red color of out embarrassment from looking so weak. In front of the two people that he usually bothered too. "Yeah. Thanks. And sorry for being such a bother." He mumbled. While he planned to make it sound uncaring or even ungrateful in order to not worry them, Chibita looked straight at him with a stern expression and was practically telling him not to lie. "I swear." He sighed. "I'm fine. You don't have to worry about-"

"Y'know we helped you for a reason." Chibita crossed his arms. Sensing the tense atmosphere, Iyami quickly left the room as he claimed to look for room service or something. Chibita didn't raise his voice as he did earlier, because he feared that he might step on a landmine. His Osomatsu never had anxiety before, and this one was different from his. Nonetheless, he was still Osomatsu. A troubled one who had been separated from what was important to him and had to carry that burden all alone. "I don't know what you feel, damn it. Aside from you being from a completely different dimension, I never had siblings to care about or to be responsible for. I moved out my parents' house to live my life. I don't know what it feels to have something important ripped away from you. And I didn't plan on feeling that anytime soon. But Osomatsu, our Osomatsu, one of my friends, is practically missing. And you're suffering right in front of us and you're acting all tough and refusing to let yourself cry."

Osomatsu clicked his tongue with an annoyed expression that was obviously forced. If Chibita was correct, those were tears. This Osomatsu tended to cry more than his, he could tell. "Tch. You helped me get to the city and helped me deal with my anxiety when I faced Kara. Hell, you and Iyami could have let me run out of oxygen in the car. But you didn't. I said I would keep my favors small and simple, and hear I am, causing trouble simply by trying to sleep off my problems." Osomatsu mumbled under his breath. "You don't need to concern yourself with garbage like me." Oh great. He was surely turning into Ichimatsu now; a pessimistic trash bag who calls himself garbage on a daily basis.

"Osomatsu. Stop lying to yourself, damn it." Great. Chibita could be like Choromatsu at times, and at times like this, he was like an exact copy of Choromatsu. Except less annoying and much more intimidating, despite being small. Osomatsu knew he was in for a lecture of some sort and slumped down to the dry part of his bed, towel slung over his shoulder and pajamas folded on his lap. But instead of seeing Chibita somehow summon his ladle to threaten him with, he sat next to him, voice softening. "Is the me in your universe a prick? Like, does he judge you if you cry?"

Osomatsu blinked, then looked at him confusingly. "No. He's exactly the same. He's the only one in the entire damn town with common sense, besides my dad. He does have his.. moments." Definitely not referring to that one time Chibita practically called oden his girlfriend, Osomatsu thought. Nope, not at all. Wasn't even thinking about it. "But he's honest with us. Really honest. He gives great advice." He looked down at his own lap. "I heard he comforted Karamatsu when he cried because we ate his share of pears. And he was honestly nice enough to stop scolding us when Jyushimatsu started crying too. He's not judgmental. Just plain honest. I'm glad someone like him lives in town to be honest. Aside from making the best oden," He could see Chibita silently scream in glee for the praise. "I think a crazy neighborhood like mine needs someone with common sense to deal with six identical troublemakers."

"So we're exactly the same. Alright." Chibita looked at him with a serious expression. "Glad to hear you like my oden regardless of which dimension you came from. But that's not the point, damn it. If he doesn't judge your brothers when they cry, he probably won't judge you if you do the same, ya idjit! So don't let me stop you if you want to flood the entire city with your tears! Holding it in will make it worse, and you don't want to build up your anxieties and problems to the point you'll lose hope in getting back to your own dimension, right?! Crying'll make you stronger to face your other brothers!" He cheekily grinned, something rare for Chibita to do ever since he started becoming more serious. "So if you don't want that Kara-boy panicking over why you're leaking tears at his place, just cry now! Get it out of your system-"

And he did. He cried until he couldn't even process what was going on around him, besides the fact that Chibita was now patting his shoulder. He cried an awful lot. And to be honest, it was actually satisfying to release all the tears he hadn't been able to cry out since last week. And once he managed to release all that pent-up frustration, he shakily stood up from his bed and walked towards the bathroom, thanking Chibita. No matter what dimension he was, it would seem like Chibita was always there to help him.

When he came out of the bathroom after taking a quick shower and buttoned his pajamas, he found that the sheets have been changed and Iyami was back, sitting on his and Chibita's shared bed. The smaller individual handed him a glass of white liquid, the sweet smell indicating it was only milk. Osomatsu accepted it and decided to drink it slowly in order to not choke himself and suddenly spill liquid all over the place again. Once he was done, Chibita took the glass and placed it on the desk where the other glass, the one Iyami used, was still sitting on.

"Better?" Chibita asked.

Osomatsu tiredly smiled, eyes drooping. The crying had made him feel lightheaded and the milk was making him sleepy. Plus, he was tired. Those three mixed well enough to make someone dead tired. "Yeah. Thanks a lot. You too, Iyami." He let out a tired yawn, rubbing his eyes. "If you two don't mind, I'll be sleeping now. We got a long day ahead of us, and you two need to rest too. Thanks for dealing with me by the way." He murmured, collapsing on the bed and appreciating the warmth of the sheets.

Iyami huffed, but there was a small smile on his face. "Hmph! You really think me would let you on your own? You offend me." But Osomatsu was already under the covers, snoring quietly. The two of Osomatsu's friends gave a weak chuckle. Even if he wasn't their Osomatsu, there was no use denying that he was still one. He was still their friend, regardless of where he came from.

* * *

"I keep telling you Chibita. That ficus is absolutely disturbing to look at. I mean, it has a scarf." Osomatsu, Iyami, and Chibita had left the hotel and drove off to Akatsuka Apartment Complex to visit Kara. Osomatsu decided to not wear the beanie, coat, and mittens for the day, since it wasn't as chilly as yesterday. Plus, it wasn't snowing and only crashing onto a bed of snow would make you feel really cold. He decided to wear his gray sweatshirt with a red version of his family symbol, pants, and winter boots. Though he decided to wear the scarf. It made him feel safe. Besides that, he had asked Iyami to stop by a small gift shop a few blocks away from the building to buy himself a cheap and small red sling bag. It didn't cost much and Osomatsu needed a small bag in order to bring the phone, his coin purse, the syringe, the bottle of unknown liquid, the notepad, the red pen, and the key Kara had given him.

They exited the elevator, the three of them groaning at the fact that Kara's beloved ficus named Rosa was still there. "The hell? I kinda expected yesterday's events to make that idjit get rid of the houseplant." Chibita grumbled. "And it's still there. Damn it."

They walked to Kara's room and Osomatsu took out the key to insert into the keyhole. He could see light from the bottom of the doorstep, meaning Kara was probably awake by now. Though Osomatsu would have knocked, he decided putting the key to use wouldn't be a bad thing either. Besides, Kara could be feeling tired from the fact he got injected with the syringe yesterday and was probably trying to process the memories from yesterday. Iyami and Chibita, as always, were behind him as he opened the door. He expected to see Kara on the couch, or just hear the other's voice as he worked on the kitchen or probably see him on the floor, sweeping it furiously. Kara loved doing housework, so it wasn't really odd to see him doing those sort of stuff.

But when Osomatsu opened the door carefully and walked inside with Chibita and Iyami about to get in the room as soon as he did, he nearly got hit by a porcelain plate being hurled straight at him. Either by luck or by his reflexes, the plate missed him and only managed to cause the cowlicks on his hair to sway a bit, as it was hurled straight to Iyami's overbite instead, causing the tallest man to get knocked down, Osomatsu and Chibita turning to him in shock. "Iyami!" Both of them cried as he hit the floor.

Before Osomatsu could even turn back from Chibita to what was in front of him, a figure had quickly made his way to him and raised their foot by raising their leg, their shoe nearly hitting Osomatsu's nose as he was finally fast enough to react and bend his back a bit to dodge the leg. Osomatsu blinked rapidly and was trying to process the situation with his back bent painfully and with Chibita scrambling to help Iyami get up, the con-man dizzily assuring them both he was alright. When Osomatsu stopped blinking his eyes and started breathing harshly in panic, he realized the person who had used their leg to try to attack him, as well as the person who probably hurled the plate.

The only person with an aim good enough to throw things like frisbees or darts, with Osomatsu being the only one skilled enough to dodge his attacks. He was sure the only person flexible enough to kick him with his legs without breaking a sweat was also staring straight onto Osomatsu's soul; Osomatsu's black eyes, the ones that he and his brothers shared, were staring back onto pink eyes that held anger, hatred, but most of all, shock. The other's pink hair swayed against the winter breeze as the door was still open, and his earrings gleamed at the sun ray's reflecting onto it.

This person, no doubt he was Katsuna Todo, had his leg only a few inches away from Osomatsu's face as he kept the murderous intent to get rid of the person who gave his roommate that syringe deep inside his soul, his eyes reflecting his anger and practically trying to kill Osomatsu off with a glare.


	11. Chapter 11: Passive and Aggressive

"Osomatsu-niisan!"

Todo was enough of a thug and a cheapskate to practically own five of the same polo shirt because it was cheaper, so Kara seeing him wear the same thing as yesterday wasn't a surprise. However, seeing his leg nearly kick the face of his older brother from another dimension was enough to scare the wits out of Kara, who was still in his pajamas; a blue tank top with a print similar to his hoodie earlier and baggy black pants, as well as fuzzy slippers that were blue in color. Even his hair was messy, because he preferred to brew his coffee first thing in the morning while reading the newspaper before taking a bath, since Todo mostly took a bath as soon as he woke up.

So he was currently standing across his roommate and his older brother at the doorway leading to the kitchen, in his pajamas and in fuzzy blue slippers, a painfully sparkly blue coffee mug in hand, and a panicked expression on his face. The blue-eyed male was glad to see that Osomatsu hadn't gotten kicked by Todo, but the plate his childhood friend had hurled could have hit his older brother if not for Osomatsu's luck that unfortunately caused the plate to successfully hit Iyami instead. The poor guy's overbite too. He knew that was going to hurt a lot. "Todo, don't attack them! Iyami! Are you okay?!"

Iyami grumbled a reply, but Chibita sighed in relief, so Kara took that as a yes. Todo had slowly retreated his leg and had inched away from Osomatsu, glaring daggers at him and clenching his fists as tight as he could, Kara was sure he'd leave his nail marks on his palms. Osomatsu, however, landed on his butt as his back arched far enough for it to hurt, and he looked like as if he was seeing some sort of supernatural and demonic ritual going on. But truthfully, Osomatsu seeing his youngest brother dressed up as some sort of yankee both terrified him and confused him.

So many questions instantly appeared inside Osomatsu's brain, with one of them asking why on earth did his youngest brother dye his hair pink and why was it slicked in a way that made him look like a typical high-school delinquent. Why did he also have earrings, in order to look more intimidating and punk-like? Also, were those leather.. pants? And a jacket to match his pants?! What was he wearing?!

 _Oh my god, he looks like an edgy emo kid going through a phase, is he trying to copy Ichimatsu back in eighth grade?_

His thoughts were cut off as he heard the other occupant of the room cry out to him. "Osomatsu, my brother!" Kara set his coffee mug to the table and ran towards Osomatsu, kneeling beside him and checking for any bruises by literally grabbing his face and forcing Osomatsu to look at his direction. Osomatsu was forced to stare into Kara's worried blue eyes, but then Kara hugged him tightly and would have killed him if he didn't let out a pained choke. Kara pulled away, still frantic. "I apologize! But you aren't hurt, correct?"

"I'm fine. Kinda scared 'bout the fact about a plate and a leg nearly hitting my face, but physically? I'm alright." At least, he was for now. Aside from that pink-haired thug looking at him as if he killed his entire family in front of him, Kara hadn't talked in his painful language, which probably showed how worried he was about Osomatsu. Though Osomatsu kind of expected the alternate Todomatsu to look a little different judging from the story he heard from Aida, he certainly didn't expect him to look like.. well, that. But putting his opinions on Todo's clothes aside, he gave a concerned look at Kara. "How about you? Were you able to sleep last night? When did the memories start coming? Did you have any nightmares or dreams?"

"Three hours before I went to bed, and thirty minutes before Todo came home. I saw a lot of memories, both pleasant and unpleasant. And I woke up a few times in the middle of the night." Kara said. "I surely wasn't expecting such a thing to occur, especially since I thought it would take effect once I am sleeping. Though it kind of hurt my chest and my head, I think I'm able to understand you better now, Osomatsu." He smiled. "I never knew I had four younger brothers, and all of them look so much like us! I saw a lot of memories regarding them! But I understand everything now! Choromatsu is the one that always wears green, and is the one that fusses over everyone the most! Jyushimatsu is our ray of sunshine and we sometimes sing such wonderful songs at the rooftop of our humble home! Do inform me why the fourth brother Ichimatsu seems to hate me, or at least the me in the other dimension. He always seems to be either playing with cats or with Jyushimatsu."

Osomatsu resisted the urge to suddenly cry again once he heard the news. But this time, it would be tears of happiness. He actually remembered the others! It didn't feel like he was talking to a guy named Kyabarie Kara. It felt like he was talking to his brother, Matsuno Karamatsu. Focusing on Kara's question, he gave out a chuckle and ruffled the other's hair the same way Kara did with him the previous day. "It's just how it is. Don't fuss over it too much, alright? It's a natural thing in the family." Though the moment was cut short when Osomatsu saw that Todo still had a glare and a scowl that could murder someone. "I, uh.. did you tell him about everything, Kara?"

Kara's smile faltered. He glanced at Todo, who only seemed to look angrier and was practically fuming, all directed at Osomatsu. Iyami seemed to have been freaked out by him and made sure to hide behind Osomatsu as Chibita hid behind Iyami, both afraid of what he could do. Osomatsu remained in his spot though, reminding himself he was this guy's older brother. He was the only one able to match up to Todomatsu's rather demonic strength, and in this dimension, the Todomatsu of this world made sure the city knew of his power. But he and Todomatsu were the same, both in their existence and their strength. Osomatsu knew Todomatsu took martial-arts classes back in their dimension, so he knew all the moves Todomatsu could pull on him. Though he did have to remember that this one wouldn't hesitate to have his head, especially since they weren't brothers in this dimension.

"I did. I told him as soon as he came home." Kara replied, looking at Todo, who turned away with a huff. "And, uh.. he believes it..? At first he didn't, then he got angry when I said I let you inject me with the syringe. Though he didn't believe at first.. I guess my spasms from last night convinced him I wasn't pulling any prank? Also, I showed him the area where you injected me." He showed his arm for emphasis. "So he knows. He believes it. But it doesn't mean he.. likes it. In fact, I think he's thirsty for blood. Your blood, specifically."

"Well ain't that a fucking surprise!" Chibita barked from behind Iyami, who was still behind Osomatsu as the eldest Matsuno finally stood up from the floor. Before Chibita could yell something else, Todo suddenly growled at him, causing Chibita to squeak in fear and hide behind Iyami again. This was enough of a sign that the Todomatsu of the other universe was much more dangerous than the real one; Chibita was rarely scared, and wasn't even terrified of the Matsuno brothers! Osomatsu's reputation as the best fighter in their neighborhood, Karamatsu's painfulness, Choromatsu's rising pride that was pretty terrifying, Ichimatsu's very presence and existence, Jyushimatsu's inhuman strength and somewhat supernatural abilities to multiply himself and turn everything into kanji, and Todomatsu's dangerous aim and two-faced nature.

But he was terrified of Todo. Terrified enough to hide behind someone taller than him.

"You. Osomatsu, was it? Damn it, who cares what they call you, what Kara calls you. It won't matter once you're dead." Osomatsu looked at Todo, and the longer he did, he felt a rather dangerous aura emit from the supposed youngest brother. Also, he was threatening to actually kill him with his bare hands. Typical. Todomatsu threatened him a lot back in his dimension, only Todomatsu was all bark and no bite most of the time, and wasn't as violent as Todo, who didn't hesitate to try to kick his face and try to hit him with a plate. Both failed, and he only had his luck to thank. "Who the hell are you? Do you really think you can knock into someone's house with no warning, pull on some random bullshit sob story of how you came from another dimension, claim we're your brothers in another dimension, and inject a syringe that has those kinds of effects? Giving someone a headache, chest pain, making them hallucinate and have night terrors?"

Okay, Todo was kind of scaring Osomatsu. And that fact alone terrified Osomatsu, because this guy threatening to kill him was his youngest brother, who was already dangerous enough in his dimension to destroy someone via the internet. Also, this guy was supposed to be the "cute" one in their family, even though he was really a demon!

Kara seemed to notice Osomatsu's sudden fear, because he wasn't replying with any teasing comments nor did he seem amused. He was just plain scared. "Todo, that's enough." Kara inched closer to Osomatsu protectively. It didn't matter who was older or younger, Osomatsu was absolutely terrified of his brother and Kara needed to be there in case Todo were to actually kill him. Or try to. "As I said last night, he is our brother. Older brother, to be exact. And he has suffered so much pain in a week because of the fact he was taken away from his brothers and hasn't seen anything regarding their existences. Seeing us right now must be relieving to him, so please do not threaten him. Besides, it is my fault. I agreed to let him inject me with the syringe, so please do not-"

"See?! You're always so gullible, Kara!" Todo snarled, kicking the table and causing it to crash to the side, breaking Kara's coffee mug in the process and spilling the liquid all over the place. Osomatsu and the two of his companions flinched, but Kara remained unfazed. Was he used to this?! Though Osomatsu wanted to do the same thing to Todo as he did with Kara, you couldn't blame him for being scared of how violent he was getting! "Mr. nice guy! Just make some random story about something, add a pinch of sadness, and you believe it instantly! How could you expect to get treated like an equal by the people around us, when you're practically a doormat that lets yourself get stepped on?! That guy could have injected you with drugs and killed you, for god's sake!"

"But he didn't. He's my brother. And your's too. You should trust him." Karamatsu calmly replied.

It only made Todo angrier. "Bullshit! I can understand if you would want to refer to me as your brother since we've known each other for so long! But he's a total stranger who claims to be our brother, even though we never met him before in our lives! You can't say that he's a friend, you've only met him yesterday!"

"Todo." Kara was still calm, surprisingly. Osomatsu had to admit, he kinda looked cool as he tried to calm down someone that looked like they were about to kill specifically three people in the room. "We look alike. Isn't that enough of a giveaway?"

"The last customer I served at Sutabaa looked like him too, but I know for a fact it ain't him and I know that he's probably not my mom's cousin's childhood friend's brother's step-sister's brother's grandmother's nephew's son. Just some random guy passing by and pissing people off. That guy looked a bit different and he probably looks a lot different now ever since I fucking beat his face in. But that's not the point. We always looked alike Kara, you know that. But our parents, hell even multiple doctors, confirmed that we aren't related even in the slightest. Doppelgangers exist in this world, and I know for a fact that he's just one of them, one of ours. We're two different people with the same face. Who cares if there's a third?" Todo retorted. "But the fact that you let this guy inject some fucking drug into your system.. you really don't think I'm letting him off the hook easily, do you?" His voice was dangerously low now, which was even scarier than before.

Kara seemed to sense the danger. "No. You are not laying a finger on our older brother."

Todo huffed, brushing some of his hair out of his eyes. "Try stopping me. See who will win; me. Why? 'Cuz you've never been able to land a single punch on me. All those times I got on your nerves or lashed out on ya, and you've never once tried to punch me back. Just grin that painful grin of your's and tell me to calm down or that I'm being irrational. Like you always do." Todo walked slowly towards Kara, who was backing away slowly along with Osomatsu, Chibita, and Iyami. "I became this just to prevent people like you from guys like the one you're protecting right now. I'm doing this for your own good and nothing else. You've never been able to get the respect you deserve because of shit like this. Always so gullible and sensitive. Just bear a pretty face or a story made up on the spot and we're all set."

It would have been impossible for Osomatsu to make up such a long and complex story for a petty prank, Kara reasoned with himself. He knew Todo was more of a realist than he is, but he was honestly being as realistic as Todo. It was just the story that didn't seem believable. It was obvious why. "I can handle myself, Todo! You don't have to listen to them anymore, they're just tricking you! Both you and Dayon, do you guys really think that by becoming the enemy, you can understand them better and help people like me?! Can't you see?! You're turning into them! You're hurting people! Osomatsu here wouldn't do something as-"

"How should you know?! How could you trust him so easily?! Why are you so nice to people that trick people for their own benefit?!" Todo grabbed something from the cupboard that held all of Kara's decorations. One of which was an empty wine bottle. Not a long-lasting weapon, but bound to kill if used correctly. And Todo, being a good fighter, knew how to use nearly everything as a weapon. Whether it be a large pair of scissors or a broom. "He doesn't know about our situation! He doesn't know anything! He's just a random guy that claims to be our brother!"

Kara was no match for Todo, and Kara himself knew that. He was planning to stay on his spot in front of Osomatsu with his eyes shut tight and arms spread wide, either expecting Todo to stop acting hysterical or to feel glass crashing against his skull. But instead, nothing happened. No glass, no screaming, no blood seeping out of his skull. Nothing. And when he opened his eyes as he heard Chibita and Iyami behind him suddenly gasp, he realized why he hadn't got smacked by a wine bottle.

He didn't realize how, but Osomatsu somehow moved fast enough from his back to his front, gripping Todo's raised arm, the one that was gripping tightly onto the wine bottle. The three couldn't see Osomatsu's face, but judging by Todo's horrified expression that someone had managed to stop him, Kara didn't want to ask what he looked like. Instead, he heard Osomatsu's voice. Not laid-back or easygoing or anything of the like, unlike yesterday. No, his voice was soft, but something was laced onto it. He couldn't tell what.

"Todomatsu." Osomatsu wasn't taking any shit longer, nor did he care that he accidentally addressed Todo by the wrong name. He could piss his pants for being terrified at how violent the other dimension made his younger brother, but the latter trying to hurt the brother who cared for everyone's well-being and had always helped everyone? Not on his watch. He wasn't the best fighter of the Matsuno Sextuplets for nothing, nor was he the feared older brother for no reason. "Listen to your older brothers and stop being a brat."

Todo blinked, anger forming in his features again. "Who the hell do you think you are-"

Before Todo could even finish his sentence, Osomatsu turned him around with his free hand and used it to slam Todo's head against the ground, causing the youngest brother to let go of the wine bottle as it smashed against the floor. Osomatsu used his one leg to press harshly against Todo's back, one hand still gripping the same arm Todo used to grip the bottle and was basically stretching itself from his front, and one leg pressing against Todo's legs to prevent him from squirming. "If you don't stay still, so help me, I'm going to make sure you regret disobeying your older brother. Listen to nii-san now, will you? He had a really rough day yesterday, and he can't even breathe or fall asleep without making sure he either accidentally kills himself, or bothers people just by attempting to breathe."

Todo would have yelled at him, but the shock of having someone beat him without even landing a single punch baffled him. Kara wasn't sure about how Osomatsu was pinning down Todo to the point it might destroy the latter's back, but this was probably the only way to restrain someone as aggressive as Todo. Chibita and Iyami sent a worried look towards Osomatsu, who turned back at them with a playful grin, almost like he wasn't pinning down someone who could have killed him if he made a mistake.

"Iyami, Chibita. Favor again, please?" He sheepishly asked. "Do you think you guys can help Kara clean this place? What a mess, so early in the morning. I would help, but.." He motioned to Todo, still yanking his arm, but not hard enough to break it. "I'm busy. I can hold him for as long as you need, just fix up the place. Oh, and Kara." He cheerfully turned to his younger brother. "Can you get me a mug of coffee? The ones at the hotel suck. Your's are probably better, y'know?"

Kara was irked at how happy Osomatsu was, but since his older brother just saved his life without having to hurt his dear friend, he only nodded. "R-right.." He turned to the two individuals behind him. "Iyami, Chibita. So sorry for asking, but I do require your assistance. Simply turn the table back to the side it's supposed to be, and I'll clean up the rest of the mess." He bit his lip. "Also.. Iyami? Do you require anything? Does your overbite hurt?"

"Me is fine now." Iyami assured, worriedly looking at the oddly chipper Osomatsu holding down Todo, who was absolutely dangerous. But Osomatsu was able to beat him just by reacting to the bottle quicker. Or did Osomatsu already expect that?

The three didn't know how Osomatsu did it, but they were glad that he was holding down a threat to society.


	12. Chapter 12: Pink Demon

It only took thirty minutes for Kara to clean the entire apartment with Chibita and Iyami's help, though sweeping the glass off the floor had been quite a hassle, especially since Osomatsu still had Todo pinned to the ground with a cheerful smile. The little threat didn't seem to be squirming and was grumpily mumbling incoherent curses against the floor, since Osomatsu managed to somehow strike fear into his little demonic heart. After cleaning up the mess and quickly preparing mugs of coffee for his guests, Kara had excused himself to take a quick shower, though Osomatsu absolutely refused to release Todo until Kara got out.

That resulted into a small argument between Osomatsu and Todo, Chibita and Iyami drinking their coffee as they tried to ignore Osomatsu's teasing and Todo's threats. "My youngest brother is such a brat. Even more so than he already is. Tatter Tot, why'd you decide to wear earrings anyway? Why only on one ear too? Aiming for an edgy look? The leather jacket kind of fits you to be honest. Did Kara give that to you? The jacket looks familiar." He recalled Karamatsu having one in his dimension.

Todo grunted. "Who the hell is Tater Tot?! Is that even a name?! Get off me, you fucking freak! Don't make me kill you!" He yelled, but didn't kick his feet nor use his other arm. He shamefully admitted to himself that he couldn't handle Osomatsu at the moment, because though he successfully scared Osomatsu into being protected by Kara earlier, something inside the other's mind must have flipped, for he only acted serious when Todo grabbed the bottle. Todo himself did feel guilty about nearly hitting Kara, his best friend, with a bottle, but it was for his own good! "Kara! He won't get off!" He whined, almost like a kid.

"Are you two arguing? Please stop the childish bickering, aren't you both adults? Settle your matters like civilized people, please! Osomatsu, my older brother, please do not try to pull Todo's arm even further! Todo's arm might suddenly be dislocated if you do so! Todo, my dear friend, stop threatening our older brother! You are probably making him anxious!" Kara's voice echoed from the bathroom. Chibita and Iyami wanted to argue that Osomatsu and Todo weren't having such "childish bickering", especially since one of them was threatening to murder the other.

Osomatsu wanted to clap his hands in pride once he saw Kara finally wearing something that didn't have his face on it, but he was busy holding down Todo to show how relieved he was that Kara actually owned something that didn't have his own painful face. It was a simple blue sweater with dark blue stripes, sleeves still rolled up. It seemed to be Kara's fashion sense to have his sleeves rolled up, just like how Jyushimatsu prefers clothes that are too big for him so he could play with the sleeves. Aside from that, he wore simple black pants and white socks. Plain and simple for today, especially after Todo tried to murder their brother and he didn't feel like wearing anything flashy. Not even his shades.

Kara approached his older brother, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ah, Osomatsu.. your coffee must be cold by now. Why don't you.. uh, take a rest?" Kara pointed to his mug on the table, kneeling down to Osomatsu's level, who was still holding Todo in place with little effort on his part. Kara thought Todo had fallen asleep out of boredom, but he was still wide awake and obviously not liking the fact someone managed to beat him effortlessly, especially after he had driven his so-called foe into a corner. He had an angered look on his face, but not as intense as the one earlier. Maybe that was because he had one of his arms behind him, held by Osomatsu. Spotting the small bag Osomatsu had on his shoulder, he looked at his older brother in confusion. "You didn't have this bag yesterday. Red really is your color, huh?" Maybe switching to another topic would make Todo less agitated than usual.

"Bought it earlier from some shop. Cheap enough, I just needed something else besides my pockets. No way in hell am I bringing my travelling backpack everywhere. And who cares if red's my color, it's usually the color of a leader or somethin', and mom went along with it. Your's is blue in my dimension, and I guess here too. Todo's here is pink, at least, in my dimension. Or maybe even in this dimension, I mean, he does have pink hair." Osomatsu replied casually, seemingly ignoring the fact that he was holding down Todo who was listening to their conversation in annoyance. "So, should I keep holding him like this? Now's the perfect time to inject him with the syringe. Can you do it for me?" Todo's pupils dilated at that, though no one noticed. "The syringe is in my bag. I can take getting injected by a needle again. Arm's sore, but everything's cool. Do you want to inject him now? Now's the best time."

Kara looked at him worriedly. "Are you sure, brother? I mean, we can wait until my dear childhood friend has.." He heard growling, almost like a rabid dog's. Oh god, Todo was really angry, angrier than earlier, if that was even possible. He was baring his fangs, for god's sake. And he looked like he was biting onto the floor out of frustration.. ah, so he was. He was biting onto the floor with his bare teeth. Was he trying to intimidate them by showing how strong his fangs were? Or was he just plain hungry? Probably the latter, Kara concluded. "..calmed down a bit. Todo, please, if you're hungry, I'll have Osomatsu-niisan let you go if you want something to eat. Your pancakes are still at the table and the floor does not look appetizing."

"He is not 'nii-san' or whatever bullshit title you decide to give him. He's not your brother. Not yours, nor mine. He's some random doppelganger with a few screws loose and probably has some access to some freaky drug. And I don't want anything to eat, I'm late for the meetup. Boss is gonna fucking kick my ass again, Atsushi's gonna be a smug bitch about it, you're gonna have to suffer trying to patch me up, all the while this guy sitting on me is still claiming to be from another dimension." Todo growled. "If I don't get there by five minutes, chances are, Dayon's gonna bust in here and have lunch with us. You know how he is." He struggled to move free from Osomatsu's grip. "Look, I don't give a shit who you are, my roommate trusts you, I get that! Just let me kick your ass and kill you, and I swear to god, if you try to touch me with a needle, I will rip our your organs and force feed them to your friends!"

Chibita frowned from the sofa. He didn't particularly care for what they were talking about, but both Iyami and Chibita could agree that Osomatsu was looking slightly uncomfortable. Was he getting tired from trying to restrain a demon from tearing their heads off? Or was he disgusted by Todo's threat? Still, he could give himself a break. Last night's events still haven't left their minds, and even Chibita forgot to ask Osomatsu what his nightmare was about. "Damn it. Osomatsu, isn't that entirely dangerous? He'll probably bite you if you keep that up, idjit."

Their reply was a chuckle. "Chibita, buddy, if you can't remember, he tried to kill me with his leg, a porcelain plate, and an empty wine bottle. A bite from this guy is practically an ant's compared to those things earlier. I'll be fine, I'll probably only lose an arm if this guys bites me. Look at how sharp his fangs are!" He grinned as Todo looked more angry at that statement, practically sharpening his fangs by biting against the floor. "Plus, I can't hold him any longer. I should start training with Jyushimatsu again. I haven't used all my energy in a while, not since-" Osomatsu paused.

The last time he used all his energy to muster enough power to actually hurt someone was when he kicked Jyushimatsu against the wall. And gave a black eye to Todomatsu. The last time he ever demonstrated his power as the best fighter was when he hurt both of his little brothers, the youngest two, the babies of the bunch. Osomatsu felt the guilt in his chest suddenly try to choke him again as he forced himself to forget those memories of when Choromatsu left, with everyone following soon after. No. His brothers were back at home, and Osomatsu needed to get back to them.

This wasn't the time to feel guilty! But Osomatsu never actually apologized to Jyushimatsu or Todomatsu for hitting them.. ah, he hated moments like these. Moments in which he didn't know what to do! He should be doing something else, not feeling bad for himself. He could deal with his self-pity some other time. Just not now- but wait. He can't deal with these even after he got home, because as the eldest, he shouldn't make the younger brothers worry so much. Argh, this is so confusing!

As he drifted off, he didn't notice Todo suddenly yank his arm from Osomatsu's grip, roll so he was lying on his back, then send yet another kick at Osomatsu. This time, however, it was successful. Osomatsu's guard had been lowered and the consequence was having Todomatsu's foot against his cheek, causing him to stumble and slam against the door, rendering him unconscious.

"Osomatsu!" Chibita cried as his childhood friend slumped against the door, Kara and Iyami's eyes widening in shock. Chibita stood from the sofa, but he didn't go near Osomatsu. Todo was still in the room, and Todo was still scaring the daylights out of Chibita with his very presence, which made the smaller individual angry that he was letting this guy scare him, even after he just knocked down his friend.

"You let your guard down." Todo snarled, jumping to his feet and brushing the dust off his clothes, glaring icily at the unconscious Osomatsu. He was really strong to face up to him and pin him down, Todo would give him that. But he accidentally remembered something he didn't want to, felt bad about it, and let his guard down around one of the city's most dangerous thugs. Guilty? Not really. Todo had wanted to kick this guy's ass as soon as Kara told him the story, so he was satisfied. For now, at least. "Reminiscing about things now? Too bad. Your mistake. Don't get distracted by unnecessary things." Though he wanted to finish him off by tossing him off the apartment's window to ensure he'd die for good, he was already late for the meetup and he had no time to deal with Kara's bullshit if he did kill Osomatsu. Normally, he wouldn't care, but Kara was so nice to this guy, who injected him with a dangerous syringe!

Walking over to Osomatsu and ignoring the shocked and slightly scared looks of the other three occupants in the room, he pulled him by the scarf to move him away from the door, opening it and leaving the room without even giving a glance at Kara. Though he made sure to slam it shut as he left the room, causing one of the vases on the cupboard to fall, leaving more glass shards for Kara to clean later.

But he wasn't worried about that. His childhood friend had just knocked his older brother unconscious! Todo was Osomatsu's youngest brother, and he made the mistake of drifting off somewhere and lowering his guard around the most dangerous brother! "Osomatsu!" Kara rushed over to Osomatsu's side, Iyami following him while Chibita stood there, shocked, before gritting his teeth and cursing wildly. Kara grabbed his face to check if there were any bruises, and nearly had a heart attack when Osomatsu's eyes didn't open. "Oh my god, oh my god. Osomatsu? Osomatsu-niisan?! Are you alright?!" He grabbed his hand to check if there was any sign indicating he was alive, and to his relief, he felt his pulse and saw him breathing.

"He's just knocked out. The impact was too strong, plus, Osomatsu didn't have time to block his attack or anything. Me thinks it's best if you let Osomatsu rest for awhile and let him wake up on his own. Maybe deal with your friend later." Iyami glanced at the door and helped Kara pick up Osomatsu almost as if the latter was drunk. Except this was easier, because Osomatsu wasn't stumbling like a drunk moron. "How can you live with such a devil?! You're really calm about him destroying your furniture!"

"I'm not worried about that, Iyami. I've learned to deal with Todo's violent outbursts. He was always like that, especially since we were kids. And just when I thought his job at Sutabaa would turn him into a nice, polite person.. he became a bit girly, sure, but he reverted into a much more violent personality." Kara frowned, adjusting his hold on Osomatsu. "I mean.. flipping a table is completely normal to me. Last week he destroyed one of Rosa's friends and smashed our old dining table in half, destroyed the washing machine by kicking it-"

"SHEEEEEEEEH?!" Iyami did his normal gag as a way to express how horrified he was. Kara found it kind of amusing that he was able to pose like that. "He's incredibly dangerous, both to you and your apartment! How could you even deal with him?! Even after he kicked your brother!"

Kara sighed, looking down. "To be honest.. I don't really know. Maybe it's because Todo was the only friend I ever had. Besides, my patience doesn't run out easily with him. I've known him for a long time, and he still keeps secrets for me. I don't understand why.." He shook it off, trying to focus on Osomatsu instead of the fact Todo had left without another word. At least he'll come back later, Kara thought. "I'm not saying that Osomatsu-niisan is less important compared to Todo! I know I refused to believe him, up until those memories started flowing in my brain. I believe Osomatsu-niisan is my brother and Todo is one of my five brothers. But he's more of a realist than me."

"You're both being real, idjit. He's just either too logical or in denial." Chibita grumbled.

"Well.. I'll let Osomatsu rest in my bed for awhile. I'll get him an ice pack if he needs it. Thank goodness the impact wasn't hard enough to break the bottle and the syringe.." Kara said as he checked the contents of Osomatsu's back. The phone wasn't cracked too, which was good. He didn't know how Osomatsu would react if his only source of communication with his brothers got destroyed. "Feel free to do anything you want, you two. Here." He picked up the key Osomatsu dropped when he went inside. "You can choose to stay here and do whatever you want. I'll be taking care of Osomatsu-niisan."

As Kara carried Osomatsu to the bedroom and Iyami stared at the glittering silver key in hand, Chibita suddenly took his coat and scarf from the sofa, put it on, and went straight for the door. "Chibita?" Iyami put the key in his pocket. "Where are you going?"

"He said we could do whatever we wanted, right?" Chibita opened the door. "We're chasing after that idjit."


	13. Chapter 13: Grey Skies and The Sun

He was gonna get his ass handed to him by the boss again, Todo knew. And he's also going to have yet another argument with Kara, which would result to him throwing a tantrum and locking himself up in his room like a teenage girl, ultimately guilt-tripping Kara in the process, they make up, and back to square one. Especially after Todo just attacked one of his guests, one that claimed to be his brother and was ridiculously strong enough to take him on. He scoffed. Bullshit. And what was with that tiny guy and the guy with the large teeth? Todo wondered about that.

 _Tch, whatever. It's not like it's gonna matter much._

He then felt something vibrate in his pocket. Taking out a pink cellphone, one Kara helped him save enough money to buy it, he unlocked the screen and found a text message. He frowned, not wanting to be bothered after he just thrashed his own place, scared the daylights out of his best friend's guests, nearly killed one of them, and had slowly destroyed his friendship with Kara. Still, if he didn't want to end up with a missing tooth or with blood staining his clothes again, he at least had to pretend to give a shit.

From.. Dayon? He bit his lip. Dayon was one of his only two friends, the other being Kara. Sure, the guy was a bit eccentric and was a bit too friendly in a way that reminded Todo of Kara, but this guy had his limits. When push comes to shove, this guy was absolutely dangerous. Many people in their group found it unsettling to be around him, but since Todo barely cared at all, he somehow managed to become his friend. Not that he minded that Dayon sometimes went straight to the apartment in worry if Todo was late for more than thirty minutes, it was quite fun to have him around.

 **"You're late today, Todo! The boss left Atsushi in charge, since he's busy as always! But Atsushi got really mad that you were late and was planning on beating you up with the other guys! But I volunteered instead, so you don't have to worry about getting any punishment today! If I'm not there at the meeting or any activities, it probably means I'm patching myself up or dead! Have a good day, Todo!"**

He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes staring blankly at the screen. This man could be morbid with his humor at times, but the fact that he volunteered for Todo's supposed punishment was what caught his attention. He always does this whenever Todo gets punished for disobeying or being late. He gripped his phone in his hand shakily, trying not to let it bother him too much. Still, his mind drifted elsewhere; to seeing Kara last night looking like hell, seeing a doppelganger claiming to be from another dimension in which they were brothers, getting beaten by said doppelganger, and retaliating when the other was too busy thinking about something.

He wasn't paying attention to where he was walking, so he ended up bumping into a stranger instead. "Oof!" Though he did stumble and drop his phone, it wasn't necessarily something painful or something to throw a tantrum for, unlike what most delinquents would do if someone dared to touch them. The stranger that bumped into him dropped his own cane and landed on his butt, yelping. Todo quickly picked up his phone and offered a hand to the stranger who he had accidentally bumped into. "A-ah. Sorry. I wasn't looking-"

"It's fine! Just an accident, that's all!" The other replied with a happy tone, catching Todo off guard with how loud he was. So loud that some people actually stopped to look at them. "But I could use some help! My legs are a bit frail and I can't get up on my own! And if I sit all day in the sidewalk, my big brother's gonna get really worried! He might not let me on my own again, especially since my wheelchair is still being repaired! Some of my friends broke it and my brother got really angry!"

Frail legs? Wheelchair? Ah, so this guy had a difficulty walking. But Todo could see this man wasn't any older than him, nor did he look any younger. Probably the same age as him. Still, he let the other hold his hand and he helped him up as the other's legs wobbled. Todo quickly knelt down to pick up the other's cane and hand it to him. "Here you go. Do you think you can walk all on your own?" He asked carefully. He was actually surprised at the fact that this guy didn't react as anyone else when he accidentally bumped into them. He was dressed like a delinquent, so people feared him. But this one? Absolutely no fear at all.

Then the guy looked at him with such a happy smile. Todo took note of what he looked like. Black hair, but one cowlick was standing still like an antenna, stiff as a board. He wore a white button-up polo, black suspenders, a yellow button-up vest, yellow plaid shorts, ankle socks, and yellow winter boots. Yellow seemed to fit him, since his eyes were a sunny yellow color as well, sparkling with happiness. Besides that, his smile and his eyes seemed to be bright as the sun itself. Wrapped around his neck was a yellow plaid scarf. Todo also noticed that his polo had ridiculously long sleeves that obscured his hands. Aside from that, he also had a yellow sling bag with a purple paw print patch.

But the one thing Todo took note of, with a slightly scared feeling in his heart, was that he and the stranger somewhat looked alike.

 _Another one?! Good god, how many doppelgangers of me and Kara are in this planet?!_

The other tilted his head when Todo suddenly realized their similarities in looks, but the stranger didn't seem to notice what was so obvious. "Are you okay, mister? You look like you've seen a ghost!" He chirped happily, not noticing the fact Todo shared the same face as him. Todo snapped back to reality once the stranger said that with his seemingly natural loud voice. "Ah! Don't drift off somewhere! You'll bump into everyone in the street if you do so, hehe!" He giggled, using one of his sleeves to cover his mouth.

Todo blinked. What the fuck? Wasn't this guy processing the fact he shared the same facial features as him?! Though Todo did want to interrupt the other with that statement, the other looked so genuinely happy for some odd reason that Todo couldn't bring himself to ruin his fun. That was, until the other sneezed in a way that was almost like he was a kitten. "Are you alright?" He asked. He noticed he was still holding the other's hand, which was cold. And then it dawned on Todo; this stranger, this doppelganger right here, was wearing shorts in winter and probably didn't have anything underneath his polo. "Where's your jacket? It may not be snowing, but it's freezing."

The other thought for awhile, sleeve still covering his mouth. Seconds later, he perked up, waving his arm around like a madman while his other one was holding onto his cane so he wouldn't fall. "Ah! I forgot! And nii-san kept reminding me to where a jacket, exactly fourteen times!" He cheered, before suddenly calming down a bit. "Oh no.. if I get sick, nii-san will never let me out on my own ever again.."

Todo frowned. Big brother, huh? This guy was someone's younger sibling? It made sense if he had a doting brother, because one, he couldn't even walk properly and needed a wheelchair and a cane to get around. Two, the guy was probably still a kid mentally. Who in the right mind would let a guy like this all on his own? Then again, Todo knew the feeling of not being able to move to the point someone's gonna dote on you and probably will never give you enough space for your own privacy. Kara did it once, and Todo had been careful about getting injured ever since then. He still had the occasional black eye, but he was careful to not get any of his legs broken. Besides his legs being his source of movement, he always attacked with scorpion kicks.

"Where are you headed?" Asked Todo.

"A café called Sutoba! I wanted to help my guardian, and even if he tried to restrain me to my bed and tell me that he'll have his assistants do it for him, I still insisted! I'm gonna have to get him a cup of toffee! I got a little bit lost and I've been wandering around the city for about two hours! Luckily, I haven't fallen yet, and when I did, you helped me up!" He waved one of his sleeves around.

"Sutabaa?" Todo remembered his old workplace. The other seemed to have mistaken the name of the location, as well as the name of the product he would be getting. "You're gonna get a cup of coffee, right?"

The other nodded cheerfully. As much as Todo wanted a bigger reason to not attend any meeting whatsoever by helping this poor guy find his way around, Todo had been banned from stepping foot near Sutabaa ever since he got fired. He frowned. This guy wasn't anywhere near the street where Sutabaa, had been walking for an entire two hours, and walking was already a difficulty for this guy. How was he gonna help him? This guy forgot to put on a jacket that he was told to wear about fourteen times, this guy would probably forget the name of the street!

And as if fate was finally on his side, just this once, a voice from behind called to him. "Todo?"

He turned around. Aida? She was dressed in a button-up polo, black pants, and black shoes with a blue cardigan layered over her outfit. She was on her way to work, it seemed. "Aida?"

Aida didn't really plan on running into the same delinquent that used to be her co-worker, her old friend, as well as the guy that man named Matsuno-san was looking for. But upon spotting him at the other side of the street casually chatting and seemingly worrying over a disabled person, she thought to say hi at least. "What are you doing here, Todo?" She asked. It unnerved her to see the supposed polite guy from three weeks ago look like the pinnacle of an edgy teenager on a phase, but he still hasn't lost his kindness if he was nice enough to help a person who had difficulty walking.

Todo got an idea. He mentally thanked the gods for perfect timing. "Hold on." He turned to the childish male, who was still looking at him with a wide smile. "My friend here works at Sutabaa. I think she'll help you get there. Won't you, Aida?"

"Eh?! Um.." Todo was looking at her with a pleading expression. Was he really worried? She bit her lip. Todo was violent and could have given her the cold shoulder or done something horrible to her the moment she said hi, but here he was, still worrying over some stranger he just bumped into. "I guess. It'll be fine."

Todo sighed in relief. "Thanks.." He was surprised that Aida even agreed to this, seeing as how she had gotten angry with Sachiko and the manager when he reacted violently three weeks ago. He knew she was still suspicious of him, but she was nice enough to help this guy get to his destination. He turned back to the other. "Just follow Aida here and you'll be alright. Next time, have someone come with you to the city, alright? I mean.." He looked away. "It's been dangerous lately, with all the thugs around." He felt Aida send him a judging look. Of course. He was a thug himself. What a hypocrite, Todo told himself.

"Oh, I'm not scared about that!" He giggled. "I mean, you're one, aren't you? And you're really nice!"

It looked like Todo witnessed a flower sprouting in the middle of the desert. This guy knew? And he hadn't been scared? Before he could say anything about that, the other sneezed again, one sleeve covering his hand that was seemingly gripping tightly onto his cane. Todo didn't hesitate to take off his leather jacket and put it over the other's shoulders. "Here. You need this better than I do."

"But how about-"

"I'll be fine." He interrupted him. "Just don't get lost or trust anyone else that pretty much dresses the way I do. Not all of them are nice. And don't worry about the jacket."

The other nodded. "Alright, alright! Wait, I got something for you!" He unzipped the zipper of his sling bag, taking out what seemed to be a business card and gripping onto the card with a sleeved hand. "I can't thank you properly, but if you have free time, please visit so I can do so!" Todo took the card and didn't bother looking at it, telling himself he'd do it later.

Aida smiled a bit. So Todo was still kind. Maybe Matsuno-san was putting him in the right direction after all. She then checked her watch. "I'm late.." She muttered to herself. "Todo, I have to get going now. I'll make sure he gets there safely, so don't worry."

"Yay!" The other cheered, causing more people to look at them in confusion. Aida sweat dropped while Todo chuckled in amusement. This guy was kind of funny, even though he was unable to walk properly. "Thank you Aida-san! Oh yeah, what's your name?" He turned to Todo, still smiling. Todo wondered if there was something that could ever cause him to be upset. He then concluded that he'd never want to see such a sunny guy like this one with a frown. It just didn't seem right.

"My name is Todo. Katsuna Todo." He didn't get the point of the introductions, seeing as how he'll probably never see this guy again for the rest of his life. But the other seemed so happy, so he couldn't just ignore him like that. "And you?"

He seemed to smile brighter. "What a nice name! Todo! Nice name, nice name! My name is Jyushi! Suuji Jyushi!"

"Well then, Suuji-san." Aida finally joined in. "We have to get going now. Todo." She smiled at him. "Be careful, alright?" Knowing the people Todo had associated himself with recently, he wasn't going to have the best times of his entire life. Still. She hoped Matsuno-san could change him back to what he used to be. With a bow from Aida, she then assisted Jyushi in walking with her to Sutabaa, Jyushi cheerfully chatting with her about how he got lost and how his older brother had told him to bring a jacket with him about fourteen times.

Todo walked in the opposite direction, wanting to just get the day over with. He couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride for helping Jyushi, he couldn't deny that. But still. The guilt of nearly attacking Kara, his own best friend and roommate, was still eating at him. He checked his phone for the time and clicked his tongue as he saw the time. He was an hour late. Drat. Dayon's gonna receive really bad injuries Todo didn't want to think about. Something else to think about would be nice.

He took out the card Jyushi gave him, wondering what kind of business Jyushi worked for. But upon seeing the name of the company, he once again stopped dead in his tracks.

Flag Corporation.


	14. Chapter 14: C'est la vie

Kara heard Iyami and Chibita leave the apartment for awhile, but he didn't mind not having them around for a few hours. Not to say he didn't like those two, he liked Chibita's cooking and Iyami's antics, and both seemed to be good friends of Osomatsu, so he didn't mind their presence at all. Though they were from the same dimension as Kara, he was glad that they were looking out after Osomatsu, even if he was from another dimension and wasn't really their friend of about ten years. But right now, both left to do something he didn't pay attention to, leaving him with his unconscious older brother on his bed. He set down Osomatsu's small bag on his desk, after making sure that there were no cracks in the syringe, the bottle, and the phone.

"Oh brother." He sighed, most likely directed at Osomatsu. "I humbly do apologize for Todo's actions. He has always had a bit of an issue making friends. We are the same, likes two peas in a pod. I was such a pushover that no one respected me and Todo was absolutely terrifying to our old classmates. He had started socializing a bit more once we were at high school, but he was still feared by many. I do wonder how he's doing right now. I have tried so many times to stop him from becoming something like that.." He let out a bitter chuckle. "But I failed. As I always do. I can never help Todo."

He was just about to get another ice pack for Osomatsu when the phone started ringing. And by ringing, it meant blasting some sort of pop idol song that Osomatsu's brother, Choromatsu, loved so much. Since he just got the memories of Karamatsu yesterday, Kara couldn't say that he instantly knew all of Osomatsu's brothers, but he could say that he knows a lot about them. Seeing as how Osomatsu was still unconscious and with the phone ringing to sign one of Osomatsu's brothers were calling to either check up or inform him about something, he decided it was best if he answered instead.

 **"Hello, my brother! Choromatsu will be the one in charge of the phone again in a few hours! I just thought it would be best to inform you that Doctor Dekapan has located our little Jyushimatsu! Though his connections to certain people are still a bit lacking, in a few more hours, or maybe a few days, you will be able to reunite with our fifth brother! His connections are quite odd, often disappearing as soon as we find them. Then again, our Jyushimatsu is eccentric himself. It might have something to do with that fact, or the fact that his connections instantly disappear. Speaking of Jyushimatsu, he's still sick, our poor little brother. I dare say he's getting worse. Ichimatsu refuses to leave his side and tries to occupy him by reading him story books every day. Choromatsu and I switch from handling the phone and to helping Ichimatsu take care of Jyushimatsu. Todomatsu still has work to do, sadly."**

Kara felt the temperature in the room decrease as he read that sentence. He wasn't Osomatsu's version of Karamatsu, but after being injected with the syringe, he could remember some of the memories Karamatsu had with his brothers. Jyushimatsu was one of them, and Kara was fond of the memory both of them performed at their school's talent show during seventh grade. Hearing about how Jyushimatsu was getting worse made Kara feel incredibly upset, but hearing about how the Jyushimatsu of his world was pretty much found made him happy a bit. He wondered when Osomatsu would get up; he would surely love the news.

Still.. he had to reply to the message. Ignoring a brother's text is just plain rude! But he was literally going to be sending a message to himself if he did so, and that was just plain weird. Sighing, he decided to text back to Karamatsu in order to tell him of Osomatsu's current state; "This is Kyabarie Kara, this dimension's version of Matsuno Karamatsu, which means I'm the other you. Osomatsu-niisan is unconscious right now. He got knocked out by Todo, this world's version of Todomatsu. If there is any update on the other brothers or anything regarding this dimension, please let me know and I will inform him once he awakens."

And send. It took exactly fifteen seconds for the reply to arrive.

 **"Deepest apologies, my other yet equally beautiful self! While it is kind of odd to be talking to you, I agree with your idea completely. My poor older brother must be in such a bad state! I do express my sincerest thanks for taking care of him. Did he do anything to seem like he was being a threat? There has to be a good reason why your Todomatsu, Katsuno Todo, attacked him. He must be really strong to knock my brother out! There must be a reason!"**

Not really, Kara thought. "Osomatsu injected me with the syringe yesterday, if you recall. I agreed to it, but I felt the effects a few minutes before my roommate came home. He saw me in such a state and demanded I explain everything. I did, and now he's bitter towards Osomatsu and tried to kill him at least three times today. Osomatsu amazingly pinned him down with his quick reflexes, but he drifted off a few minutes later and lowered his guard. Then Todo proceeded to do a scorpion kick on him and slam him against the door. Todo left afterwards. If anything, it is me who should apologize for being such a weakling. I was unable to stop my own friend because I was unwilling to hurt either of them. Todo still doesn't believe me. I hope to find a way that will convince him otherwise."

Ten seconds.

 **"Do not call yourself a weakling, other me! It will lower your self-esteem greatly and it offends me. You care for your dear childhood friend, but you also care for my brother, who is also your brother. If Osomatsu-niisan and Todomatsu were to get into a fight, I will not be able to pick a side either. So do not be so glum! My brother definitely needs such a cool guy like us around, and for you to be cool, you have to believe in yourself!"**

Kara's other self, Karamatsu, was either a really supportive guy or one hell of a narcissist. Still, he couldn't help but let out a snort. He decided to reply. "Alright. I will keep that in mind. Thank you. I promise to take care of our brother until he's able to be reunited with you all again. Please do take good care of the others and make sure Jyushimatsu feels better. I'm sure it will help Osomatsu-niisan feel better once one of his little brothers heal."

 **"No worries! I must get going now. Choromatsu will text if there's something that must be said. Do take care of my brother. C'est la vie, good fellow. Farewell!"**

There was no use for such a dramatic exit, but Kara was amused nonetheless. Putting down the phone and focusing back into taking care of Osomatsu, he felt a smile creep onto his face. "Believe in myself, huh? Something that Osomatsu-niisan needs right now is probably the comfort of his brothers.." And even though Kara knew he wasn't Karamatsu, he could at least be Karamatsu for awhile, if it would make Osomatsu happy. Though he also needed to think of a way to make Todo believe him.

* * *

Iyami and Chibita didn't really know where Todo could be, but since he was dressed and acted like a thug, maybe he did his shady business in the darker parts of the city. Iyami drove around in his van with Chibita in the driver's seat, angrily tapping on the glass. To be honest, Iyami himself was ticked off too. That guy had hurt Osomatsu, who was trying to stop him from doing something he might regret, and Todo decided it would be best to attack Osomatsu when his guard had been lowered. Though they asked Kara to watch over Osomatsu for them and left immediately, they couldn't tell Kara that they were off to pursue that damn brat.

It had been obvious that Kara and Todo got along well, even if Todo did try to hit Kara with a bottle. Kara didn't raise his voice or argue much with Todo, mostly focusing on trying to calm down the pink demon before he accidentally committed mass murder. Chibita reminded himself to teach Osomatsu a few things, one of them being "do not drift off while pinning down a threat to society". Iyami couldn't pretend that he hadn't been terrified of a brat that was at least twenty years younger than him, but he was just as irritated as Chibita.

He just didn't show it. He didn't feel the need to. Osomatsu was already a serious case, and Iyami, though he knew that it wasn't that bratty Osomatsu he knew, couldn't bring himself to show that he cared. It was just in his character. Though he did promise to help Chibita confront Iyami, with Iyami being taller than Todo. Did Iyami know how to fight just in case Todo were to react violently? Not much, but he did know a few moves. Chibita was smaller, which put him at a disadvantage, but Chibita was definitely stronger and faster than Iyami, due to the former's ladle being hard enough to destroy his own oden stand if Chibita put enough effort into it.

While Chibita was grumbling curses about nearly everything in existence and Iyami was driving around crazily, he suddenly screeched to a halt once he saw Todo a few blocks away, except he didn't have his jacket on this time; hands stuffed in his pockets while he trudged through the snow, mouth curled into a frown and his eyes looked so dead, almost as if he wanted to be anywhere but planet earth. Iyami suddenly started driving as fast as he could again, ignoring the people he nearly ran over. Chibita, however, wasn't ignored as he was literally beside him, screaming. "Iyami! You idjit! Slow down a bit! You're gonna get us killed! If we survive, we're both goin' to jail, damn it!" He yelled, but didn't do anything, as he was pressed against the car seat thanks to both the seat belt and the speed Iyami was going.

Iyami tried hard to not lose track of Todo as he drove, with Todo not even looking back at the loud van causing such a ruckus that could have caused Iyami to accidentally run over everyone in the street and crash every car in the process. When Iyami finally stopped driving like a madman and tried to breathe, Chibita clicked his seat belt, stood up from the seat, and nearly tore off Iyami's face once his small hands were enough to reach Iyami's overbite, gritting his teeth in anger. "Chibita! There he is! Over there!" Aside from wanting to chase down Todo, Iyami also wanted a reason to prevent Chibita from messing up his face.

Todo didn't notice the van they were in, and just continued his walk as normal, heading to where the meetups usually were scheduled. Iyami actually thought the brat would at least turn around, seeing as how both Iyami and Chibita were loud when they started arguing. But the pink demon seemed to be so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice the angered Chibita screaming like a child.

Thankfully, Chibita listened and stopped trying to claw Iyami's face with his bare hands. "I'll deal with ya later, ya idjit!" He hissed through his seat, opening the door and jumping off. "C'mon! If that idjit thinks he can brush off what he did to Osomatsu, then he's got a storm comin', damn it. Even how he treats his best friend is shit. How can that idjit deal with such a demon at his house, thrashing it every week he decides to throw a major tantrum? He's being too nice. Todo was right about him bein' a nice guy, I'll give 'im that."

Iyami followed Chibita as they went into a dark alleyway which seemed to be leading into the opposite part of the city. Chibita made sure to keep his voice low, and so did Iyami. They noted Todo's every move as they followed him, careful so that Todo wouldn't lash out at them. "There's gotta be a secret lair or something." Iyami murmured under his breath, Chibita nodding in agreement.

And there was, unsurprisingly. Since the alleyway was just a tight little space between two buildings, there was an emergency exit that Todo used to enter one of the buildings. They waited until Todo shut the door until they ran after him, flinging the door open. Considering both of them were noisy and had swung a metal door open, Todo instantly turned around and made a fighting stance. Though he didn't expect the two of them, since his face seemed to be threatening at first, before shifting into a much more disgusted expression. "You two?! The hell did you-"

"Hey buddy!" Chibita cut him off, clenching his fists angrily. "What makes ya think you can kick Osomatsu and knock him down, expecting to get away with it?! Do you know how much trouble you're being to your own roommate?!" He crossed his arms. "And what an exit, idjit! Not only did ya kick the table, break your friend's mug and vase, and leave a dent on your door, you practically yanked Osomatsu by the scarf as if he was a doll! What makes ya think you're always free to do what ya want, just because your friend doesn't straight-out state how much of a brat you are?!"

"Why did you follow me here?!" Todo snapped, ignoring the question completely. "You can lecture me all you fucking want later, just-"

"No!" Iyami flinched as Chibita's angry voice became louder. "If we do it later, you're probably going to kill Osomatsu! You knocked him out cold, thank god he didn't bleed! But if Osomatsu doesn't wake up, I will kill you! He's your brother! He spent an entire week sulking, wondering why you and the other four weren't with him! And he was so excited last night to finally see you and have two of his little brothers back, and how'd ya thank him?! Trying to kill him with a plate and a wine bottle!"

"That's not the point! You're in their territory! Leave now!"

 _How could I be so stupid?! I didn't even hear them follow me! Shit, I was drifting off again!_

Todo knew it was a bad idea to even try to be nice to anyone. It would slow him down and occupy his thoughts. Just like what he was doing now. He put his hands on his ears to prevent himself from hearing everything around him, from Chibita's voice to the footsteps he could be hearing from the other side, to his own voice inside his head. This was what he hated about the aftermaths of his constant tantrums the most; the guilt would first make this odd feeling in his chest, he'd then think of all the possible ways for Kara to kick him out of the house, then he'd end up drifting far into space which is the only time he'll ever lower his guard.

Chibita stopped his attempt at a lecture when Iyami suddenly tapped on his shoulder. "Chibita, he's.." He was acting the same way as Osomatsu, except this one was having much more trouble with trying to breathe. "He's acting like-"

He was seemingly protecting himself from a non-existent threat and was bracing himself. Curled into a ball, eyes squeezed shut, hands covering his ears. Todo started muttering words to himself as fast as he could. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I was worried of what could happen if I left him alone like that, he's too nice, the world is cruel and dangerous, there are too many people who will take advantage of someone's kindness-" The footsteps seemingly multiplied. Todo's eyes snapped open, his pupils trembling. "They're here, they're here, run, get the fuck out, GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

The door on the other side of the room slammed open, multiple people stepping in until the three of them were surrounded. Todo instantly jumped back on his feet and placed his hand on his own chest to regulate his breathing as he turned to face Iyami and Chibita. Iyami seemed to have realized the situation they were in and Chibita inched closer to him. Shit. Todo didn't expect Atsushi to bring this many today. What, were they planning to finally rob a bank? Who needed this much lackeys?! And Dayon was nowhere in sight.

Did they actually beat him up? For every minute that passed, that was the amount of time you were gonna get punished for being late. Todo had been an hour late, so Dayon, who volunteered to take Todo's punishment, took an entire month's worth of beatings for him. "Shit." Todo cursed. "If I hadn't tried to fucking kill that guy.. and if I didn't stop to help that kid.." He backed up until he was in front of both Iyami and Chibita, in a similar manner Kara did with Osomatsu earlier, when he was trying to protect him from Todo's rage. "I fucking told you two to leave. Now look. We're all gonna get fucked." He hissed under his breath. "Great. Now I'm gonna have to get twice as much beatings I should have gotten. I'm probably gonna die. Thanks, assholes."

Iyami sputtered out something as Chibita inched closer to Iyami to the point he was holding onto the other's arm. It was so out-of-character for Chibita to be scared of something to the point he had to be holding onto someone, but they were surrounded by more than fifteen men, all wielding either a crowbar or a baseball bat in hand. It was natural to be scared. "Sheh?! But you were trying to kill Osomatsu, why were you trying to-"

"Katsuna. You're late." A voice from the crowd boomed. "And what have you bought here? Have you picked up strangers to take your beatings? Sorry, but Dayon has already done that for you. He's in the time-out zone for the time being. Got knocked out seven minutes later. Once he wakes up, we'll resume." The crowd parted to make way for a brown-haired individual in a formal suit, looking like he was ready to attend Todo's funeral once he was done beating the daylights out of him. "You're an hour late.. plus, you didn't do your orders for the week with diligence. I guess that's an hour worth of beatings.. and an entire week in the time-out zone? I wonder how your roommate would react if you don't come home for a week-"

"Atsushi." Todo cut him off, gritting his teeth and baring his fangs. "I did your bullshit. You didn't really tell me to keep it clean." He slightly turned to Iyami and Chibita, keeping his voice low so any of Atsushi's lackeys couldn't hear or see he was whispering something to the other two. "Alright. I'm gonna count up to three. When I yell three, buck-tooth-bastard will grab the midget and make a run for your lives. And tell Kara that I'm sorry I might not be able to be back."

Chibita looked at him, quietly yelling out a response. "What?! Idjit, that's not-"

"The most logical thing? It's not meant to be. They're after my ass, not yours- that sounds so wrong. They wanna beat the shit outta me. There. If you guys don't get out soon, chances are, you're gonna be mincemeat. Besides.. Osomatsu needs you, doesn't he? He needs his sidekicks to help him get back. Kara'll probably join your little nerd squad once I'm dead-"

"You believed them?!" Iyami and Chibita whispered rather loudly.

His thought went to the stranger he helped earlier. Suuji Jyushi. What an interesting guy. So happy despite his limits. Todo wondered if he was able to be like Jyushi one day. He wanted to meet up with that guy once he was done with this whole delinquent bullshit, because he didn't want to make a ray of sunshine like that kid feel threatened. Guess that won't be happening soon. He was certain that Jyushi had some connection to Kara's and Osomatsu's story.. there was no use denying it. There were four of them with the same face. "Not until now. Whatever.. I'll start counting. Overbite." He addressed Iyami. "Grab the midget and get ready to run like hell."

"Wh-"

"One."

Atsushi noticed that Todo had been whispering something to his two acquaintances. "Todo, I do hope you aren't planning on escaping. Because you're surrounded." He gestured to each and every one of his lackeys. "You escaping would result in more punishment. Maybe even your roommate will get involved." He smirked. "Don't want that to happen now, do you?"

"Wasn't planning to." Todo replied to Atsushi, lowering the volume of his voice again, since Iyami's hands were holding onto Chibita's shoulders. He was planning on using his foot to kick the door open, get into the van, and flee the scene. But Iyami and Chibita had mentally agreed to head to the police. Todo was going to die if they left him here. And Kara needed his friend. "Two."

Iyami and Chibita stepped back a bit. Everyone was so focused on Todo that they didn't notice. Slowly, Todo reached out to his headband, which didn't seem suspicious. Everyone, including Atsushi, probably thought he was just going to make himself look pretty before they beat his face in. Todo took of his headband, and pink strands of his hair dangled over his eyes. He blew a little to get them out of his eyes.

"Katsuna Todo." Atsushi spoke up again. "Due to your disobedience and your lack of diligence, as well as your tardiness, you will have to face a week at the confinement room with Dayon. Though Dayon will leave an hour later. Enjoy your week of absolute loneliness-"

"Three!"

* * *

 **This story is also posted on Ao3. Extra notes are there, as well as fanart links.**


	15. Chapter 15: Life and Death

Katsuna Todo had always been a violent child with a short temper. His parents had bought him to multiple doctors, who had confirmed that he had anger issues that will probably get worse as he grew. Not even psychiatrists wanted to deal with his violent outbursts when he managed to flip an entire couch at the age of four and destroy about five tables each time he visited. His parents thought that maybe by disciplining him as harsh as they could, they could make Todo act like a normal child his age. The "disciplinary" actions being often chiding him whenever Todo did something remotely considered to be offensive at all. Little did they know, Todo became even more bitter at this.

He was just a child and he didn't know why certain things angered him. Up until now, he still doesn't know why he was born like this. And after his parents left him with his grandfather due to the fact they couldn't handle him anymore, Todo got even more violent and angry. But at least his grandfather was patient with him up until his final day in this world, in which Todo had moved in with his only friend at that time and his best friend ever since he was a child, Kyabaria Kara.

Kara had been the only child who had the patience of a saint to deal with him, even as Todo shoved him away when they were kids. From teaching him math to helping him vent out his anger, Kara had always been there. In return, Todo had at least tried as hard as he could to never hurt Kara. Maybe destroy his furniture when he couldn't take it anymore, but physically hurt Kara with his own bare hands? Not really. At least, not on purpose. A lot of times he had hurt Kara by accident, by either flinging a coffee mug with steaming hot coffee, or flipping his couches back at the apartment. Todo's self-loathing was the result of his increasing amount of anger, but Kara had never once tried to attack him.

Kara was a nice guy. He was nice to the point a lot of people in the city would take advantage of him if they were bored. And that's why Todo knew it was his time to make his anger seem useful for once. People couldn't fear Kara because he was really kind, but Todo? That one guy who had intense anger issues as a child, got abandoned by his parents, and pretty much destroyed half the furniture of his best friend's home? He could be scary without even trying. But what would make people fear him to the point they would never even think to hurt people like Kara or Dayon?

Simple; they had to fear him even more.

His strength and his hatred towards people had managed to catch the attention of a large yakuza group in the city.

He had been walking home from a stressful day at Sutabaa when Dayon, of all people, had grabbed him by the arm as he struggled to break free from the other man's grip and bought him to an abandoned building where the feared yakuza group resided. They convinced him to join them as the city's supposed villains, in which he spat at the leader and told him no. That was, until they bought up Kara's name, telling him how no one would take advantage of his friend if they knew his roommate was part of their team.

And Todo instantly accepted. He was stupid to do that, he knew. And he regretted every minute of it.

He had just hurt someone who was trying to go back home, someone who had good intentions and just wanted to see his little brothers again. He had killed Kara with a bottle out of blind rage that could be mistaken as over-protectiveness. Finally, he had just bought two innocent people with intentions to get him back on the right track, with him into this hell known as the basement of the building, in which he'd either die from the beatings he got from his multiple fuck ups, or die from starvation.

But when he woke up from his self-pitying dream, he was lying on Chibita's folded coat while the two of them, Chibita and Iyami that is, were checking his bruises on both his sides. He flinched as one of them suddenly squeezed a sore part of his arm. "You're awake!" Iyami was the one who spoke first when he saw Todo twitch in pain. Todo noticed that Iyami had a few bruises and his hair looked like it had been pulled, his clothes were a bit messy, but somehow, his overbite was perfectly fine. "Me had been worried! You were bleeding from your head really bad!"

Todo scrambled to sit upright. "W-what?! How are you here?! I didn't run away and try to escape! They shouldn't have punished you too, they don't even know you!"

"You didn't run off, just like you said." Chibita sighed, covered in bruises as well. Chibita wasn't wearing his scarf either, making Todo wonder where it went. "They caught on. As soon as we started running, five of 'em chased us. You became distracted by us that you didn't notice the pompous asshole send the rest of his lackeys. But to be fair, you put up a really good fight. About ten of 'em lost a tooth!" He smirked. "And you managed to make someone temporarily blind by flingin' your headband like a boomerang straight at their eyes!"

Well, he had amazing aim after all. He knew his headband could be a good weapon if he tried hard enough. The only time he failed to hit something was when he flung a plate at Osomatsu earlier, but it hit Iyami instead. What a nice introduction. Todo wanted to go back to the past and slap himself for that. "That's not the point! Why'd they chase you?! They wouldn't have to punish you as long as I didn't escape!" He cried. He couldn't really remember what happened, but he was sure he didn't try to run! He was stupid, but not stupid enough to do something as risky as that!

Chibita frowned and shook his head in what seemed to be disappointed. "They're smart, damn it. That Atsushi guy really knows how to handle ya." Chibita scoffed. "They distracted you by trying to chase us to shift your attention. They caught us before Iyami even reached the door! Can't blame him, they were really fast, damn it! Not even I could outrun them if I tried, and I'm fast, damn it!" He huffed. He then pulled on something that was tied onto Todo's head, which made him run his fingers through it. He realized the soft fabric wrapped around his head was Chibita's scarf. "Well, we needed something to stop the bleeding, you idjit! You got knocked out from getting hit by a crowbar!"

Knocked out? He wasn't able to dodge the attack?! Shit. "Never mind. How long have we been here? Shit, my head feels like a fucking mess." His head was throbbing painfully, so he chose to lie back down on Chibita's coat like it was a pillow.

"Three hours and a half." Iyami piped in. Todo bit his lip. Not good. "Your friend was here earlier. He didn't want to leave the place while you were around. Me is pretty sure we'll be seeing him again. He might purposely cause trouble to get himself back in confinement. Me won't be surprised if he does that.. he was a bit odd, wasn't he Chibita?" Besides from the rather big mouth with a creepy unwavering smile and that brown suit, he didn't seem to act really dangerous up until some of Atsushi's lackeys tried to pull him out of the room.

Todo snorted, feeling lightheaded and somewhat dizzy. "Great. If I die, who knows what they'll do to you two." He sighed. "Whatever. If they get us food, share between yourselves. I'm gonna be lying down here and rotting 'til I die, probably starving to death and dying slowly because of this fucking head injury. Say hi to Kara for me. If they let you out, that is." He mumbled, turning away from the duo. He wanted to sleep and probably die in his own sleep due to the head injury, so he shut his eyes and let out a deep sigh, wondering what would happen next.

Chibita grabbed his face with both of his tiny hands and made him turn to his direction, so Todo instantly snapped them open. And the smaller man looked really pissed. "The hell is with you?! Are you really just giving up easily?! You're tough stuff, idjit! You said you could last an entire week in this hellhole, damn it!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. The shrill yell was so loud, Todo wanted to become deaf right this second and Iyami had to move to the other side of the room to cover his ears.

"I can. Doesn't mean I want to. I fucked up. A lot. Lost my will to live." He chuckled bitterly in reply. "Just kiddin'. They'll let ya out. The police can't do shit about 'em, so they don't give a fuck whether you report them or not. As for me, I'm gonna die here. Thanks a ton for keeping me company. Now let me sleep. I've done enough trouble in my entire life, even after my mom just gave birth to me. Plus, Osomatsu won't have to deal with me if I'm dead. If I pass while I'm sleeping, it'll be great news for-"

"Shut up!" Chibita snapped. "Why are you like that, you idjit?! Can't you be considerate of how Kara might feel if you die?! Osomatsu too! He'll probably go insane if you die!" He hissed through his gritted teeth. "You're his little brother! You know that, right?! No matter what you do, Osomatsu or Kara will never want you dead! Besides.." His hold on Todo's face became harsher, but Todo could care less. "If you die, there's no way Osomatsu can get back to his own world! He needs all his brothers present! You don't want to cause more trouble by killing yourself, don't ya?!"

Todo had to praise Chibita for being bright. Chibita caught on, apparently; he knew that Todo was just wanting to die as a way of trying to forget all his mistakes and problems. Todo had problems, just as Kara said. He just didn't say them to keep his supposed intimidating persona active. Well, he was intimidating naturally, but Chibita would like to think that there would be something good about Todo. His friendship with Kara, for example. He didn't seem to be willing to hurt Kara, but arguing was common between them, it seemed.

 _I'm being a coward again, aren't I? I was just in denial that someone would be looking for trash like me, calling me their family. Then again, Osomatsu did inject Kara with a fucking syringe without an actual adult's supervision.._

"Alright." He sat up and stretched his arms. "Normally, I'd wait 'til my confinement days are over. Buuut.." He tightened the scarf wrapped around his head by pulling it, almost like a bandana. He wondered where his headband went. It was probably still up there, seeing as how he used it as a weapon. He folded his sleeves, and he took note of how shocked both Chibita and Iyami looked when they saw the painfully glittery blue bandaids. Kara really was a nice guy. "Can't let you guys suffer with me. You might be interesting to talk to, but I'm sure both of you don't appreciate how empty this place is. You'll get sick of it after two days. Might as well break out and make a run for it. I did it last time and I only got a beating for two minutes when they caught me."

Both flinched. "There's a way out?" Iyami asked.

"Yup. Last time, I had a bobby pin with me that I used to pick the lock. Kara gave it to me to keep my hair in place, back when I still didn't have that headband. I lost it while trying to outrun them that time." He stretched his arms. Bad idea. They were still sore. "Yowch. Guess my legs are fine, which are great. I'm better with kicks than in punching." He murmured. "Anyway, we can't just bust out of here. We're gonna get beaten up if we do. So, uh, let me think of a quick plan."

* * *

Osomatsu opened his eyes to find Kara staring at him with a small smile. Thank god Kara was looking down so his head was blocking the light. "You're awake, Osomatsu-niisan!" He cried. "I was getting really worried that you wouldn't wake up."

The eldest Matsuno sat up, groaning at the pain. Plus, he just woke up. Everything was a mess. "Ughhh.. Todo sure is powerful. I'm impressed the youngest can beat the eldest.. then again, I didn't really fight and I lowered my guard so much." He groaned. That kick hurt like hell, sure, but he crashed against the door, which was even more painful in comparison. Besides his stomach, there was also his head and his back that hurt. "Aw geez.. huh?" He glanced at the window. "Wait.. is it.. night?" He squinted his eyes. The sky seemed darker.

"Yes it is. I do apologize about Todo's behavior and I apologize that I wasn't able to protect you from him either. I'll have a talk with him about this later. I hope he doesn't lash out anymore." Kara said with a sigh, handing him the phone. "Also, Karamatsu texted earlier. Nothing too important besides an update of how your brothers are doing and how Choromatsu would be taking over later, but we did have a rather lovely chat for a minute. I hope you don't mind, Osomatsu-niisan."

"Not at all. And don't beat yourself up over it. I think I kinda scared Todo by beatin' him with zero effort like that. And no need to protect me, I'm the eldest! Onii-chan's supposed to protect his younger brothers! He definitely doesn't need protecting! I mean, why do you think I went in front of Todo earlier, when he tried to hit you with a bottle?" Osomatsu grinned, taking the phone. He was glad Kara was nice enough to reply back for him, so he'd scroll through the messages later to check what they talked about. Probably something painful, Osomatsu thought with a slight smile. Two Karamatsus talking with each other would probably be hell for Ichimatsu. "Thanks for lookin' out for me Kara, really. I'm fine now. By the way, where's Chibita and Iyami?"

Kara frowned. "They left a few minutes after Todo did.. they still haven't come back, the three of them. Todo should have arrived an hour ago. Then again.." He looked down. "He was a bit late for his little.. meeting. If he has any new bruises, I'll patch him up."

Osomatsu was about to say something, up until the phone started ringing loudly, causing both individuals to suddenly jump from the loud pop music. He picked it up to read the message, wondering if it was either Choromatsu or Karamatsu who sent it.

 **"This is Choromatsu and we have an emergency so please read this message carefully. Professor Dekapan said that the other dimension's Todomatsu's life signals are flickering between life and death, constantly changing, but mostly staying on the death sign before flickering back to the life sign. Apparently, it means something unpredictable's gonna happen, and his life is on the line with either his survival or his death being the result. Please find him immediately. If he dies, it's probably gonna cost you your entire life. You'll be stuck in that other dimension, plus, he will probably die if you don't find him quickly. If this is the other Karamatsu, don't worry about Osomatsu-niisan. Go and find your friend. If this is Osomatsu-niisan, I'm sorry to bother you, but please find him. His life signal is the only one flickering, but he's with both the Iyami and the Chibita from the other dimension, and they're both staying in the life sign. Professor Dekapan's still searching for their location, so I'll text you as soon as we find it."**

Immediately after reading the text, Osomatsu threw away the blankets that were covering him and grabbed his scarf from the chair in Kara's room. "Osomatsu?!" Kara watched as Osomatsu scramble to put on his winter boots again and put the rest of his stuff back into the small bag. "What's the matter?! You shouldn't be up! You're probably still injured and-"

"Kara! Get dressed!" Osomatsu yelled, wrapping his scarf around his neck and running out of the room. "Todo's in danger! Catch up with me later, I'm gonna look for him!"

"W-what?! Todo's- Osomatsu-niisan, wait!"

But Osomatsu was already out the bedroom and out the apartment as he heard the door swing open and slam against the wall. The sound of a pot breaking also kind of made him scared that Osomatsu might have accidentally knocked over Rosa's pot and probably killed her. But hearing Todo in any kind of danger worried him more than his ficus plant possibly dying.

He grabbed his blue hoodie from yesterday and layered it over his sweater, chasing after Osomatsu as he struggled to put on his blue winter boots and grabbing Rosa's sequin scarf to wrap around his neck.


	16. Chapter 16: Danger Zone

"So, not really the greatest plan in the universe but better than nothing, so listen up." Todo clasped his hands together, Chibita and Iyami nodding in agreement. Chibita decided to wear his coat back, but let Todo borrow his scarf for the time being. They'd need to patch him up as soon as he got back home though. "Since Atsushi is pompous enough to believe that the door is unbreakable, I'm gonna prove him wrong by kicking it down. Plus, no one's guarding the basement. Morons believe in ghosts, and Atsushi's lackeys are one of them. Plus, this place stinks. Once I break the door, we go at the elevator. If someone's waiting for the elevator to open up, we beat the shit out of 'em and run straight to the exit. Alright?" After this, he was probably never coming back here ever again.

Todo could fight his own battles with or without a weapon, but scorpion kicks were his main attack. He couldn't find anything useful in the basement to use as a weapon, but he'll probably pick up something to throw on the way out. Chibita somehow got a ladle from somewhere, though Iyami told Todo not to worry about it too much since it was some sort of ability Chibita had ever since he started an oden stand. Iyami had picked up a crowbar with dried blood lying around, and though he tried to give it to Todo instead, Todo assured him he would be fine and Iyami needed it more.

Todo could be nice at times, it seemed. Or he just didn't want to be stuck with those two for a week. Either way, he was being really nice by even helping them get out at the first place. "You can break down that door? It looks sturdy, idjit. Can you even handle it?" Chibita asked with an unsure expression. Aside from the fact Todo wasn't planning to use his arms due to the fact they were incredibly sore, failing to destroy the door with a kick might result into one of his legs breaking, one of his supposed weapons and only weapons. "If you can't, let's try looking for something else that can pick the-"

Chibita was interrupted when Todo suddenly ran towards the door, jumped into the air, and proceeded to kick down the door as he landed. Todo let out a deep breath and dusted his pants while the duo looked at him in shock, wondering how strong Todo really was. He wasn't able to break the door by kicking Osomatsu against it, but when he straight-up kicked it? The door fell down. "There." He pointed to the elevator. "We go that way. Prepare yourselves just in case we get attacked as soon as the elevator doors open. And if we do face some pests, don't move unless I do." He walked towards the elevator with the duo trailing behind him.

Once inside, Todo seemed to be preparing himself for an attack, since he was cracking his knuckles and stretching his arms. Iyami fidgeted around nervously while shakily holding the crowbar, and Chibita calmed himself as he tried to calm his breathing. The elevator's small space wasn't doing any justice for the three of them. "Me wonders if this is going to work. What if we get outnumbered again?" Iyami asked.

Todo shrugged. "What're you worrying about for? We can do this. Just run as fast as you can and don't stop. Attack anyone who tries to stop you. Swinging your weapon aimlessly works every time."

Chibita really didn't think swinging a weapon around was a good idea. Then again, Todo was a good fighter so he didn't really say anything about it. Besides, Todo was right; wasting an entire week in the basement could probably kill both him and Iyami out of boredom, and kill Todo due to how he was bleeding from his head. He had to get patched up as soon as they got back. Still. The elevator ride was kind of long, but Todo told them earlier it's because of how old the building was. "Todo." Todo turned to Chibita, one eyebrow raised. "Why'd ya join this kind of thing if you get beat up by 'em? You talked like you didn't even wanna be in here in the first place."

A scowl formed on Todo's lips and he let out an annoyed huff. He was probably gonna shift the topic to something else. "Now's not the time to ask about that. Worry over your own selves before you worry 'bout my reasons." A ding was heard, signifying they were on the first floor. According to Todo, the elevator would open and lead them to a lobby, but Todo didn't really care which exit they chose. Whether it be the side, the back, or the front, they just had to make a run for it. "Alright, you two ready?"

Iyami and Chibita nodded as the elevator doors split open, revealing a dusty and somewhat unstable looking lobby with cobwebs and dust all over the place, the lights not doing the place any justice. Fifteen of Atsushi's lackeys were all over the place doing their own thing, but Todo stepping out caught their line of sight and they all scrambled to their feet to gather their respective weapons and run towards them. But Chibita and Iyami didn't move. They had to listen to Todo's plan.

Todo was the first to move out of the three, running straight to five men and using his legs to kick their's, knocking them down instantly. For the rest who wanted to jump onto him, he kicked them in the stomachs, picked one of them up by the foot, and swung him around at his own comrades, before letting him go and letting him fly to the wall. Todo picked up a baseball bat that one of them dropped before he turned to Iyami and Chibita. "Now! Run outside!" More men came rushing in from the stairs, probably twice as much men than Todo just beat up. The front door was going to get swarmed and block if they didn't hurry up! "Shit! Hurry!"

Instead of listening to Todo's owner, Iyami let Chibita use his back as some sort of boost as the taller man ran towards where Todo was, swinging the crowbar in sync with Chibita's ladle. While Iyami was attacking those who were at his height, Chibita supported by attacking the ones trailing behind him and Iyami with his ladle. "You expect us to leave you?!" Iyami asked in disbelief, stopping as he was back to back with Todo. Todo was smaller in comparison, but Iyami felt like he had his back pressed against a brick wall that somehow sweats. "Me is offended you want to steal the limelight all to yourself!"

"Limelight?! The fuck are you talking about?! The exit's over there, buck-tooth-bastard!" Todo hissed, blocking another attack with a baseball bat and using his knee of his left leg to kick his attacker's stomach. "This is a life or death situation, so get the fuck out of here before anyone here can tear off your overbite with their bare hands!"

"Which is exactly the reason we won't leave you, idjit!" Chibita's height was a disadvantage, but thank god Iyami was letting him ride his shoulders to attack them from above their heads with a swing of his ladle. It would be a instant knock-out, since his ladle was sturdy and was strong enough to break his oden stand in half. "Second day helpin' Osomatsu, and already this much trouble? I'm glad we went with Osomatsu, otherwise, that idjit could have died without us." Chibita grumbled as he raised his ladle above his head. "If you're trying to do some heroic sacrifice, we ain't lettin' ya! Osomatsu might die of a fucking heart attack from worrying over you if we left! Why'd ya think he didn't punch ya earlier?! He's your brother, he'd never hurt you or hate you, no matter how much of an asshole you are! Kara won't hate you either!"

Todo's pupils dilated. He thought Osomatsu didn't send a punch at his direction due to Kara's presence, who believed in this other dimension bullshit and Osomatsu probably liked him due to his kindness and didn't want to do something as rude as punching Kara's childhood friend. Though encountering two doppelgangers in one day was practically a sign that something out of this world was going on. He never really thought everything outside the box and was more logical than surreal, if anything.

And again, his habit of drifting off was a danger to him.

Because when he snapped back to reality, he just noticed a bat swinging at him. Before Chibita and Iyami could yell his name, the bat suddenly flung towards the air as it's owner was knocked down by a metal pipe. "Sorry to be late, Todo! But I was having a hard time patching up! I was about to break you out of there when I realized that the door had been knocked down, yon!" A loud voice boomed, in a much different voice than Jyushi's cheerful voice earlier. And the big mouth was a give away who he was, even if some of his teeth had been knocked off. "Let me help you, yon!"

Todo watched as the man who tried to hit him with a baseball bat fell to the floor, unconscious. The rest of the attackers flinched once they saw who saved Todo. However, the pink demon smirked upon seeing his friend, the guy who had been tasked to bring him to this hell in the first place. "Dayon! You're okay!" Sure there were bandages everywhere, a black eye, missing teeth, and his suit looked a bit ripped, with his coat missing and one of the sleeves torn off, but he was fine! And alive! "Care to help me out here? There are only three of us!"

"Of course!" Dayon happily replied, moving to Iyami's side. "I'm Dayon! You're Todo's friends? You're my friends too, yon!" His somewhat disturbingly happy expression shifted into a much more serious expression as he swung the metal pipe around. "You and your friend will handle that side! Clear it and make sure the door's wide open!" He yelled, using his metal pipe to point to the side exit. He then pointed his metal pipe at the floor. "Todo can handle this side! I'll handle the stairs!" He pointed at the stairs, in which more men were coming down from.

Atsushi was going to get pissed once he saw the bloody mess, Todo knew. But at that fact, he grinned cheekily, using the bat he picked up to hit another thug from behind him with a swing, before turning around and doing a side whip kick at another thug. Dayon had left his side and ran to the stairs, climbing up and screaming wildly as he attacked everyone who was coming down. "I've had enough of this." He growled under his breath.

 _No more mistakes._

"Got it!" Chibita tapped on Iyami's head as the con-man ran off to another side, violently using his crowbar to knock down people from the side. "Iyami, let me down. You open the door! I'll distract them!"

"Be careful!" Iyami let down Chibita from his shoulders and ran to the door.

"Naturally, idjit!" For once, he was going to use his short stature to his advantage. Someone had swung a pole at him, in which he dodged by sliding to the side and immediately to behind his attacker. He proceeded to jump upwards and use his ladle and free hand to lock his attacker's neck while his feet pressed against his back, choking him as Chibita force himself to increase his weight. His attacker then fell to the ground, foaming whilst unconscious. "Alright!"

"What is going on here? Stop this tomfoolery at once, you're all causing a fuss." All the men stopped attacking Todo, Chibita, and Iyami once Atsushi arrived from the elevator, frowning as if he was having a bad day. He didn't seem to care about the lying bodies on the ground, even going as far as to step on them if they were on his way. He scowled once he saw Todo, who just nonchalantly swung his own bat at one of his lackeys and rendered him unconscious. Compared to Atsushi stepping on his own lackeys while Todo knocked out one of them for self-defense, Atsushi was being an asshole. "What a mess. I'm afraid you're going to have to pay for this, Todo."

"I'm good." Todo snarled. "Don't need you chiding on me. I quit."

Atsushi chuckled, reaching out for something inside his coat. "Silly Todo. Once you're part of this group, you can't possibly leave. The boss would get angry at me if I let you off the hook so easily. Why, you're so strong you managed to knock out about thirty of my men! Dayon's still causing a fuss upstairs.. and, them." He pointed to Chibita, who was holding onto his ladle while Iyami managed to open the door, waiting for Chibita and Todo to run outside with him and make a run for their money. "How nice. Todo, you know what'll happen if you refuse to follow orders-"

"Stop using Kara as blackmail material!" Todo snapped. "I'm scared what you might do to him, and I'm scared what the others would do to him! Taking advantage of his kindness is what selfish people do! And making them fear me is the only way they won't do anything like that!" He looked at his own palm, bruised from gripping the bat too tightly, as well as having a few drops of blood seeping out. It was an angry red color, reminding Todo of Osomatsu from earlier. Red. That was his color, wasn't it? Funny. He always hated red. He hated Osomatsu, but at this current situation, he couldn't bring himself to curse his name. Wasn't Osomatsu the reason for this? If Osomatsu didn't inject Kara with the syringe, Todo wouldn't have had to try to beat him up earlier, which caused him to be late. Todo bit his lip, chuckling bitterly at himself. He was just grasping straws now, wasn't he? Pitiful, he told himself. "But I know that someone's gonna protect him. Even if I fuck up, I know that Kara won't be affected anymore!"

 _Because Osomatsu will help him. If he's really our older brother, isn't it his job to help the younger brothers?_

"Cute." Atsushi commented, unfazed. Todo was still looking at his own palm as Chibita, Iyami, and some of the still-awake lackeys watch the scene unfold. However, Atsushi took out something from his coat and aimed it to Todo. "But you've been very disobedient. From failing to do your job with diligence, to constant tardiness, to breaking out, and even thinking of trying to leave? Silly Todo."

He was aiming a gun at Todo.

As soon as Chibita and Iyami processed what he was holding and before either of them could yell at Todo to raise his head, Atsushi had pulled the trigger and Todo had realized what was going on, looking up and eyes widening. Though his pink eyes were filled with shock and horror at the fact he was going to get shot, he squeezed them shut as he awaited the bullet to pierce through his body and take him away from his life. The life that he ruined just because he couldn't control his own temper and his violent outbursts.

"TODO!"

A few seconds passed with everyone in the room standing in deafening silence, Chibita's mouth trembling as he yelled Todo's name, Iyami standing in shock and silently praying that Todo wouldn't spit out blood and collapse onto the floor due to the bullet.

But to everyone's surprise, the bullet didn't even make it to Todo. It had disappeared before it could even touch him. "W-what?!" Atsushi choked out in disbelief.

Todo opened his eyes, wondering what was going on. He noticed that he wasn't feeling anything painful and looking at his own stomach area frantically, he realized there were no holes to seep out blood to indicate he had been shot. This made no sense! He was sure Atsushi pulled the trigger, and he even heard the sound of a gun being fired! What was-

"Todo?"

Everyone in the room looked at the front entrance. There he was, Osomatsu, standing on the doorway with Kara, his pink phone on hand.


	17. Chapter 17: Black Hole, White Hole

The bullet had disappeared. Todo was still standing. Iyami and Chibita were staring in shock, as well as everyone else. Atsushi looked flabbergasted. Osomatsu would have considered this a success, but Atsushi, that asshole who nearly shot Todo, was still standing as he shakily held the gun. Osomatsu's eyes darkened as he started walking slowly to Todo, his phone constantly emitting buzzing sounds. He had to thank Choromatsu later, but also ask him a lot of questions regarding what just happened. Not that it mattered right now. "Todo." Osomatsu repeated. "Are you okay?"

What a proper question to ask someone who nearly got shot, Todo thought to himself. After blinking and quickly glancing at the side to see if both Iyami and Chibita were okay, he nodded. Osomatsu was only a few inches away from him, and though Todo knew that Osomatsu was being sincere when he asked Todo if he was fine, he could see the darkness in his eyes. Was Osomatsu angry at Atsushi? Okay, that was stupid. Of course Osomatsu was angry. Todo nearly got shot. "But the bullet-"

"Argh!"

Everyone then turned to see one of Atsushi's lackeys on the ground, holding onto his bleeding leg as if something pierced through it. Though Chibita knew it wasn't right to support the enemy, it would be heartless of him to leave him writhing in pain when the three of them only planned to knock everyone unconscious. "Oi! What happened to ya?! Hold on, turn around a bit. Lie on your back. Stretch your leg." Chibita assisted him and helped him straighten his leg, but Chibita gasped at what he saw. "Y-your leg.." He looked around the room frantically. "Nobody else here has a gun! Besides him-"

"Atsushi." Osomatsu spoke in a low voice, shadows covering his eyes. His phone was oddly buzzing loudly. Osomatsu then started walking towards Atsushi as the buzzes in his phone became louder. "So, you're Todo's boss? You look nice and dress nice, I'll admit. Nicer than Todo's edgy teen outfit, but there's something about your face that just pisses me off more than anything." He clicked his tongue. "Tch. Even in this world you're a pompous asshole. I'd let you go if you were just friendly teasing him or something, but trying to shoot him? Buddy." Everyone could practically feel the temperature go down, and it wasn't from Kara holding the door open and letting the nightly winter breeze in. "Do you honestly think I'll run away? From you? It takes more than a fucking gun to scare the shit out of me."

To Todo's surprise, Osomatsu managed to make Atsushi look like he had just encountered the devil, because the older man pulled the trigger again, except it was aiming at Osomatsu this time. Like with Todo, Osomatsu didn't get hit by any bullet. It just vanished in thin air. Osomatsu looked smug. "W-what?! What are you?! What did you do?! Where did the bullet-"

Another scream was heard. Another one of Atsushi's lackeys fell to the floor. But unlike the one Chibita was helping, he wasn't moving. He laid down the floor, blood seeping out of his head as he was limp like a rag doll.

Todo ran towards him to check up on him but upon seeing something in the man's head, his pupils dilated. There was a hole on his forehead. Exactly the same hole that would be seen from a bullet wound. "Who the fuck shot him?!" Yelled Todo, turning around. No one had a gun out! No one but Atsushi! Wait a minute. Atsushi had a gun. The bullets weren't able to hit their target, but his own lackeys instead. And that smug look on Osomatsu's face.. "You've got to be fucking me." Todo spoke under his breath.

But if Osomatsu came from another dimension, then it wasn't far-fetched.

Kara ran towards Todo, pulling on his arm with a stern expression on his face. "We have to leave. Now. Iyami, Chibita!" He called out to the two. "You two get everyone else out of here. Have someone help that poor man walk. And call the ambulance!" He was referring to the one with a shot leg, apparently. But the dead guy Todo ran towards to, he ignored. Todo knew Kara was scared as well and was trying to remain calm. "Osomatsu-niisan will handle Atsushi, won't you?"

Osomatsu lifted his head and revealed his eyes. While they were their normal black color, they seemed dull and dead. Nonetheless, he turned to Kara and gave him an assuring grin, waving his phone around. "Let onii-chan handle this! Iyami, Chibita, make sure none of them run off now! And Todo!" He smiled brighter, in a way that reminded Todo when Osomatsu pinned him down. He was dealing with something dangerous, but he was just smiling. "Don't disobey orders from your big brother!"

Kara lead Todo out by the front door, while everyone else had left at the side door with Chibita and Iyami. Though Chibita had two of the thugs help him assist the injured lackey and lead him out the door. "Is he gonna be okay?" Todo asked Kara as his childhood friend hold onto him as if he had been injured in any way. It was probably because Todo was wearing a blood-stained scarf around his head like it was a bandana. Oh, and his jacket was missing too. He'd have to tell Kara and Osomatsu about Jyushi. " He's dealing with a guy with a gun, unarmed-"

"He'll be fine." Kara tried to smile at the fact Todo was acting concerned towards the guy he knocked out cold earlier. Before Todo could say something, Kara took off Rosa's sequin scarf and wrapped it around Todo's, noticing the other's scarf was missing. He frowned. Maybe he'll knit Todo a new one once they get back home. "You'll be cold without this. I'm layering over a sweater, so it'll be fine." He glanced at Osomatsu one last time and gave him a knowing nod, praying to the gods that he won't get himself killed.

The room was now empty, save for that one dead body that got shot at the head and Atsushi and Osomatsu. Osomatsu adjusted his rainbow scarf and let out a sigh. "It's a cold day, isn't it? Couples are walking everywhere hand-in-hand, young adults like me go to cafes like Sutabaa to warm up, and usually, my brothers and I go out and play with the snow. Snowmen, snowball fights, forts.. all the things we did as kids. We're in our twenties, but one of us is still a kid, so we don't mind." He chuckled. "I'd like to hang out with Kara and Todo once I'm done with you. Both are my little brothers, and they definitely deserve to be spoiled by onii-chan after what they've been through. Y'know. Blackmail."

Atsushi gritted his teeth in anger, aiming the gun at Osomatsu again and getting ready to pull the trigger. "I didn't know Katsuna was related to Kyabarie. Why, I didn't even know you existed. Another lookalike."

"Hey, he didn't know I existed either. Don't you just love it when your little brothers don't know of your existence? Kara was fun to talk to, and I was looking forward to getting to know Todo better! We just met today too!" Osomatsu grinned. His phone's screen seemed to be flickering from black and white, but he paid it no mind.

The other took steps towards Osomatsu, smirking. He was sure to hit with how close they were now. "I told Katsuna to not tell anyone. He disobeyed orders?" He scoffed.

"Nope!" Osomatsu was grinning like a kid now, arms behind his back. He was still holding onto the phone though. "He's a brat, sure! But Todo's the kind of guy that keeps secrets! I bet if he climbed Mt. Fuji, he'd think of it as a stroll at the park! A secretive guy, y'know?" Just like Todomatsu, Osomatsu thought. Those two aren't so different from each other after all, if he thought long and hard about it. "He's a really nice guy once he stops being an asshole! I mean, he cares for Kara to the point he'd join jerks like you!" Osomatsu was standing his guard. No way in hell was he running away from the same guy that nearly killed his brother.

Atsushi frowned. "Aw, what a shame that Todo decided to quit. He was a really powerful fighter and he was able to take on half my men. Those stupid ingrates.." He muttered. They literally left the building as soon as Kara told them to, not even hesitating to leave Atsushi with this stranger. "I don't know your name yet, my dear friend. Who are you?"

"Matsuno Osomatsu." He said with a smile. "Nice to meet 'cha."

"Osomatsu-san? What a.. meaningful name." Atsushi got close enough to aim the gun straight at Osomatsu's head, pointing it at his forehead directly. This was a sure-kill move. "If he didn't tell you then, how'd you know?" He said under his breath, before smirking deviously and using his hand to hold Osomatsu's shoulder in place. There would be blood staining his suit but it was going to be worth it, probably. He couldn't do anything to Todo or his roommate, but this guy? He could end his life. "Ah, whatever. Any last words, Osomatsu-san?"

He grinned cheekily, irritating Atsushi even more. He wanted nothing more than to shoot Osomatsu to wipe that shit-eating grin off his face. "Big brother knows everything." He said without hesitation. The phone's screen suddenly flickered from black and white to a glowing red. Osomatsu's smile didn't falter, nor did his eyes squeeze shut to prepare for the end.

"Goodbye, Osomatsu-san. I wish I got to know you better." Atsushi pulled the trigger.

..Nothing?!

There was a sound, but there was nothing!

Osomatsu was still looking at him with those black eyes carrying mischief, that shit-eating grin, and that cellphone on his hand just buzzed louder. "What is going on?! This doesn't make any sense, where do the bullets keep going-"

Then something pierced through Atsushi's forehead, the same manner as his lackey lying dead on the floor. He stumbled away from Osomatsu and fell to the floor, motionless. He had dropped his gun to the floor, and now, he was nothing more than another corpse on Akatsuka City.

The eldest Matsuno eyed at his dead body for a moment, disgusted that some of Atsushi's blood got into his clothes and the scarf Karamatsu knitted. As soon as Atsushi's voice was suddenly interrupted by something that pierced through his skull and probably his brains, Kara peeked from the doorway and upon seeing Atsushi's body with blood seeping from the forehead, he ran towards Osomatsu, who turned to him with a blank expression. "Kara."

"Holy shit! Osomatsu-niisan! Are you alright?!" He grasped both of Osomatsu's hands as he dropped the phone, his eyes becoming half-lidded and his hands going cold. Osomatsu just woke up from being knocked out by Todo when he started running like a madman after all, so the aftereffects were probably getting to him. Kara picked up the phone and stuffed it in Osomatsu's bag. He pulled Osomatsu closer to his chest and started petting his hair in an effort to comfort him. "He aimed the gun at your forehead, didn't he?! Oh my god, if Choromatsu didn't send the program on time, who knows what could have happened to you or Todo.."

Osomatsu blankly looked at him. "Hey Kara."

"Hn?"

"I just killed a man."

"No you didn't." Kara hugged his head tighter. "That program was a self-defense program, meaning it was made to protect you. Listen. If Atsushi didn't try to shoot you, he wouldn't have gotten himself killed. Don't blame yourself, he shot his own head indirectly. Maybe if he didn't shoot, he wouldn't have ended up dead." He ruffled his hair. "I called the ambulance. And the police too. I think they're gonna have to question Todo, Iyami, and Chibita. That guy whose leg got shot needs medical attention."

"Ah." Osomatsu's eyes were drooping. "What about Todo?"

"I told him to stay outside and wait for help to arrive. He, Iyami, and Chibita are also making sure none of Atsushi's lackeys get away. They're probably gonna ask who the boss is." Kara told him. "Osomatsu-niisan..? You seem tired." Osomatsu nodded, his body becoming limp and somewhat sluggish. Kara had to crouch in order to put Osomatsu's head on his lap. "Ah.. I see. You are tired, aren't you? Well then.." He picked up the phone, sighing in relief. This phone just saved their asses. A phone, of all things, saved them. "Rest for as long as you need. We'll be there when you wake up."

Osomatsu mumbled a reply before passing out.

* * *

"Wake up."

Osomatsu's eyes snapped open, though he regretted doing so once he realized the lights were on. He glanced at his surroundings and realized he was at Kara's bedroom again. However, his clothes had been changed and his travelling backpack was at the corner of the room, as well as his sling bag. He was wearing his usual pajamas, with his bloodied clothes nowhere in sight. He also noticed that one of his sleeves were rolled up, and a blue band-aid had been placed above the spot where Osomatsu injected himself. Chibita was sitting beside the bed on a stool, tray of food on hand. "Chibita." He rasped out. "What time is it?"

Morning, Osomatsu knew but just decided to ask to be sure. Chibita frowned. "Time to wake up, idjit. You've been in bed ever since we got here." Chibita scoffed, setting the tray of food on the desk. "You passed out last night after runnin' around looking for us. I was really worried when Kara came out carrying you." A small smile appeared on his face, as he picked up a plate of freshly-made pancakes. Kara probably made those. "Not as worried as Todo though. I mean, we only met that punk yesterday, but he's capable of feeling something other than blood lust, apparently. Anyway, Iyami got your stuff from the hotel and brought it here to give you a change of clothes. He's still at the hotel, but I decided to stay here for the night and helped Kara with breakfast. And." He pointed to the band-aid. "Kara had injected you and Todo last night."

Osomatsu blinked. "Really? Kara convinced him? How is he?"

"Not really. Todo said he actually believed all along, but didn't really want to accept it. Kara asked him if he was allowed to inject him with the syringe last night and the demon accepted. He injected you afterwards in your sleep." He placed the plate on Osomatsu's lap, but he still held the fork and was using it to cut a piece. "He had a hallucination, but Kara said he had it too. He said he saw five people who had the same face as him.. and another him. All were going to attend his copy's little bake sale by helping him advertise for it. He then got nightmares as he slept, but Kara stayed in his room to keep him calm. I stayed by just to see if you'd wake up anytime soon."

Before Osomatsu could reply, Chibita shoved a piece of the pancake in his mouth. After chewing and swallowing it, he wiped his mouth with his hand. "I see." He turned to see his phone on Kara's desk, looking normal. "I suppose Kara used that?"

"Yup. After we got you back here, cleaned ya up, and tucked ya to sleep, Kara used it to send a text to your brothers. I think it was the third one he was talking to." Chibita ripped out a tissue from a nearby tissue box and used it to wipe some crumbs off Osomatsu's face. "You're messy. But honestly, I'm impressed by the people in your dimension. Aside from the fact your brothers got a professor to send you a phone that allows you to send a text from another dimension to the other.." He crumpled the tissue and threw it to a small waste box. "They sent you a self-defense program?"

Oh. Osomatsu forgot about that. "SelfDefenseAppTest27. Has an equally creepy name as DimensionTextingAppTest27, huh?"

While he was running with Kara as they frantically looked around and asked everyone they came across on for anything regarding Todo's whereabouts, Choromatsu had sent them the location, as well as another "application" for the phone. It was apparently an old project that Professor Dekapan started and gave up on, but decided it would be best to restart the project to send onto Todomatsu's phone just in case Osomatsu would need something to protect himself, or someone else, from anyone that could throw projectiles at them. A gun's bullet for example.

He hadn't gotten a full explanation from Choromatsu, aside from the fact that Osomatsu could use it as some sort of dimensional shield; the bullet that was aimed for Todo got absorbed by an energy wave that somehow formed a small black hole, then spat it out at the leg of one of Atsushi's lackeys. The first bullet that had been aimed at Osomatsu got absorbed as well, and Osomatsu focused enough to shoot it straight at Atsushi. However, it backfired and it shot the forehead of one of Atsushi's lackeys instead. Finally, when Atsushi had aimed a gun at his forehead for a sure-kill, the phone had emitted a large amount of energy that instantly absorbed the bullet as soon as it was fired, and had shot through Atsushi, ultimately killing him.

It was one hell of a self-defense mechanism, Osomatsu thought. "Choromatsu was panicking. I could tell. He was texting about how we should find Todo immediately, while at the same time, Professor Dekapan was probably searching for his location and trying to send me the program. I'm glad it worked. But I guess the phone's gonna be a necessity from now on. It's not just a way for me to communicate with my brothers from the other dimension, but hell, it saved Todo's life."

"That's one brilliant scientist, ya idjit." Chibita commented. "I can't believe someone as great as that professor is working with your bros to bring ya back! You're lucky to have him on your side!"

Osomatsu chuckled. "Well, he is a childhood friend of some sort, almost like Iyami in my dimension. I guess Professor Dekapan wasn't a friend to this dimension's Osomatsu if you hadn't met him yet. I kinda feel bad that we don't visit him as often, but Jyushimatsu seems to visit him a lot and ask him for stuff. Professor Dekapan really doesn't mind, since Jyushimatsu is good company." He sighed. "Anyways.. enough about the phone, how is Todo right now? Is he awake?"

"Yup. He's probably getting breakfast with Kara right now. Wanna join them?"

Chibita didn't need an answer. He took the plate off of Osomatsu's lap and helped him stand up as he lead him to where the dining room was. Upon stepping in that area of the apartment, Osomatsu saw Karamatsu wearing his blue hoodie with his face in it, pants, socks, and a glittery blue apron as he busied himself in the kitchen. Todo was on the table, a few band-aids all over his face. He was wearing a white sweater with two pink stripes, black sweatpants, and socks. His dyed pink hair was a bit messy, but other than that, he looked normal.

Todo was drinking his cup of coffee when he saw Osomatsu and Chibita step in. Before Osomatsu could ask Todo how he was feeling from the effects of the syringe, the pink-haired demon had asked a question that could have made Osomatsu die from his internal screaming.

"How did you sleep, Osomatsu-niisan?" He had asked, putting down his mug of coffee.


	18. Chapter 18: Red Flag

"So I'm the youngest." Todo grumbled as he poked his pancakes with his fork as hard as he could.

Osomatsu groaned for the tenth time today. Todo had been repeating that phrase ever since Osomatsu asked him about his night, and apparently, Todo wasn't taking the fact that he was the youngest lightly enough, often making comments on why he should be an older brother to at least one of them. Kara also said that Todo did get questioned the night before regarding his connection with the yakuza group, but not even Todo knew the name of the boss or where he was at the moment. Todo had only been in the yakuza group for a short amount of time, a few weeks to be specific, and he only saw the boss about two times. And even when the boss did show himself, he was always hidden in the shadows. But that's not the point. The point was; Todo doesn't want to accept the fact, that in Osomatsu's dimension, he was the youngest. He was being bitter about it.

 _As bitter as that coffee I chugged down the other day, maybe even more bitter._

"It's really not so bad as you think, Todo! Being the youngest means you have older brothers to count on!" Assured Kara, setting a plate of fried eggs on the table before sitting down himself. He had decided to sit down next to Todo so he could pat his shoulder in a brotherly fashion, while Chibita and Osomatsu sat across them. "You are apparently the second brother that has actual common sense, and the second brother to not believe in anything that sounds out of this world! Also, you are the only brother with an actual shot at society!"

"But I'm the youngest. And I act like a fucking girl in that dimension. Why the fuck would the world do this to me, I don't deserve to have my other self act like a fucking girl. Five brothers to count on? You basically said I'm the second one with common sense." He proceeded to stab a pancake with his fork, piercing through it along with a strawberry that had been delicately place on top of the stack of pancakes. He bought it closer to his face and took a large bite out of his breakfast, chewing rather loudly. While he didn't look as hostile or as murderous as he did yesterday, he looked more like what Osomatsu would look like whenever he lost at pachinko. "This is the worse."

Chibita sighed from beside Osomatsu. "Roles and titles don't matter, idjit. I mean, Kara was practically taking care of Osomatsu yesterday, wasn't he? And Osomatsu's the oldest, damn it! You're fairly mature, maybe even more so than these nerds, so even if you're the youngest, you still have to look out for your brothers!"

Yowch. Chibita was being a savage with how blunt he was being. Kara blushed at that in shame, while Todo seemed to be in a lighter mood due to Chibita's statement, smirking like a smug ten year old brat who just asserted his dominance on the school's playground. Whatever floats his egotistical boat, Osomatsu thought to himself. "Well, now I have both Kara and Todo with me. Two out of five." Osomatsu said, taking a bite out of his pancake. "Now I need to ask Choromatsu about the other Jyushimatsu, Ichimatsu, Choromatsu, and the other me. But I guess they're still trying to find them if I haven't received a text yet. I can't blame them, I mean, they probably worked their asses off looking for the two of you. Plus, they sent me that self-defense program. I'm sure they need a nap or something."

Todo stopped brutally poking his food. "Hold on just a second!" He stood up from his seat, ran from the dining room to his own bedroom, and was heard cursing as he looked for something, the shuffling of drawers being heard from his room. With a triumphant "Found it!", he ran back to the area where the other three were, holding a crumpled card of some sort. "I knew that yellow one in my illusion looked and sounded so familiar. His name was Jyushimatsu, the second youngest, right?"

Osomatsu took the card, inspecting it. "Flag Corporation?"

At the mention of the company's name, both Chibita and Kara stopped eating. Kara choked on his own food and Chibita spat out his coffee. Osomatsu was more shocked at what they did rather than the name of the company. "What?!" Kara snatched the card from Osomatsu, making sure it was real. A bit crumpled and folded, but the words could still be read, clear as day. "Where did you get this, Todo?!"

"I bumped into another clone of ours yesterday, on the way to the meetup." He frowned at the memory. "He dressed like a kid, and he had a cane with him. Apparently, he couldn't walk without it either. It didn't seem that way in the illusion and my dreams though." He sat back next to Kara, who handed the card to Chibita for inspection. "Come to think of it.. we seem to be different in the other dimension, Kara. I'm a bit more violent than girly, you're more of a housewife than a narcissistic asshole, and that guy.. he was still hyper, I think. But his legs don't seem to be as sturdy in this dimension."

"You bumped into Jyushimatsu yesterday?!" Osomatsu cried out. "Is he okay?! Was anyone with him?! Good god, he doesn't have brothers in this dimension! How the hell is he doing-"

"Calm down, moron! Shit, this is the reason I don't want to be the youngest! My supposedly older brother is panicking like he lost his child at the damn supermarket!" Todo snapped, smacking his head. "His name is Suuji Jyushi in this dimension. I don't think he's from around here. I mean, if he's part of Flag Corporation, that'd make sense. Aside from his frail legs, he looks fine, so stop freaking the fuck out, you imbecile! Can't believe you're supposed to be the eldest if you can't keep your composure." Todo huffed his last sentence, crossing his arms.

Chibita gave the card back to Todo, before turning to Osomatsu. "There's a chance your bro's workin' at Flag Corporation. Can't say that's a good thing, but can't say it's a bad thing either."

"What even is Flag Corporation?" Osomatsu asked after being smacked back to his senses by Todo. Sure, a company with the same name existed in his dimension, but no one reacted in such a way when it was mentioned. Wasn't Hatabou the president of the entire company? What was there to be scared of? Then again, Professor Dekapan wasn't associated with Chibita, so maybe Hatabou wasn't the president of the company in this dimension. Anything could happen without the sextuplets, Osomatsu reasoned. For one, Dayon didn't even seem to be associated with Iyami. Todo and Kara, sure, but Osomatsu, Chibita, and Iyami? Not really.

Kara managed to compose himself. "It's basically a company that is the sole reason why Akatsuka City is so advanced in technology. And messed up, in terms of people. Individuals like Atsushi could get any sort of information they need from Flag Corporation as long as they have the money. Anything and everything can be stolen these days, personal information included. I guess that's how Atsushi and his gang managed to blackmail Todo once they got him. I mean, to be fair, Atsushi does look kind of rich."

Todo scoffed, grabbing a slice of toast and biting onto it. Loud, as usual. "Who cares about that guy, he's dead. Anyway, they're fairly easy to contact, since nearly every single person in the city knows their number or e-mail. The hard thing about them is paying for the information you'll be getting. So getting information about any of your brothers will cost us a certain someone's overbite and my arms. And I won't deal with that."

Osomatsu frowned. "Who said anything about asking them for information? We'll go there ourselves. We need the actual person, not information about them." He took one last sip from his mug of coffee, before he pushed it away. "I'm gonna go ask Choromatsu if there's anything else about the Flag Corporation in this dimension, as well as anything that has connections to this dimension's Jyushimatsu. It's just another building here in the city, right?"

"A big-ass building that stands out from the rest, as well as a two-hour drive. Might take us seven hours if we're stupid enough to go by foot." Todo grumbled. "Besides, we can't just waltz in! The building itself is off-limits-"

"We'll sneak in then! Me and those five other losers do it a lot!" Osomatsu raised his finger, probably referring to his brothers as the "five other losers". "I'm gonna go ask Choromatsu or Karamatsu, depending on who's in charge of the phone. We'll plan this out after I take a bath and get my shit done. Chibita, you fill up Iyami on what's going on as soon as he gets here! Oh, uh, and call him to pack up. We might be having to go to another hotel. Kara, you and Todo pack up too. Clothes and necessities."

"Alright! That's the spirit, ya idjit!" Chibita bounced up from his seat, pulling his orange phone out of nowhere and leaving the apartment as he prepared to dial Iyami's number.

Kara smiled in agreement, setting a plate of food on one part of the table as he stood up. "This will be Iyami's share of food for today. And I agree!" He clasped his hands together. "We must look for our brothers no matter what! Todo, let's start packing! I'll help you if you need assistance!"

Before Osomatsu could run off somewhere like Chibita, Todo grabbed him by his arm and looked at him as if he was a mental asylum patient. "Are you serious right now?! You moron, we're gonna get fucking murdered as soon as we try to sneak in! That company is rich as fuck, their security's tight, cameras are probably everywhere, and we can't rely on your little self-defense mechanism if they try to shoot us! If you even counter a single bullet at one guard in that company, we are going to get slaughtered for assault! Doesn't matter if it's not necessarily our doing they got fucking shot, this is fucking insane-"

Osomatsu pulled his arm out of Todo's grip, and in a swift motion, hugged the other tightly. "It'll be fine!" He assured him, ruffling his hair. "You really are like Todomatsu! He reacts the same way whenever I plan out something, except with less swears."

"Get off me." Todo growled in reply.

Osomatsu grinned and ruffled his hair even more. Kara watched as Todo try to break free from the eldest's grip. He was actually pretty happy that Osomatsu didn't seem as serious or as stressed as he was two days ago and yesterday. "That's not the way to talk to your onii-chan! Think of all the good memories you got!"

"One of them involved four of you demolishing my other self's reputation at Sutabaa, and Jyushimatsu was the only one decent enough to not do anything that could have gotten all of you arrested and he actually cleaned up the mess you and the others caused. Also, one of them tried to take a fucking dump on a damn table. Twice, one on a different occasion, in which you fucking thought groping someone at a mixer was okay." Todo retorted. "Now let me go, you stupid eldest brother!"

At the words "stupid eldest brother", Osomatsu suddenly teared up and hugged Todo tighter. "You called me your eldest brother! I'm so proud of you, Tater Tot!"

"Who in the actual living fuck is Tater Tot?! You stink! Get off me!"

Kara let out a relived sigh. "Well, if you two need me, I'll be packing some clothes. If you want, I'll do yours too, Todo." He smiled softly as he left the room and left Todo at Osomatsu's mercy.

"No! Kara! Don't leave me!"


	19. Chapter 19: Yet Another Road Trip

When Iyami had arrived, Chibita immediately led him to the table and explained their next course of action as Iyami ate. The con-artist was grateful that Kara was nice enough to leave him food, since he left the hotel early and didn't get any breakfast as a result. Though when he arrived, he found Osomatsu and Todo wrestling on the floor as Osomatsu kept yelling about a tater tot, with Todo baring his fangs and trying to claw Osomatsu's face. They only stopped once Chibita yelled at them, so he could be able to explain to Iyami.

Osomatsu had stopped teasing Todo an hour ago and had went to tell Choromatsu about their plan, as well as take a bath. Todo and Kara decided to pack their own clothes, when Iyami and Chibita heard the two friends talking over a dilemma from the living room. "Todo, my dear friend! I forgot! Who shall water and keep our lovely Rosa company?!" He said dramatically, gesturing to the ficus. Her flower pot had been shattered yesterday due to Osomatsu's haste, but thankfully, Kara had another flower pot just in case something like that happened. "And who shall clean the house?! Who shall ward off any pests that plot to hurt dear Rosa?!"

Todo rubbed his forehead in exasperation, trying his best to ignore the somewhat confused looks of Iyami and Chibita. They were discussing about this stupid ficus again, and Todo had never wanted to strangle a fucking plant in his entire life. "I thought that fucking plant had died when I saw it lying on the ground yesterday.. guess I was wrong." He mumbled to himself, crossing his arms. "Look, if this is such an issue that Rosa's gonna be lonely for a good amount of time and our house is somehow gonna end up being a wrecked, why don't I just call Dayon over to look after the place while we're gone and all? I mean, ever since yesterday, he's been wondering what to do with his life now that he's not a yakuza. And I'm sure he loves housework and having something to do." Todo suggested.

Kara seemed to like that idea, because his eyes practically sparkled and he clapped his hand together. "Wonderful idea as always, Todo! You are so lucky to have a friend such as Dayon! And I am so blessed to have such an intelligent friend living under the same roof as I!"

Todo sighed. His best friend was really such an idiot at times. Still, he couldn't help but be amused at him. He made a small grin directed at Kara. "No problem, Kara. Let's just continue packing, okay? You can decide some of my clothes, I guess." Though they only met him yesterday, Todo didn't really seem that much of a threat anymore, now that he's gotten Todomatsu's memories. Or maybe Todo hadn't been dangerous at all. He was patient with Kara's constant ramblings of how Rosa was going to be lonely without them, and it was probably the entire yakuza-thing that got Todo to act like a pink demon. Nonetheless, Todo just kept suggesting anything that could help Kara over his worrying for a damn ficus.

Osomatsu stepped in the room, his red towel hanging from his shoulders. "I'm done taking a bath. Todo, Kara, you two need some extra hands? I just finished fixing my traveling backpack. I'll tell you the plans once we get in the van." Osomatsu changed from his pajamas to his casual red hoodie with a maroon jacket with white sleeves layered over it, his mittens, pants, winter boots, and his brown beanie. Like yesterday, it wasn't that cold, but there was a chance of snow again today so he decided it'd be best to protect his head from the snow. Iyami didn't really need anything to protect himself from the cold because his clothes were thick enough to make sure he was warm, and Chibita only needed his coat and scarf to feel warm.

Kara nodded, giving off a somewhat mischievous glint in his eye. "Osomatsu-niisan, I'm sure Todo would really appreciate the help. I can do my packing on my own. Todo might need help since he has a harder time deciding which clothes to bring, isn't that right, Todo? I'll call Dayon over and tell him that we'll be leaving for a couple of days!" He grinned, giving Osomatsu a pat on the shoulder, who grinned in reply.

Todo's face went from peacefully normal to hysterical in less than five seconds, turning to Kara, then to Osomatsu. Both his older brothers had stupid shit-eating grins plastered on their faces. "What?! No! I can handle it myself!" Todo screeched, his face a shade of red. Again, Osomatsu made a grin and slung his arm over Todo's shoulder. Kara left the living room with a smile, claiming to do his own thing while Osomatsu supposedly helped Todo with his own packing. He could tell from the eldest Matsuno's face that he was going to do anything but help. "Why the fuck is the world so cruel to me." He grumbled, burying his face in his hands.

"It won't be so bad, y'know." Osomatsu told him, lightly dragging him to Todo's room and swinging the door open. "I swear I won't judge your other clothes, if that's what you're worried about!" Todo's room was no different than Kara's. It was a bit plain with the cream-colored walls, the cleaned windows, and the spotless wooden floor, but there was a mess of papers here and there, the sheets were all over the place, as well as dirty laundry on one corner of the room. Other than that, it seemed normal enough. Maybe even too normal for a punk like Todo. "Looks like you're not a neat-freak. Unlike Kara. The guy's practically a vacuum cleaner, isn't he?"

Todo shrugged. "I'll fix it later. Let me get my backpack first. I haven't used it in a long time, since Kara and I barely go on trips." He slipped from Osomatsu's hold and went to look for something from under the bed. He pulled out a pink and black travelling backpack, identical to Osomatsu's. It was covered in dust, however. "Since you're the eldest, do me a favor and get me some of my clothes from the closet. I'll deal with cleaning this up and the necessities."

"Alright." Osomatsu didn't mind being ordered around, since Todo was at least trusting him with something. He checked Todo's closet and blinked in confusion when he saw about five of the same white polos that Todo wore yesterday, as well as two of the same leather jacket. He wondered where the one he was wearing yesterday went, since Todo didn't seem to be wearing it when they found him. He also had his gray-plaid scarf and about twelve pairs of painful leather pants, but Osomatsu was looking for some other outfits, since Todo needed a bit more variety. He wan't a fashion freak unlike Todomatsu or Karamatsu, it seemed. "Sheesh. You need more than these edgy fashions, pal. You're becoming more of an edgy kid than Ichimatsu." He mumbled under his breath.

"Fuck you." Todo replied childishly as he started to wipe the dust off the backpack.

Osomatsu continued his search for other clothes for Todo to bring, hoping his entire wardrobe didn't just consist of five white polos and twelve leather pants. To his surprise and relief, Todo did have other clothes. He had two other pairs of the same sweatpants he was wearing, meaning he had three in total. A white sweater similar to what he was wearing right now was also there, meaning he had two of those. There was also a pair of pink slacks, two black blazers, three pairs of dress pants, a pink training suit, a black and pink sweatshirt, two pairs of black khaki pants, and a familiar pink hoodie. However, instead of having Osomatsu's family symbol or Kara's painful face, it had the print of a black skull.

 _Oh god, the edge is real with this one._

"So you do have other clothes." Osomatsu smiled a bit, folding them into a neat pile as he rummaged through the closet more. "Just in case, we'll be bringing your formal attire, a pink tuxedo vest and a black jacket, and your pink training suit.. your scarf is a must. It's a really nice scarf. Also, this black training jacket. Ah, there's still pink in it too. A pink zip-up hoodoe, and.. oh!" He found a black beanie with a pink pin shaped like a little swirly cookie. Cute. "A beanie to protect your head, since it's snowing a lot. Oh, you have mittens too." They were white in color, Osomatsu noted. "We'll be bringing that. Winter boots, too." They were black, but the shoelaces were pink. God, he really loved pink, didn't he? So much for an edgy teen, more like an edgy teenage girl. "And simple clothes for pajamas, like your black sweatpants. Your white polos could be used as pajama tops. And these too, they look comfy enough." Three pairs of black shirts looked like they weren't gonna choke you in your sleep. "Sweatshirts could work too, since they seem loose enough to give you enough space to breathe. And this is a must, really." He chuckled as he folded the pink hoodie. "When you change your clothes later, wear your hoodie. The three of us'll match."

Todo mumbled replies to each of Osomatsu's words about his entire wardrobe, mindlessly wiping the dust off with a wet tissue paper. It had turned to a gross gray color, in which he scowled at it and threw it to the pink waste bin. "Osomatsu." He turned to face his eldest brother, who was folding clothes he found from his closet. He seemed interested, since he perked his head up and raised an eyebrow. What, is it because he hadn't referred to him with the honorific "nii-san"? Nah, it was probably because Todo was even willing to interact with Osomatsu without the eldest having to tease him about his new found nickname. "I have a question. It's not about the other me, but more about the other Jyushimatsu. The one in your dimension, I mean. The yellow one."

Ah. Osomatsu knew his brothers better than anyone, so anything Todo could ask could be answered. "Shoot."

"Why's he so happy?" Asked Todo. This question had been bothering him since he bumped into the cheery individual, and was probably one of the reasons he drifted off yesterday. He flapped the backpack repeatedly to make sure there were no leftover crumbs from something or any dust left. "I have Todomatsu's memories, but it doesn't mean I understand my other self. Like, I don't understand how happy he is. Isn't the society you live in as fucked as ours? Yet, he's still smiling." He shuffled through his drawers distractedly, picking up a few bottles of shampoo and soap, and a bottle of hair-dye. Osomatsu nearly forgot Todo's pink hair wasn't natural. "It's a bit contagious, I guess. Every memory I had of all of us together, whenever he starts smiling, all of us smile too. Even that scruffy-haired one." He was probably referring to Ichimatsu. He put all the bottles in the backpack. "Even if it was just an illusion, I couldn't help but smile at his antics. I'm a bit jealous of his cheerfulness. I kinda wish I had his positive energy. Kara doesn't need a pessimistic guy like me around."

"He's not always happy." Osomatsu replied with a sigh, bringing over the pile of clothes and sitting down next to Todo on the floor. Todo's sudden pause as he attempted to think of Jyushimatsu's or Jyushi's face without a smile kind of bothered them both. "I know what you're thinking. And yeah, him frowning is not a pretty sight. He's literally the ball of sunshine in our lives, and without his smile, everything just seems.. dark." He pulled Todo's backpack to his side and started putting the folded clothes inside the backpack, careful to not crush the bottles beneath. "Don't think much into it. Hell, five of us are jealous of Jyushimatsu's natural ability to be happy. But he's the one in charge of spreading the happiness around. And your version is in charge of making sure we don't fuck up in society."

"I see." Todo muttered. Osomatsu suddenly handed him his pink hoodie, a white polo, a pair of black khaki pants, his black beanie, a pair of white socks, black winter boots, white mittens, his gray-plaid scarf, and a leather jacket similar to what he wore yesterday.

"It's cold, and you don't seem to have any jackets or anything that seems normal. Wear a polo under your hoodie and layer your heavy-ass leather jacket over it to keep you warm. Mittens are to keep your hands warm, the beanie'll keep your head free from the snow, winter boots are better than shoes if you don't want your feet freezing, and the scarf is another layer to be added. I swear, if you have enough free time, get a normal winter jacket or coat. You have two leather jackets and they're both painful to look at. Get one like this." He pointed to his own jacket. "Simple enough to wear and thick fabric, but not heavy."

Todo snorted, taking off his white sweater and putting on the white polo instead. He wasn't comfortable with Osomatsu staring at some of the bruises he got on his skin, so he decided to button the polo as quick as possible. "You know about this a lot, don't you, Osomatsu?" He commented, slipping on the pink hoodie and layering the leather jacket over it. He then took off his sweatpants and wore the black khakis instead, before sitting down on his bed and putting on the white socks.

Osomatsu helped by putting the beanie on Todo's head, as well as putting the mittens on both of his hands. "I learned by shopping with Karamatsu and Todomatsu. Both are the fashion kings at our house. I barely give a shit what we look like, as long as we dress comfortably. Chorofappyski tends to look sophisticated, Ichimatsu will probably go naked if Choromatsu or Todomatsu weren't around, Jyushimatsu loves shorts and clothes that are too big for him. While Todomatsu and Karamatsu love to look trendy, they also think about how their clothes could affect them. In a way, I learned. Not like I wanted to. Here. I'll help you put this on." He gestured to the winter boots.

Todo would have denied any help, especially from the same guy he nearly killed, the same guy that saved his life, and the same guy that was nicknaming him after food. But instead, he just nodded.

* * *

Dayon had arrived thirty minutes later, and Osomatsu had formally introduced himself to the big-mouthed man and gave him one of Kara's keys, seeing as how they weren't going back anytime soon. And just like Kara, Dayon had complimented the nice change of clothes that Todo wore that made him look less of a punk than he really was. But with the dyed hair and leather jacket, he still looked somewhat intimidating, especially since his cherry pink eyes tended to hold anger or resent over something. It was probably the ficus, Osomatsu reasoned.

Iyami had put their travelling backpacks on the back of the van, with Chibita deciding he'd be on the front seat. When asked why, he said he wanted Osomatsu to talk more with his brothers, since a two-hour trip would probably bore Osomatsu. Todo had picked the left side, behind Iyami's seat, Kara was in the middle, and Osomatsu was on Kara's right, behind Chibita's seat. Osomatsu already placed his important items inside his sling bag, and the colorful scarf Karamatsu knitted was wrapped around his neck. After making sure everything wasn't going to fall off, Iyami shut down the back of the van and went to the driver's seat, preparing to start the car.

"Choromatsu says that this dimension's Jyushimatsu has connections to every single employee that works at Flag Corporation. Even guys such as the janitors, the maintenance team, security.. every single one. It's either they all know him for working in the company, or he knows them for a lot of reasons. Chances are, it's the former, since if Jyushimatsu's other self is as hyper as his self in my dimension, he'd really make his presence known around the place. But those are apparently weak connections. It's unknown if Suuji Jyushi has relatives or anything of the like."

Todo turned to him, just as he was watching Iyami drive away from Akatsuka Apartment Complex. "He said something about a guardian and a big brother, if I recall correctly. I didn't get the name who, but he did say he had an older brother who reminded him to bring a jacket, like, fourteen times. Needless to say, he still forgot to bring one. I"m surprised he even managed to get around the city in the first place."

"Big brother?" Chibita, Kara, and Osomatsu turned to his direction, while Iyami made a "Sheh!" to signify he heard.

Todo nodded. "Didn't get the name. Sorry. But he did say his big brother wouldn't let him go outside again if he gets a cold."

"So there's a chance that Jyushi either has one of my brothers as his brother.." Osomatsu frowned. "Or another guy as a brother. I hope it's either Choromatsu's or Ichimatsu's other selves, and not some random guy fate decided to pick to become his brother. Those guys are patient with Jyushimatsu." He took out his phone from his sling bag. "I think I'll ask Choromatsu about this. Anything else you want to add, Tater Tot?"

"Stop calling me that." Todo hissed. Kara sweat dropped, realizing why Chibita told him to stay in the middle; it was to prevent Todo from trying to kill Osomatsu, if the latter teased him hard enough.

"Haha, sorry." Osomatsu chuckled. "Anyway, Choromatsu says he and Professor Dekapan are working on another application that'll make it easy for us to break in. We just need to meet Jyushi, because we all know we're gonna get arrested and probably killed if we even step foot in the place. He says he'll also improvise the self-defense application, since two of the bullets yesterday aimed for two of Atsushi's lackeys and pretty much missed their target up 'til the third bullet. He says he'll find a way to make sure they hit their target properly. So if someone tries to shoot us, I'll just aim the bullets at somewhere that'll shift their attention away from us."

"Sounds good, my brother." Kara praised, before pausing. "While we could talk about all sorts of things, what exactly can occupy us during our road trip of two whole hours?"

Osomatsu rested against his red cushion in thought. "Ah! How about singing-"

"No road trip songs, Osomatsu!" Iyami, Chibita, and Todo yelled in unison; Iyami and Chibita's Osomatsu was horrible at singing, and this guy would probably be no different! And as much as Todo supported Kara, no way in hell was he hearing him sing some stereotypical road song. There must be some other way to occupy themselves, and having those two destroy their eardrums wasn't exactly part of their plans for the day.

Kara, however, seemed enthusiastic. "Wonderful idea, my brother! Do tell what song shall we serenade our lovely companions with!" Groans from the other three were heard, though Kara chose to ignore it. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Well, there was this original song that my Karamatsu came up with-"

Hearing about how painful Osomatsu's version of Kara was made the other three terrified of ever running into him somehow, but Kara thought that his other self was cool. Before Osomatsu could finish his sentence, Iyami screeched to a halt, Chibita jumped from the front seat to the back with his ladle in hand, and Todo was already ready to claw at his face as he showed his fangs. "No!"


	20. Chapter 20: Code Cracker

"We were born sextuplets!~" Osomatsu and Kara sang the final lyric of the same song they have been singing for about forty times now. Or was it fifty? Or worse, a hundred? None of the three cared at this moment, since they were all wishing for the two of those idiots to just stop. Todo had his face press against the window, silently praying that something would make him temporarily deaf to spare him from Kara's and Osomatsu's singing, Chibita had his hands pressed against his face, and Iyami's eye was twitching in irritation.

They've been singing it for an hour straight and the other three have been inwardly dying for an hour straight. And to spare Iyami from suddenly dying and accidentally killing all of them in the process due to having no one to drive the car and probably causing it to crash, Todo thought of an idea that could save them. He stopped rubbing his face against the cold glass and turned to Kara, who was about to sing the same song with Osomatsu. "Kara." As expected, the blue-eyed cavalier turned to him with a questioning look. "I'm tired." He didn't even bother to pretend, knowing how gullible Kara was. It wasn't necessarily a lie, since the trip was boring enough to make Todo feel drowsy.

As he also expected, Kara immediately shushed Osomatsu by pressing his hand against Osomatsu's mouth, as he grabbed Todo's head and shoved it in his lap as a makeshift pillow of some sort. As long as he had something to lie his head against, Todo didn't really mind. "We still have an hour left, Todo! We will find some other way to occupy ourselves, since you probably need a nap that will require our silence! I will awake you once we get to our destination!" Todo mumbled a reply, before he felt Kara slightly raise his head up from his lap, Osomatsu slipping his red cushion under it. "Thank you for your kindness towards Todo, Osomatsu-niisan!"

"He's my little bro. I don't mind being nice to him every once in a while. I mean, he's practically the one who found Jyushimatsu, isn't he?" He chuckled, ruffling Todo's hair, who growled in response. Todo was secretly thankful that Osomatsu gave up his cushion just so he could take a nap though. Osomatsu didn't seem fazed and only leaned against the car's seat as Todo shut his eyes. "Choromatsu says he's gonna send the program soon, as well as instructions. I thought he'd hate this plan because it's dangerous, but I guess even he's desperate enough to have me back that he'd let me break into some big shot company."

"We're here too, idjit." Chibita said from the front. "Anyway, I don't think we told you much, but Flag Corporation's one of those things that people either love to hate, or hate to love. Or love to love, who the hell cares, damn it. Their company's president is basically the guy in charge of selling the information for a hefty price, his supposed second-in-command is the one who is considered the biggest genius in all of Japan, with someone else gathering the information from around the country. Flag Corporation doesn't just sell information, but new kinds of technology and medicines mostly come from them. Though their main source of income is selling information, damn it. You don't seem to know much about it, idjit. Don't you have one in your dimension, Osomatsu?"

It seems it's a lot different from the Flag Corporation in his dimension, Osomatsu thought. "We have one. But Akatsuka City looks different there. Less advanced. I guess my relationships with my brothers and their personalities aren't the only things that changed in this universe. I think.. they also gather information and sell it, but it's not as messed up as the one here. Plus, Hatabou's the president of that company and he practically told President Obama something about american hotdogs-"

"Hatabou?!" Chibita and Iyami turned to him, though Iyami went back to face the road as soon as he realized he was the one driving and would be the cause of everyone's deaths if he didn't turn back on the road. Todo snapped his eyes open in irritation at the loud voices and made a growling noise, though Kara tried to calm him down by petting his hair. Chibita was still facing Osomatsu though. "You can't be serious! Hatabou, childish Hatabou, who was nearly everyone's minion when we were kids! That guy that pretty much left for the city for some reason and I've never heard of him since then, damn it! Is he different in your dimension?!"

"He's the kind of guy that got picked on a lot when we were kids, but didn't get beaten up or anything. Just got ordered around, and he mindlessly followed the orders. Everyone's minion, I guess." Osomatsu told him. "So I don't think he's different in this dimension. But I guess there's a few differences here that can lead to bigger things, Hatabou included." His phone started ringing as soon as he said that statement. Todo shifted a bit to look at Osomatsu, Kara turned to face him, and Chibita looked in concern. Osomatsu nodded and decided to read the message from whichever one of his brothers is in charge. "Let's see now.."

 **"Osomatsu-niisan, it's Choromatsu again. I will be sending you another program soon, as well as a set of instructions on how you can sneak in the company. It would be idiotic to just do it in the old-fashioned way, so hacking is required instead of trying to shift their attention away from you. This program was easier to make than the texting application and the self-defense program, so we might be able to make another one for you soon. It may not be considered sneaking in, since we practically hacked a database from another dimension, but they're bound to find out sooner that something's definitely wrong. Earn the other Jyushimatsu's trust and inject him with the syringe. I'll send you the program later."**

Osomatsu read the text aloud. While Kara, Chibita, and Iyami nodded, Todo proceeded to bury his face in the cushion, mumbling phrases. "I swear, we aren't just breaking in like a bunch of teenagers breaking into their old high school to vandalize the place, but we practically hacked Akatsuka City's most successful business and one of Japan's most controversial companies that could fucking know everything about us right this second. Yup, we aren't just gonna get fucking slaughtered. We're gonna get arrested, then executed. What a fucking good time to be alive." Todo mumbled.

"Mhm. And you definitely didn't join some shady-ass yakuza group and nearly got yourself shot, so god forbid that I try to break in some rich company's building just to see one of my little brothers. Yeah. Your eldest brother's the life of the party alright." Osomatsu chuckled. Kara snorted at that while Chibita made a small laugh.

"You can go to hell." Todo growled.

* * *

The building of Flag Corporation was currently swarming with a large amount of reporters, protesters, or people that actually support what they're doing. Iyami parked a few blocks away and the group of five decided to walk to their destination. Osomatsu was texting with Choromatsu as he walked, with Kara often telling them they should stop walking whenever Osomatsu texted, since he might get himself in an accident. Todo only butted in and said that it would take them a long time to get to the building if they stopped every five seconds.

 **"There is a large amount of life signs in that area, all of which are connected to that dimension's Jyushimatsu. They're all weak connections, so I think they're not too important on Jyushi's life, but important enough to know them. Just not in a personal level. Anyway, look for a back entrance. I'll send you the program in a minute. In case there are guards all over the place, hide. Text me back once you find a way, alright? I'll shut off the ringtone for the time being too."**

Again, Osomatsu read the text from Choromatsu aloud so his two brothers and his two companions could hear, but not loud enough for a random passerby to hear and stick their nose in. But as they got near their destination, the voices of people became louder. Lights were flashing from their cameras, protest signs were being raised, all the while the company didn't seem to give a single shit at the ruckus going on outside their really large building. But any employee who exited the building had gotten screamed at and had microphones thrust into their faces, so it was pretty clear there was a problem. "Well.. guess everyone's a celebrity." Iyami said. Everyone nodded, flinching at the loud voices. "Me is looking for a back entrance.. is there any way?"

"We could try blending in with the crowd." Kara suggested. "And sneaking off to another side. It's easier than trying to do anything else, correct?"

Well, the company's building had a lot of free space surrounding it, so there was a large statue of some random guy named Shonosuke Hijirisawa holding a flag, enough space for the reporters' and protesters' cars to be parked, and some lovely flowerbeds that gave the place a rather nice exterior. And the people only swarmed the area where the main entrance was. Dear god, doesn't anyone think anymore? Side entrances and back entrances existed for a reason, Todo thought to himself. "Sounds good. But we need to get at the very back. We'll be separated from each other if we try to go with the crowd. And probably die from lack of oxygen." Todo replied. "I'll go first. Osomatsu, you go behind me. Kara, Chibita, and buck-tooth-bastard will keep an eye and check if there's someone attempting to follow us."

"Me has a name you know!" Huffed Iyami, stomping his feet angrily.

Osomatsu only nodded in reply and stuffed his phone in the sling bag as he and the rest of the group walked towards the noisy crowd. All of a sudden, Todo grabbed his wrist and gave him a look. Getting the signal, Osomatsu grabbed Kara's wrist, who grabbed Chibita's, who grabbed Iyami's. "If we walk this way, we won't be separated in the crowd." Osomatsu told the three behind him. He did this with his five younger brothers years ago, during a festival. Unfortunately, the order was Osomatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, Choromatsu, Todomatsu, and Karamatsu, and all of them got split up within seconds. But Todo had an iron grip, and so did Kara, so none of them were going to get separated soon.

"If you want, you could shut your eyes if you hate crowds." Kara said from behind him. Osomatsu looked at him in confusion, in which Kara smiled softly which was meant to be reassuring, probably. "Todo will lead the way, and since we're holding hands together, we will all be going in the same direction even if we cannot see what is in front of us. Todo can see anything even if it's crowded, so we can rely on him." He said that with confidence and with that painful grin of his.

Todo nodded from in front of Osomatsu. Osomatsu couldn't see the front of his alternate youngest brother, but he was sure he was serious. "I'm going in." He breathed out as he examined the rather big crowd. "Take a deep breath and run, because if you don't, I'm dragging all of you with me and it's going to hurt as hell." Todo took a deep breath of his own and everyone behind him followed his example. "Ready?"

Osomatsu closed his eyes and started running, Todo's hand gripping his wrist tight enough to crush his bones or prevent any blood from flowing in that one area. Though Osomatsu could be one-hell of a showoff and wasn't shy with crowds like Choromatsu or Ichimatsu, that little incident at the festival caused Osomatsu to have a great fear of diving into a large crowd. Especially since that incident happened when he was like seven years old. His panic at that time was intense, since he ran around everywhere chanting his brothers' names in order and caused a couple of other people to look at him in concern and wonder about what was upsetting him, thinking he'd lost his parents in the crowd.

First, he found the youngest Todomatsu and second-eldest Karamatsu. Todomatsu was crying while Karamatsu tried to put on a brave face for the youngest as he looked around for Osomatsu or any of his younger brothers. Thankfully, Karamatsu was holding onto Todomatsu even as Todomatsu lost hold of his grip on Choromatsu's hand, which had gotten sweaty and slippery due to his nervousness. Next was Ichimatsu, who didn't even look remotely close to crying and had befriended a cat while walking around in search for the other siblings. Then it was Jyushimatsu. Like Todomatsu, he was crying, except he had no older brother to comfort him and he had instantly clung to Ichimatsu once the fourth brother ran to him. Finally, it was Choromatsu, who had frantically called for his parents and ran up to the five of his brothers once he saw Osomatsu with them.

As the eldest, he had a natural instinct to worry about his younger brothers, even if they were only a few hours younger than him. So having all his brothers split up in a place with a huge crowd terrified Osomatsu, and as a ten year old, he immediately thought of a life where he never found them ever again. Up until now, Osomatsu never got rid of that natural big brother instinct, even if he tried to shove it all away for the sake of being adults. If being an adult meant worrying every single day about the safety of your little brothers, frankly, Osomatsu didn't want to grow up. He wanted to stay NEETs forever with his brothers.

And then a slap cut him out of his own thoughts again. "Oi, stop drifting off, idjit! The hell?! We've been out in the crowd for awhile now!" Ah, it was Chibita again.

He rubbed the spot where he got slapped. His cheek. "Sorry. Just getting my head high up in the clouds again." Osomatsu sheepishly replied. He realized they were all behind a bush, with Iyami crouching to avoid being seen due to being taller than the four of them. Thankfully, Chibita's loud voice hadn't gotten the attention of the guards, who seem to be busy guarding the side entrance from anyone that tries to sneak in. Osomatsu dug his phone out of the sling bag again, texting Choromatsu. "We found a side entrance. Two guards are in the way. There's probably more inside." He hoped Choromatsu kept his promise and turned off that stupid ringtone.

He did, Osomatsu realized after a few seconds. He read the text aloud again.

 **"We hacked some of the equipment on the inside. It's easier to hack computers in another dimension than trying to somehow open a portal that can bring you back here, apparently. The guards patrolling their respective areas all gathered to check what was going on in the storage area. They're now locked in a room with nothing but packing peanuts, trail mix, and crates of canned soda, so nothing to worry about them starving to death. There were only fifteen of them in that area. Anyway, I just sent you the program. You'll find it alongside the text application and the self-defense program. Good luck and be careful, Osomatsu-niisan. Also, text me once you find Jyushimatsu's other self. Don't use the new program for mischief, okay?"**

"So cool!" Kara and Chibita both said in unison. Todo and Iyami looked impressed. Well, it was impressive that someone from another dimension was able to hack something in a completely different dimension. Then again, if Choromatsu and Professor Dekapan were able to make a program for a cellphone that acts as a self-defense mechanism that has something to do with a black hole and a white hole, hacking every single computer in a big-ass company in another dimension must have been a walk in the park.

Osomatsu decided to check the name of the application. Like "DimensionTextingAppTest476" and "SelfDefenseAppTest27", the name of the application was it's function and a test number. "CodeCrackerAppTest5." Osomatsu read. When he opened the application, there was a list of things Osomatsu couldn't recognize; camera numbers, computer numbers, and password-protected rooms and technology. Above the list was a tab that read "All Flag Corporation Technology". Aside from the list, there was nothing else. "What is this supposed to do?" Mumbled Osomatsu.

"Code cracker?" Todo took the phone from Osomatsu. "Hold on, lemme test something." They were at the side entrance of the building while hiding behind a rather big bush, and the current entrance was being guarded by two guards. Just beside the entrance was a garage door, probably hiding something. Todo checked the phone and scrolled down the list. "Garage door, side entrance." He read. "Alright. Let's see what this app can do.." He pressed the option, and a loading screen appeared on the screen. Once it was finished loading, the garage door suddenly opened.

Iyami stared in disbelief. "Sheh-!"

Chibita knocked Iyami's face to the ground to prevent him from being too loud. Kara looked more impressed as the guards realized the garage door suddenly opened for no apparent reason. Once they got inside to inspect what was going on, Todo pressed the same option again. This time, the garage door closed shut, and the screams of the guards were heard as they were suddenly locked inside a dark room. "Oh my god." Kara stifled a laugh, looking at Osomatsu. "Choromatsu and that professor are the best."

Osomatsu blinked, before smirking. "Ahhh.. I see now. Wow, that's a pretty neat thing. And for a second, I thought it wouldn't be as cool as the self-defense program." Todo handed him his phone, a satisfied grin on his face. "Thanks, Todo. Looks like we can sneak in without using violence at all! Damn, this thing's so cool! Wait, so that's the side entrance, then that means.." He scrolled down the list of options. "Side entrance." He pressed the option and the loading screen appeared. Once it was finished loading, the side entrance suddenly opened.

Everyone had rather smug faces as they ran inside, Osomatsu closing it as soon as everyone got in. He had to remember to give Choromatsu a large portion of his savings as soon as he got back.


	21. Chapter 21: Mr Flag

Sneaking in had been easy with the new program in hand. Since nearly everything in the company was high-tech, even rooms, nearly everything could be hacked and was accessible with the new application. Still, they couldn't be too careful, hence Osomatsu suggested that if they ran into a guard, Todo would have to be sacrificed. The pink-haired male reply with "Go to hell!", but pretty much agreed with kicking everyone who tried to stop them. And if they were to get shot, Osomatsu would use the self-defense program. He just activated it now, so any bullet aimed at them would be deflected somewhere else. Preferably, a wall, in order to not get arrested or attract attention.

The side entrance was a long hall of rooms that were labeled differently, such as a room for car parts, trail mix, bottles of ink, and all sorts of things. The group of five passed by the hallway in haste, in fear that someone would somehow alert the rest at Flag Corporation that they hacked half of their technology just with a push of a button. With a pink phone, nonetheless. And they've been running in the same hall for about ten minutes, looking for an exit. "Are we there yet?!" Chibita panted, hand against a wall as he tried to catch his breath. His scarf wasn't wrapped around his neck, but was hanging off his shoulders like a towel. If they wanted some place to go to when it was cold, this was it.

Iyami and Osomatsu had collapsed at the floor, Kara was looking out for any guards, and Todo was leaning against a wall. "Fuck this place. Who the fuck decided to put everything in separate rooms and in the longest hallway in the fucking galaxy? Asses." He removed his black headband, similar to the one he lost yesterday, and tried to fix his hair. Sweat, the coldness of a winter day, and heavy leather jackets should never mix. He felt like he was suffocating, so he took off the leather jacket and tied it around his waist. He felt goosebumps when he felt something brush against his skin. Wind? Probably the breeze from an air conditioner. He put his headband back on. "Follow me. I think I found a doorway." The hall was stuffy and too hot for their own good, so there was no air conditioner. It was probably coming from the lobby.

Kara and Chibita helped both Osomatsu and Iyami back to their feet, though they couldn't blame them for being tired. Kara supported Osomatsu by slinging Osomatsu's arm over his neck and following after Todo, while Chibita, poor little Chibita, had to push Iyami forward due to their size difference. In the end, Chibita decided to just drag Iyami by the collar of his clothes until the con-man could catch his breath. Thank god he was strong. "Iyami, you idjit, catch your breath and die later, damn it!" Chibita hissed. The con-man murmured something before jumping up and murmuring something with a grumpy expression. Chibita grabbed the cuff of his sleeve and dragged Iyami with him.

"We're close. I can feel it. It's cold. Not as cold as outside, but it feels like the apartment. An air conditioner, probably." Todo murmured. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Hm. Air conditioners always had some sort of smell that couldn't be explained, but it was somewhat calming. There were also scents of cheap cologne, rubbing alcohol, and coffee, all mixed together. It wasn't particularly pleasant, nor was it unbearable. "Yup. I can smell something from far away. Smells like a lot of rubbing alcohol. Almost like a hospital." He frowned. "What are these guys even doing? Isn't there like a riot outside? You would have thought they'd put guards in the main entrance instead of the side. There's just a bunch of random products here. What is there to guard, ink bottles?"

"You may never know when someone's desperate enough to steal packing peanuts and chew on 'em when they could have just stolen the pack of trail mix instead." Osomatsu chuckled weakly from behind Todo. "Fucking hell, the last time I felt this tired was- actually, I've always been tired, even before Chibita, Iyami, and I left the city. Twenty-four-seven, tired all day everyday. Gathering information on Sutabaa, trying to keep my emotions in check, even having to deal with nightmares, drifting off a lot.. wow, I'm a really stressed-out guy." He concluded, lazy grin on his face even as he and Kara ran. "And I don't even have a job, and I'm stressed! Weird."

"..Is he drunk?" Kara asked in concern. Osomatsu replied by waving his hand around. Yup. He was drunk. From what? The air? Amazing. His older brother was full of surprises. Or he was just tired. "You've probably spent your previous days worrying about us, Osomatsu-niisan."

Osomatsu blinked. "Are we there yet?!" He whined in a way that reminded everyone of a child. Ah, so the stuffiness of the room and the annoyance of running around a long hallway was getting to him. "What even is this hallway?! You'd think they'd brighten the place up a bit by painting something or at least putting up a poster! The walls are whiter than the snow outside! And I'm becoming claustrophobic by being trapped with you guys! I swear to god, I'll rip off someone's head if we don't get out of here fast!"

"Try touching me with those grimy fingers of yours and I will tear your legs off." Todo threatened, even stopping to turn at Osomatsu and send a glare at his direction.

Kara sighed. Again with the childish bickering and empty threats. Well.. empty for Osomatsu, at least. Todo probably wasn't joking. Those two seemed to have gotten along this morning thanks to Kara's little plan of them bonding over Todo's fashion choices, but in the end, they both had the mentality of a six year old. So squabbling was to be expected. He flicked Todo's forehead and lightly swatted Osomatsu's, causing both of them to yelp in pain. "Stop fighting, please. You're both being childish, and we need to act mature in this situation." Kara lectured. "Osomatsu, do you think you can stand on your own now? We need you to use the phone just in case."

Osomatsu nodded, rubbing his forehead. Kara could be mature at times, it seems. I guess that's how he managed to live with Todo, Osomatsu thought to himself. He fiddled with his phone for awhile. "Todo, do you think you can lead the way? Maybe if I hack the air conditioner, the wind'll get stronger. It'll be much easier to find the way, right?"

Everyone seemed surprised at Osomatsu's suggestion. "Me thinks Osomatsu is actually smart." Iyami said with eyes closed, nodding in approval with his thumb rubbing his chin. Everyone crossed their arms, closed their eyes, and nodded in agreement. Osomatsu's eye twitched. They were clearly the worst team a guy could have.

"Oi, I take offense in that! Seriously, you guys? I think we're the worst team in history. You can't even trust your leader to be smart at times." Osomatsu pouted, looking through his phone's list of options again. They broke a lot of codes as soon as they got in, and so far, it has been working in their favor. "This is the side hallway, right? So we need to get to the lobby, and we need to change the temperature with the air conditioner.. which is this button." His thumb hovered above the option. "Air conditioners need to change temperature so Todo can lead the way. Here we go."

A click. A loading screen. And later, irritated screams and the feel of something cool brushing against their skins. "Alright. Not only do we have the wind to guide us, but also the screams of a thousand souls." Kara said with a bright smile, reverting back to his painful vocabulary.

"Sounds pretty morbid when you put it like that, Kara. I mean, we're not killing or torturing them." Todo frowned. And Todo himself was supposed to be the scary one! How dare Kara say something so morbid and disturbing with zero to no effort? "Maybe we are killing them with the cold slowly, but yeah. This'll work, thanks Osomatsu. C'mon everyone, hurry."

* * *

When they opened the door and slowly walked in the lobby, the first thing they found was a group of Flag Corporation Employees finally trying to do something about the riot outside. Some of their solutions included pushing one of their employees outside and immediately locking the door. The other thing they saw was multiple technicians trying to fix the air conditioner. Well, it was colder. Todo put his leather jacket back on, thankful that no one payed attention to them as they sneaked from the side door to the stairs. They would use the elevator, but they might bump into some people they didn't want to bump to.

At least, that was the plan.

Todo was leading the way, with Osomatsu trailing behind and his phone ready just in case something were to happen. At the very back was Chibita, who switched with Iyami to guard the back and look out for anyone that could spot them. Before Todo could open the door leading to the stairs, a certain someone had caught the attention of Chibita, someone who had their arms crossed, a stern expression on their face, and a flag popping out of their skull and waving proudly. He was wearing the uniform of a male Flag Corp employee, but there was something different about him. Besides the flag that was on his head for some reason, he was shorter than the rest of the employees, only a few inches taller than Chibita himself. Despite his size, he seemed to strike fear into every single employee's souls, glaring at all of them with judgment.

"What are you doing, jo?!" He snapped, hands on his hips now. Even though he was as tall as a child, everyone seemed intimidated by him. When someone offered him a glass of water, he smacked it out of the other's hands, splashing it all over the other's uniform in the process. He looked furious. "This isn't how you deal with problems, jo! Try to resolve things peacefully instead of pushing one of your co-workers out to deal with a crowd of people, jo! If they won't go away, call security instead, jo! We're a busy company that requires all employees to do the parts they are given, and dealing with them is just going to waste our time, jo! And who turned up the air conditioner, jo?! It's cold! This is a mess! How do you think the president is gonna act when he comes back, jo?! He didn't leave for France just to have his company harassed every single day, jo! I still have a job to do! It doesn't mean that you can slack off just because the president isn't here, jo!"

"We're so sorry, Mister Flag!" Everyone in the room chorused, bowing as low as they could to the smaller man.

He didn't seem affected by the apology. If anything, he became more frustrated. "It's not 'Flag'! It's 'Shonosuke', for the last time! And sorry's not gonna cut it, jo! Make them go away, jo! The president is gonna kill all of us if his brother doesn't-" He caught something from the corner of his eye. Turning around, he saw five suspicious strangers near the door that leads to the stairs. One was a tad bit shorter than him, bald, and had an orange scarf. The second one was the tallest in the group, with purple clothes and a large overbite. The third one, the one in the middle, wore a black jacket over a blue hoodie that had his own face. The third one was the one that caught his attention the most, and he looked similar to the people in his left and right. Finally, the one leading them was a pink-haired punk.

Chibita was the first to utter out a single word as always. "H-Hatabou?!"

Hatabou looked different. Well, his facial features, his hair, and the flag didn't change. The big change about him was most likely the suit replacing his usual overalls and the salty attitude he had towards his co-workers. "Chibita..? Iyami..? Osomatsu..?" Chibita expected Hatabou to at least be happy to see them all, but instead, his angry face had switched to horror instantly, before shifting to anger once again. He turned to his co-workers. "How did they get in, jo?! You all blocked the main entrance! Can't you even do that properly, jo?!" He screeched.

One of them dared to raise a finger, and the group of five watched as he tried to explain the situation to Hatabou, who was looking like he was itching to strangle someone. "Um, Mister Shonosuke, I do believe they got in from the side entrance. The guards at the side entrance all have gathered at the storage room where the trail mix is, for some reason, and the guards guarding the outside have somehow stayed in the garage where the president's limo is. I do believe our security system got hacked and they have been trapped-"

"Then why didn't you do anything about it, jo?!" Hatabou snapped again. Snapping his fingers, the guards in the lobby suddenly surrounded Osomatsu and the group. All armed, Osomatsu noted even in his state of panic. They all compressed together as their guns were aimed at them, and Osomatsu hastily activated the self-defense program to it's maximum capacity. There were five of them, and multiple bullets had to be absorbed within seconds. Otherwise, one of them would die. "I have to do everything myself, jo!"

"Hatabou, what are you doing?!" Osomatsu yelled. Even if he wasn't this dimension's Osomatsu, Chibita and Iyami told him that their friendship with him was the same as his friendship with Hatabou in his dimension. And even Chibita and Iyami seemed confused! What the hell was going on?! "Are you seriously gonna kill us?!"

Hatabou didn't answer. He turned his back to them and focused more on yelling at the other employees. Todo inched closer to Osomatsu. "What is going on, Osomatsu?! I thought he was your childhood friend!" He whispered loudly.

"I don't really know! I mean, if he was gonna kill us, I thought he'd do it with a sharpened flag pole or something!" Osomatsu whispered back. Brotherly instincts took over and he made sure both Todo and Kara were behind him, just in case Hatabou was serious about killing them. "Todo, you can take them, right? I mean, they're less than the guys you took out yesterday!"

"They are armed with guns, you moron! If I move an inch closer, I am going to die!"

Kara grabbed Osomatsu's sleeve. Osomatsu didn't know if it was out of fear, but he didn't really care. Todo, who was braver than Todomatsu, didn't do anything like sleeve-grabbing and only stood his ground. Iyami backed up a bit, so only Chibita, Osomatsu, and Todo were in front. Osomatsu was prepared to protect his two brothers if necessary, and he got his phone out to prove it. "Hatabou!" He called out to him, though his back was still turned. "What's going on?! Why don't you tell us?! Aren't we friends?!"

Hatabou didn't look like he was planning on answering, but more like planning to state that he wanted them dead. However, the elevator doors suddenly opened and interrupted the current situation; A five-person group of strangers being surrounded by about ten guards with guns, about thirty employees trying to calm down the riot outside, and an angry child-like man preparing to execute his supposed old friends. Everyone turned to the elevator, expecting more other members of Flag Corporation to just enter the room and exit once seeing Hatabou's angry state.

However, it was a wheelchair that rolled out of the elevator, and someone that Todo recognized. He was wearing the same attire from when he bumped into him yesterday, except this time, the scarf was absent and layered over his bright outfit was a black leather jacket that stood out like a sore thumb, a cane on his lap. Bright yellow eyes blinked as it's owner looked around and wondered why it was colder than usual, before it spotted Todo and four other guys cornered by a group of guards.

"Todo-san?"


	22. Chapter 22: World is Mine

Osomatsu knew about his brother's senses of fashion better than anyone else's. And he knew it was a fact that Jyushimatsu always got either the unnecessarily adorable clothes that had no intention to be adorable, or the ones that were just odd. There was the maid outfit and the giraffe kigurumi, for example. But Jyushimatsu's- no, Jyushi's outfit stood out from the rest for a reason. One, he was the only one not wearing a suit. He was wearing a white button-up polo, a yellow button-up vest, black suspenders, yellow plaid shorts, ankle socks, and yellow slippers. Also that leather jacket hanging on his shoulders looked familiar.

And as Osomatsu suspected, Jyushi's eyes were a bright yellow color, similar to Kara's calming blue eyes and Todo's somewhat hostile pink eyes. Even that cowlick was there! But instead of Jyushi jumping everywhere, he was sitting on a wheelchair with a cane in his lap. "W-what is going on?" Okay, that was definitely not Jyushimatsu-like, thought Osomatsu. Did he just stutter? Jyushimatsu wasn't the shy type! But then again, Todo was a punk in this dimension and Kara lacked confidence. He wheeled himself out of the elevator and gripped onto his cane tightly. "Is.. is there a fight going on?" He asked, worried about why someone he knew was being cornered and why a lot of them were blocking the main entrance.

Immediately, the guards lowered their guns and stood up straight, making sure to make it seem like they weren't trying to kill anyone in the room at all. Even Hatabou's angry mood disappeared as soon as Jyushi rolled his wheelchair in the room. Still, the employees at the main entrance were doing their best to block the door. "Jyushi!" Hatabou cried. "Did you need anything? Why didn't you just call using the button in your bedroom, jo?" He asked worriedly, flailing his arms around and ran towards him. "It's really dangerous! You could have gotten in an accident, jo! At least have someone with you, jo!"

"Hatabou, what's going on? Is there a fight again? Why is everyone so angry?" He asked again, ignoring Hatabou's questions. For a minute, everyone thought he would be asking the same question until someone was stupid enough to actually answer, but instead, Jyushi just smiled after a few seconds of Hatabou's silence. "Ah, whatever! You're all just having a bad day, aren't you? Please remember to relax and don't overwork yourselves!" He cheered, waving a sleeve around. He rolled his wheelchair from Hatabou to the direction where Osomatsu and the others were. "Todo-san! You came to visit just like I said! I didn't expect so soon, but here you are! And you bought more friends?" His smile became brighter. "Yay! Thank you! The more the merrier! I washed your jacket and everything too! I actually thought of finding you later by asking Aida-san, but now you're here, you can have it back! Ah! You're wearing one right now, aren't you? We match, we match!"

 _Todo gave him his leather jacket? Ahhhhh.~ So that's where it went! Todo has a soft side after all! Great to know!_

Every single person in the room now had their eyes at Todo, the pink-haired punk who Jyushi was currently talking to with such cheerfulness. His face flushed red one he realized even Kara and Osomatsu was staring at him, both of his older brothers having the same smug grin. He needed to play it cool, he told himself. But with Jyushi the only person in the entire room making a noise, not counting the riot outside, he felt really awkward. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his pants, trying his best to ignore Osomatsu's stupid face from beside him. "A-ah. Your welcome. Y-You can keep it." Wow. Lame. He would have punched Osomatsu for snorting, but Jyushi was looking at him with those bright eyes of his, he knew everyone would instantly choke him if he did anything violent in front of him.

Still, Jyushi didn't seem bothered by the tense atmosphere. He giggled instead, rolling his wheelchair over. "Uwaaa! Really? Thank you! I'll make it my family heirloom! But really! It's nice to see you here! Ah, you must be cold! The air conditioner's broken in this room, sorry about that!" He was finally close enough to suddenly grab Todo's hands with his sleeves. "Why don't we all go to my room, then? I'm sure Hatabou and the others are too busy to give you a tour.. I'll give you one later! Let's talk! And play! My room's at the highest floor!" He turned to Osomatsu. "Hi hi! My name is Suuji Jyushi! What's your name?"

He was still friendly, Osomatsu was thankful for that fact. And yes, he did feel a surge of emotions through him, similar to what he felt when he met Kara two days ago and when Todo greeted him with "niisan" this morning. But no. No crying, Osomatsu told himself. Jyushi was smiling, and so should he. Pulling his trademark grin and seeing Jyushi smile brighter upon seeing another person smile at him, he gained more confidence. "I'm Matsuno Osomatsu. Nice to meet you." He shook the sleeve Jyushi offered him.

"Osomatsu! Osomatsu-san! Nice name! Nice name! You? What's your name?"

Kara was taken aback by how hyper he was. Even though he knew Jyushimatsu due to the syringe, he didn't know how to deal with Jyushi the same way his alternate self deals with Jyushimatsu. Still, he shook the sleeve that was thrust into his face. "Ahaha.. my name is Kyabarie Kara. I am Todo's childhood friend and roommate." He introduced himself in the simplest manner. Not to be rude, but Kara knew that Jyushimatsu wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed and wouldn't understand anything he said if he spoke in such an advanced way. Not that it mattered, because instead of intelligence, he had happiness. And that was fine with him.

"Kyabarie Kara-san! Nice name! You and you!" Both Iyami and Chibita flinched at the loudness of his voice. Jyushi didn't seem to care that a few of the employees actually moved further away as if to avoid the echo of his voice. It was impossible with such a spacious room such as this. "What are your names?"

"My name is Chibita. I'm a childhood friend of Osomatsu.. and Hatabou over there." Chibita said, still eyeing at Hatabou, who didn't seem as angry as he was earlier. Rather, he calmed down. But with the mention of their friendship, he looked away. Chibita wanted to frown at that, but with the smile Jyushi was giving him, he didn't want to. "It's nice to meet you, Jyushi."

"Hatabou's childhood friend! Chibita! Chibita-san!" He cheered. Hatabou didn't even glance at their direction when Jyushi said that. "Hello hello! And you are? Name, name!"

Okay, in his entire life, Iyami had never met a child that could be happy even if a riot was going on outside and guards armed with guns were all over the place. But with a nudge from both Chibita and Kara, he lightly shook Jyushi's long sleeve. "Iyami." It felt odd again, interacting with yet another look-a-like of the same brat that made his ten years at the town outside Akatsuka City a living hell. He wondered how his other self managed to handle six of these brats, especially since they looked alike. But at least this one seemed as nice as Kara.

"Iyami-san! Friends! Five new friends! I'm so happy! Thank you so much, Todo-san!" He clapped his hands together, both which were obscured by his ridiculously long sleeves. "Hatabou!" He turned his wheelchair over to the smaller man's direction, who immediately perked up and looked at him. "Are they clients? If not, can I invite them over to my room? Can we play together? Please?"

Hatabou thought for awhile. Osomatsu noted the differences between his Hatabou and this dimension's Hatabou; this one was more serious. Could he possibly be the president? But he was listening to Jyushi's every order, almost like Jyushi was in a higher position. "They're not clients, jo. A-actually, I think they came here to visit you, but were too shy to use the main entrance!" He waved his hands around, the guards and the employees nodding frantically in agreement. "And you can play with them! Ah, but use the elevator if you're going up, jo. And don't get too rowdy, jo. I'll also have Fuyu-san bring you snacks later if you want, jo."

Osomatsu still found this suspicious. With how the employees were acting earlier, you'd think Hatabou was one hell of a president. But he just yelled earlier that he was in charge; the real president was currently at France, doing who knows what. He was curious about it, he wasn't gonna lie. But he couldn't possibly ask Hatabou, with how he nearly killed them with his guards earlier. Jyushi was their only option, it seemed.

Jyushi practically squealed with glee, sleeves flapping around. "Thank you, Hatabou!"

Hatabou looked away. Another employee came up to him to offer a glass of water, in which he finally accepted as he shakily held his glass in his hand. Fingers curled around it tightly, and if one looked closely enough, they could see his fingers were strong enough to create a small crack. "Sure, jo. Anything you need, I'll try to get it for you no matter what, jo. Anyway, we're really busy right now, Jyushi. But if you need anything, you just push the button and I'll send either Fuyu-san or Yuki-san to get it for you, jo." He made a glance at Osomatsu. Osomatsu wasn't really sure, but he instantly knew those eyes were asking for something. "And please be careful when playing with Jyushi, jo. His legs are fragile."

"Will do, sir." Osomatsu replied. "Alright, Jyushi-kun. We'll help ya back to your room. Todo here will push your wheelchair for you, if ya want." He grinned. The amount of times he was going to get pummeled by the pink-haired demon was going to be worth it, he could practically see steam come out of Todo's ears as he sent killer glares at Osomatsu's way. But besides pissing off Todo and seeing how the youngest was reacting to his every move, he also watched as Hatabou's grip on the glass get tighter. Ah. He knew what was going on. He just needed confirmation. And that's why Choromatsu was so handy. "C'mon Todo. We can't be more of a bother to these guys anymore."

Todo grumbled a reply, but when he held the handles and saw Jyushi smile at him, he sighed. No use getting angry now. "Elevator! Floor one-hundred-and-fourteen!" Well, that's a lot of floors, Todo thought. "Hurry, hurry! Let's go everyone!" And with that, Todo started to push to the elevator, trying his best to not suddenly grab Jyushi's cane from his lap and use it to stab Osomatsu's eyes out. That would be considered rude, Todo reasoned.

Once they got in the elevator and Jyushi waved goodbye to Hatabou for now, Osomatsu and Todo both saw something just before the doors closed and lead them to another floor. The glass Hatabou's hand was holding finally shattered as he clenched his fist, and the both of them were pretty sure they heard Hatabou snapping at the employees downstairs again.

No doubt about it. Hatabou was calling for help in the worst way possible. He'd tell Choromatsu about it, but right now, they had to focus on the alternate Jyushimatsu, sitting on his wheelchair with such a sweet smile on his face.

 _Alright. It's Jyushimatsu's alternate self. How hard could it be?_


	23. Chapter 23: Number 114

The final floor of Flag Corporation resembled a child's bedroom. Across the elevator was a single bed, but the floor had a lot of mess to be stepped on, so one had to be careful. One, there were rubber balls of different colors all over the place. Two, there were animal plushies on the floor, one which was a large giraffe. Three, there were sketchbooks and coloring materials on one side of the room, but papers with scribbles were everywhere. It felt like they entered a child's bedroom and were pretty much going to play with one, Osomatsu couldn't deny that. But he could see the entirety of Akatsuka City just by looking outside, so Osomatsu had to admit it was a nice-looking room, despite the mess.

A million questions were in Osomatsu's head. He wanted to know what was Jyushi's role or position in this company, if he was able to make an angry and possibly murderous Hatabou calm enough. He wanted to know who was the real president, since it probably wasn't Hatabou. And completely unrelated, but why was there a statue of Shonosuke Hijirisawa, that one random guy that Choromatsu picked up and gave to Jyushimatsu during their one little skit? Why did Hatabou share the same name as him? Osomatsu knew "Flag" wasn't Hatabou's last name, but then again, Osomatsu didn't really know the last names of Chibita, Iyami, and Hatabou. Only Totoko's, but his other friends? Not really.

Osomatsu also knew that his dimension's Jyushimatsu, his little brother, wasn't as naive or as innocent as they thought he was. He was a Matsuno, meaning he probably attempted murder at least once in his life or did something nasty with no remorse. But with Jyushimatsu's kindness, his actions were tamer compared to the rest, even if he did throw a random student from their classroom to the assembly hall back in high school. And even with the differences between this dimension and his, some things remained the same. Chibita and Iyami, for example. They didn't seem to differ much from his versions of Chibita and Iyami. And even with the rather large differences between his brothers and the alternate versions of his brothers, there were still similarities.

Kara lacked the confidence Karamatsu naturally had, but he was just as painful and had the same painful vocabulary. Hell, he even treated that stupid ficus back at his apartment like some sort of pretty maiden! He still had his responsible side and his capability to cook meals and knit cute little clothes, plus, his neat-freak side. Karamatsu was a neat freak when he was a kid, something that he got over when he grew up and realized his life was just a big mess that he couldn't clean up, but mess up even more. Kara was obsessing over who would keep the house clean earlier, so that was considered a similarity of some sort. Besides that, he had the painfully narcissistic hoodie and tank top, and the sunglasses that were supposed to make him look cool.

Todo was a big difference from Todomatsu, compared to Kara and Karamatsu. Though Kara and Aida had said he was somewhat feminine, Osomatsu really couldn't see it no matter how hard he tried. While Todomatsu cared for his image and was always doing his best to be cute and strike a pose, Todo was the opposite. He dressed up like a punk and didn't really prepare any cute poses for any pictures. Instead, he always kept his guard just in case someone were to try and kill him. But their similarities were obvious if you paid enough attention; aside from both of them liking the color pink, both were trying hard to keep up an image that was brittle. Todomatsu was trying so hard to stay cute, while Todo was trying so hard to look intimidating.

Osomatsu just met Jyushi, but he could list some similarities between him and Jyushimatsu already. Their sense of fashion for one. Floppy sleeves and shorts were always Jyushimatsu's thing, and Jyushimatsu was the only brother that didn't wear pants in his casual wear. And like Ichimatsu, he wore slippers. Second, his main color, which was probably his favorite color too. Like Kara with Karamatsu and Todo with Todomatsu, Jyushi had the same main color as Jyushimatsu, which was yellow. Finally, he had the hyperactive personality. Maybe not as bouncy and destructive as Jyushimatsu because of his incapability to walk, but still! He had it! He was the loudest one at the lobby earlier, and that was enough proof!

 _I wonder if the other Ichimatsu and Choromatsu have small differences like Kara and Jyushi.. or large differences like Todo._

Jyushi tapped on Todo's hand as soon as they exited the elevator, since Todo had been assigned by Osomatsu to push the other's wheelchair. "Park it here! In this spot!" He happily said, pointing to the floor. Todo nodded and pushed the wheelchair to one side as Jyushi prepared to stand up, his cane on one hand. Todo offered his assistance by helping him stand up. "What should we talk about? Let's get to know each other better! I haven't thanked you properly for helping me yesterday after all!" The leather jacket draping on Jyushi's shoulders fell to the floor as Jyushi started pulling Todo to the large mess near his bed.

For Kara, it was the first time he's seen Todo hysterical ever since Kara showed him a video of how Todo acted when drunk, though that's a story for another day. Todo reached out to Jyushi's arm as soon as Jyushi tried to run. Yup. The same guy that needed a wheelchair because of his frail legs tried to run with a cane in hand. "Hey! Don't run! Be careful! Your legs are weak too! You don't want to fall on your butt or face like yesterday, do you? Calm down, we're not going anywhere." Todo scolded, gripping onto his arm. "Anyway, we have something important to discuss with you. And some questions to ask you too."

Jyushi didn't seem bothered by Todo's sudden panic, though he didn't try to run from Todo. One sleeved hand gripped onto his cane while the other was being held by Todo. "Oh! A chat then? Okay, okay! Here, let's sit on my bed!"

On the left side of Jyushi's bed was a big toy box, but on the right side, it was a little brown night stand. There was a small orange alarm clock shaped like a cat, a small purple lamp with yellow star patterns, and a somewhat big vintage locket. Osomatsu was more interested than the alarm clock, remembering the one Choromatsu bought. He frowned, remembering that alarm clock was the reason he knew something was definitely wrong. Jyushi sat on the center of his bed, tucking his legs close to his chest. Todo, Kara, and Chibita were on his left while Osomatsu and Iyami were on his right.

"So, what are we going to talk about?" Jyushi asked excitedly, holding onto his own legs tighter.

Everyone turned to Osomatsu. Well, he couldn't blame them. Osomatsu was the only one from a different dimension, plus, Osomatsu was the one that started this in the first place. It was the syringe that made Kara and Todo involved and Osomatsu's friendship with Chibita and Iyami that got those involved. Still, he wished they didn't just pinned the blame onto him instantly. "Uh, we're gonna start about you, since none of us know you that much yet. So, can you at least tell me what's your job here in Flag Corporation, Jyushi-kun?"

Jyushi tilted his head, before biting onto his own sleeve and.. chewing it? Wait, was he hungry?! It was like when Todo was using his fangs to bite the floor when Osomatsu pinned him down yesterday! Except Jyushi was chewing on his own sleeve! "Eh? I don't have an official job! But Hatabou and nii-san keep telling me that my job is to spread happiness, so I'm doing my best!" He giggled. "Nii-san says I'm like the sun! Even at night, I can brighten up people's days, he says! But I'm mostly at my room, since everyone tells me so! I don't mind, since nii-san says he'll always come to play with me if I want!"

 _Nii-san, huh? I guess it's the best time to ask him._

"So, what's your nii-san like? What's his job here at Flag Corporation?" Kara was the one that asked this time, as Osomatsu pulled out his notepad from his small bag and started writing down notes.

Jyushi smiled brighter, though he was still chewing on his sleeve. "You want to be nii-san's friend too? Nii-san is so lonely sometimes because he's the president! He only talks to me, and occasionally, Hatabou! But he's a really nice person, even if he doesn't show it much! After work, he always goes to my room and plays with me! He also taught me how to count up to one hundred, how to read, and how to play the piano! When I visit his room, he always lets me play the piano! He says I'm getting better!" He used his free sleeve to wave around as he chewed on the other. "But he's at France right now! Actually, he didn't want to leave! And when he realized he had to, he wanted me to come with him! But.." His smile faltered. "..Ookina-san says it's business-related and nii-san won't be able to focus if I'm there, so I decided to stay behind.. he left yesterday, just after I got back from Sutoba."

"Sutabaa." Todo corrected again with a frown. Though he wasn't frowning at the fact Jyushi made a mistake again; he was frowning because Jyushi's smile wasn't present. Todo was right. Seeing such a bright guy with a frown wasn't pleasant at all. But besides that, his suspicions were confirmed. Jyushi definitely wasn't as innocent as he looked. His brother was the president to the most controversial country in all of japan, plus, two of the employees at Flag Corporation had a knack for threatening people who made mistakes.

Osomatsu was frowning as well, though he wasn't as shocked as the other three were once Jyushi confirmed he was related to the company's president. He was more focused on another thing Jyushi had mentioned; Ookina-san. That was a name that was unfamiliar to Osomatsu. Then again, Hatabou mentioned some people named "Fuyu" and "Yuki" earlier, and those were unfamiliar to Osomatsu as well. He'd ask Jyushi about it later. "Who is Ookina-san, Jyushi-kun?" If this Ookina person was able to somehow make Jyushi's smile disappear by making Jyushi stay behind while his brother did who knows what, Osomatsu knew that it wouldn't be a pleasant experience to meet whoever that person was.

Jyushi smiled again, though it seemed much more nervous this time. "Oh! Ookina-san is my guardian! He often takes care of me when nii-san has to go somewhere and has to leave me behind! He's the one I bought toffee for!" He said cheerfully, ignoring Todo who corrected him that it was coffee instead of toffee. "Um, he's also a scientist, and the only doctor in this building! He researches about new medicines and stuff. Sometimes I help him, but most of the time, he tells me to just play in my room instead. He also locks himself up in his lab a lot and he threatens a bunch of his assistants if they make a mistake. Not me or nii-san though."

 _Wait. Scientist? Doctor? Don't tell me.._

"What's his full name?"

Jyushi bit his sleeve, almost as if he was in thought. "Ah. Ookina Dekapan, if I remember correctly."

Yup. This ride was only going to get worst. With an irritable Hatabou and a Dekapan that threatened people, you know you're in for a bad time. Even Chibita and Iyami looked like they just heard one big joke, since they both heard from Osomatsu what a nice guy Dekapan was and how Dekapan was the scientist that was basically helping Choromatsu and Karamatsu bring Osomatsu back to his own dimension. Before Iyami could react to such a revelation via his normal and favorite gag, Chibita suddenly tackled him to the floor to prevent him from doing some weird gag that Jyushi would question, though Jyushi looked more surprised at the fact Chibita just tackled someone taller than him to the floor.

"Then what's your older brother's name?" Kara asked.

Jyushi's nervous smile seemed to turn into a much more sincere one. He grabbed the locket on his night stand and clicked it open, showing the picture to Osomatsu and the other four. It was a simple picture of Jyushi on his wheelchair, his face still smiling as bright as he could. Behind him was a man kneeling down to his wheelchair's level, resting on Jyushi's shoulder with a calm smile while both his hands were resting at the armrest of Jyushi's wheelchair. They couldn't see much of the man behind him besides his face, but Osomatsu, Kara, and Todo instantly knew who he was.

Messy hair. Half-lidded, deep purple eyes. A smile that could be scary even if it tried it's best to be sincere. And most of all, a face that was similar to their's.

 _I should have expected this._

"His name is Suuji Ichi-niisan! He's my older brother and the president of Flag Corporation!"

Huh. The one least likely to be successful in Osomatsu's dimension was basically the president of some big-shot company. Who knew.


	24. Chapter 24: Winter Holiday

With everything going on in only three days, Osomatsu could have prepared for the worst or at least expected a hole to rip open in the sky and swallow them whole. Two days ago, he arrived at the city after being told he was from another dimension, and had met an alternate version of Karamatsu in the afternoon. Yesterday, he nearly got murdered by the alternate version of his youngest brother at the morning and Todo's supposed boss at the night, who got killed because he tried to shoot Osomatsu straight at the forehead. Today, just an hour ago, he and the four of his companions just sneaked in Akatsuka City's most successful building and found out that Ichimatsu, of all brothers, was the president of Flag Corporation.

Also, his little brother, who was apparently only the alternate Ichimatsu's brother, was just sitting on his bed with his sleeve covered hand holding out a locket that showed a picture of him and his big brother. It was almost weird seeing any version of Ichimatsu with a smile, even if it was sincere. But Osomatsu could tell that the Ichimatsu of this dimension probably loves his little brother if he was willing to play with him every day, despite being a busy president for a company that was either hated or loved by many. "As I said, he's at France. He'll be back by next week, though! And he's getting me a new hat too!" He giggled, before his smile suddenly disappeared again. "How long are you planning on staying here?" Jyushi asked, glancing at the windows. It was only afternoon, but he was still curious on how long his new friends were going to hang out with him.

Staying? Oh right. They were far from where Akatsuka Apartment Complex was, so Todo and Kara would have to stay with Osomatsu, Chibita, and Iyami for the time being. They still haven't found a hotel to stay at though, and the van was still parked a few blocks away from Flag Corporation's building. Osomatsu hoped no one had hi-jacked Iyami's van, since all of their stuff was still there. At least the phone was with Osomatsu. "Iyami, are there any hotels nearby?" Osomatsu asked, turning to the con-man who was still lying at the floor dizzily. Ah, that's right. Chibita tackled him earlier to prevent him from doing his "Sheh!" gag.

"Me hasn't seen any while driving around earlier. Me was focused on finding a route to Flag Corporation, remember? And the three of you at the back were causing a ruckus, so me couldn't concentrate." Iyami croaked out. Chibita had tackled his stomach, and it had hurt. Todo only snorted at his misery, with Kara giving a scolding look at Todo for being mean to Iyami for no other reason other than to be mean-spirited. Mind you, they have only met yesterday, and they were all acting like this; a bunch of little children. Unbelievable, Osomatsu thought, completely disregarding the fact he was taunting Todo earlier as well.

Jyushi frowned. Not because of how childish and mean Todo was acting towards Iyami, but because he wanted his new friends to be near the building so he could at least play with them everyday until his big brother Ichi comes back from France. Hatabou and Dekapan would probably be too busy to play with him, and so would Fuyu and Yuki! Besides, it was a two-hour drive just to get back on the same street as Sutabaa! "That's not good! I'll ask anyone if there's a hotel near the building then! It'll be a hassle for you to drive here everyday just so we can hang out!" Jyushi cried, pressing the locket close to his chest. "I thought I was gonna be very lonely today, that's why I wanted to visit Todo-san earlier! That's why I was so happy when Todo-san visited instead, and with four new friends.."

 _So he's lonely. Especially without the other Ichimatsu around.. he's not that different from Jyushimatsu at all._

Osomatsu smiled at him, giving him a light tap on the shoulder. "Well, you won't have to be lonely with us around, you know? C'mon, turn that frown upside-down, buddy." He grabbed both sides of Jyushi's face, proceeding to squish his face and causing his younger brother to suddenly giggle. "Don't frown. Otherwise, I'll squish your face 'til your bro comes home from France. Squish." Though he said that with a nonchalant tone and a blank face, that only cause Jyushi to giggle more. "Squishy, squishy, squishy. Look at you. What's with the squishy cheeks? Squish." Jyushi's sleeved hands grabbed Osomatsu's, who were still holding onto his cheeks. "So, you'll smile now? No more frowning? Can you smile for your friends?"

"No more frowning, yup!" Jyushi cheered, giggling. "Yup! I'll smile for Osomatsu-san and my new friends! Smile!"

Kara watched as Osomatsu laugh alongside Jyushi and proceeded to ruffle his hair until the younger brother was giggling and flapping his sleeves around. Kara was amazed that Osomatsu was able to instantly cheer up Jyushi just by doing something small, yet silly. His eyes sparkled in admiration; what a cool and caring big brother he has! Even though Osomatsu was reckless enough to even tease Todo in the middle of a dangerous situation, this was the same guy that saved Todo's life. And had managed to make someone upset back to their usual happy self. "So cool." He gasped out.

Todo glanced at Kara and saw his stupid, yet amusing face of admiration. He let out a little snort. "Guess he's not that big of a fuck up as I thought he would be. What a weird older brother we have." He murmured under his breath, a small smile on his face as he crossed his arms.

The elevator doors opened. Osomatsu stopped ruffling Jyushi's hair as he saw a somewhat familiar duo enter the room with a food cart. If Osomatsu remembered correctly, that was the couple Ichimatsu bothered during Christmas, since the Matsuno brothers had a tradition of bothering couples every Christmas Eve. But this particular couple had been different from the ones Ichimatsu and the rest of his brothers bothered every year; this couple actually befriended Ichimatsu when he left the house and lived on the streets, as well as gave him food. Ichimatsu didn't bother to learn their names, or if he did, he didn't care enough to remember. But Osomatsu was sure this was the same couple.

Jyushi practically squealed at their arrival, hastily putting on the locket around his neck and waving at them with his sleeves. "Fuyu-san! Yuki-san! Hi hi! These are my new friends!" He pointed to each of them individually. "This is Osomatsu-san! This is Todo-san! This is Kara-san!" He pointed to the floor where Iyami was still lying and Chibita was sitting cross-legged. "That is Chibita-san! And that is Iyami-san! My new friends, new friends!"

Despite the loudness of his voice that most of the employees seemed to hate back at the lobby, the couple didn't seem fazed by it. Rather, they were amused at Jyushi's happiness. "Oh. So you are the people Mister Shonosuke told us about. Well, thank you for being friends with little Jyushi here. He was probably lonely with no one to keep him company." The woman commented, making a small smile as she helped the guy push the food cart next to Jyushi's bed. She took one of the ten teacups and the kettle as she started to pour tea. "I am one of Jyushi's caretakers. My name is Kyuujitsu Fuyu. This man is my husband, Kyuujitsu Yuki."

"Nice to meet you all. It lifts our spirits to see Jyushi so happy to have someone to play with." Yuki extended a hand towards Osomatsu, who shook it. They didn't seem different from his dimension, unlike Hatabou who seemed to be as different as Todo was with Todomatsu. He heard from Ichimatsu that the couple was "disgustingly nice" to him, and he did have to admit, their kindness towards a bunch of strangers that sneaked in the building was a bit gross. "I see you all seem to be having fun. Please help yourself to the treats we have prepared. We'll be staying for the next five minutes, if you don't mind."

Osomatsu, Kara, Todo, Chibita, and Iyami all had the same thought; they can't possibly tell Jyushi about Osomatsu being from another dimension with Fuyu and Yuki present. Also, if they even dared to ask about the syringe and injecting Jyushi with it, chances are, one of them is gonna get thrown out the window of the highest floor. While Fuyu and Yuki seemed like really nice people, Osomatsu reminded himself that Hatabou in this dimension nearly killed them with a group of security guards despite being childhood friends. Plus, Jyushi was the little brother of this company's president, which explained why everyone seemed to fear him despite his nice nature. Better safe than sorry.

 _But it's a good time to gather information on something else entirely.. maybe making small talk would past the time._

"So." Iyami sat up. Everyone honestly thought Chibita would be the first to talk as always, but it seems Iyami was in charge of that. Or he wanted to spite Chibita for tackling him. "How long have you two been married?"

While the couple seemed to be flustered at that question, Chibita and Todo snorted. "Wow Iyami. Looking for a wife now? Really?" Chibita teased. Isn't their reason for being in the city is because they needed to gather all of Osomatsu's brothers so he could go home? Were they hunting women now? God, it's just the third day of them in this little adventure of their's, and Iyami was already thinking of calling it quits and settling down with a wife? "Didn't you like get married to Kaoru-san when we were kids.. then again, it was probably a joke to amuse us.." He mumbled.

Osomatsu tried to stifle his giggles by covering his mouth with his hands, while Kara let out a few coughs to avoid being rude and laughing at Iyami the same way Todo was. Iyami huffed, a red color splashing his cheeks. "It's just a question! Me is curious! Hmph!"

Fuyu waved his hand around, flustered that Jyushi was joining in Todo's laughter. "Ah! Don't worry about it, Iyami-san! We've been married for only a year! We just got married last year, actually!"

Yuki nodded frantically, holding her own face with her hands as she blushed. "Yuki's proposal was.. unique, to say at least. Not necessarily the best, but not the worst. If anything, it was rather amusing." She said, her face reddening even more as she remembered.

"Yup, yup! Fuyu-san proposed to Yuki-san while they thought I was napping!" Giggled Jyushi. "When he popped the question, I instantly sat up and had the same reaction as Yuki-san! Ahaha, Fuyu-san instantly panicked because he thought I was sleeping and he was surprised that I was listening to his entire speech the whole time! Everyone in Flag Corporation attended their wedding, and we had the wedding outside the building and we had the reception at the lobby! Ichi-niisan was Fuyu-san's best man and Ookina-san was the priest! Hatabou was the one who was in charge of talking a lot! Ah, but Ichi-niisan often shifted between being the best man and playing the piano! It was funny!"

 _..Is he serious? Does he even know that Flag Corporation is the same company that can most likely ruin a person's life..? Did they seriously throw a wedding in this place? And did the president seriously become someone's best man and play the fucking piano?_

Jyushi was getting more and more hyper the longer he talked about it, flailing his arms all over the place and nearly swatting Todo's face with his sleeves. "It was really fun! There was a lot of cake everywhere because someone decided to throw cake around for fun! Ichi-niisan was using a parasol to shield me from the cake though, but he seemed to be having fun throwing cake at everyone! He won, 'cuz he's the president and he was keeping a poker face the entire time and made everyone think he wasn't interested! Oh, and when Yuki-san threw the bouquet, Hatabou was the one that caught it! It was one of the few times that Hatabou and Ookina-san loosened up a bit. I wish we can always have weddings!"

"Yeah.. President Ichi is a really nice person, he just doesn't show it unless it's around Jyushi. Even Mister Shonosuke and Doctor Ookina would have to agree he's a pretty nice guy." Fuyu murmured. "He's the one that gave me this job and helped Yuki and I back when we were struggling to get jobs to support our families. All of my debts and loans have been payed by him, and in return, we take care of his little brother, Jyushi. It's a fun job, really. Because Jyushi here is basically a mini sunshine and it's never a dull day at work when he's here."

Jyushi waved his arms around in agreement. "Sunshine!"

Osomatsu smiled. So even though there's a chance that Ichi would kill them the moment he spotted them, the way Jyushi talked about him seemed like he didn't change as much. Osomatsu shouldn't get his hopes up though. Ichi was a president of a company that had probably helped Atsushi blackmail Todo into joining their yakuza group. He'd need Choromatsu to improvise the self-defense program just in case. Hatabou tried to kill them with a bunch of guards and only stopped when Jyushi stepped in, but Ichi was the big brother. "He helped you?"

Yuki nodded. "President Ichi offered Fuyu this job with a promise that he'd pay everything we needed to pay for. And he did! Our first day on the job consisted of President Ichi and Mister Shonosuke giving us a tour, introducing us to everyone including Doctor Ookina, and telling us what they did at this company. And when we finally got to the highest floor.." She smiled at Jyushi. "We met Jyushi! He was told by President Ichi that he was going to have a surprise, and Jyushi was just sitting on his bed, blindfolded and bouncing in place excitedly."

"And when Ichi-niisan undid the blindfold, I suddenly jumped towards Fuyu-san and Yuki-san! I fell off the bed and hurt my chin though! Ichi-niisan started panicking too and was pressing the button so fast that even Hatabou had to rush in to see what was going on!" He covered his mouth with his sleeves and started biting them again. "It was funny! Fuyu-san and Yuki-san seemed to be having fun too! Hatabou was all over the place with Ookina-san carrying a first-aid kit! The guards were surrounding Ichi-niisan, and I was on his lap!"

"It looked more of a tragic scene from some drama movie, to be honest." Fuyu scratched his head awkwardly. "Except Jyushi was pretending to be dead but he had a smile on his face, President Ichi was still panicking over him, and Yuki and I were watching. It was nice to see what Flag Corporation was all about." Of course, that was sarcasm. "Ah. Time's up already?"

"Time sure flies when you're having fun." Commented Todo nonchalantly. As amusing as it was to listen to their story about when they got married and how they got to Flag Corporation, Todo was itching to just get on with it. Even Kara seemed impatient, as he was tapping his foot against the floor. Both Iyami and Chibita were slumped against each other with tired expressions on their faces, though it was probably because of the fact they were running through an endless hallway earlier.

Fuyu and Yuki bowed. "Well, please have fun. Do call us whenever you need something else. We'll be back in an hour to check up on Jyushi. It was nice talking to you all."

They waved goodbye to the couple as they left, and as soon as the elevator closed, Osomatsu and Todo turned to Jyushi, who was still looking at them with his bright eyes. "That was Fuyu-san and Yuki-san! They're nice people, aren't they? They're so fun to be around, I almost feel like they're my parents! So! What were we talking about again?" He asked, biting into his sleeve. Was that a habit of his? Or was he hungry?

Still, Kara could tell that both Osomatsu and Todo were expecting at least one of them to speak up. Osomatsu would do it, but he was still planning on how to deliver that question. Todo was tapping his fingers against his leather jacket, a scowl on his lips. Chibita and Iyami were probably sleepy as hell, since Iyami was somewhat snoring. Ah. He had fallen asleep, apparently. "Jyushi." Kara sat next to Jyushi again, trying to maintain his natural smile that wasn't as painful as his supposedly "cool" grins that Todo often frowned at. "Would you like to hear a story?"

He clapped his sleeves together. "Story? Yay! I love stories!" Iyami's eyes snapped open once Jyushi raised the volume of his voice again. Chibita yawned, thankful that the couple finally left so they could all tell Jyushi, inject him with the syringe, find the other two brothers, find the other Osomatsu, and just get this over with. "So who's the hero of the story?"

Osomatsu patted his head. "You're looking at him right now."


	25. Chapter 25: Thick Tension

The effects of the syringe were supposed to give the alternate version of Osomatsu's brothers the memories of his own brothers in order for them to somehow emit an aura that is able to make the "bridge" between Osomatsu's dimension and this dimension bigger so Osomatsu could go back home. Osomatsu already had his own memories, so there was no need for such a thing, but he needed to inject himself with the syringe once he injected the alternate versions of his brothers, so he's able to share some of his memories with them as well. Kara got injected at his left arm while Todo got injected on his right arm, and both had covered the marks with glittery blue band-aids.

The thing about Jyushimatsu was that he was the most gullible one, easy to manipulate because of his kindness. The second most gullible would be Karamatsu, due to his natural "I believe in everyone" logic in life, which was utter bullshit. Iyami and Chibita had decided to take a nap on the floor of Jyushi's bedroom as Osomatsu, Kara, and Todo explain the situation to Jyushi, who was eating up everything they said. Jyushi thought it was real like a lot of other things, such as Santa Claus. But they weren't taking advantage of how gullible he was; they were speaking the truth. Todo honestly thought that Jyushi wouldn't be able to process such complex things because of his childlike demeanor, but to his surprise, Jyushi was remembering every single detail Osomatsu said, including the functions of the phone and how they hacked a lot of the technology just to get in. Like Kara, he had shown Jyushi the texting application in order to prove his point.

With each word, Jyushi looked like he was listening to some classical fairy tale which was loved by many. He gave worried looks at the five of them when Osomatsu mentioned things like Todo throwing a plate at Iyami, Osomatsu pinning Todo to the ground, Todo and the two of Osomatsu's friends fighting against a group of yakuzas, and Osomatsu almost being shot by Atsushi. Osomatsu purposely left out the part where Hatabou snapped his fingers to summon guards to kill them, since Hatabou seemed like he was hiding something from Jyushi. Presumably to ensure Jyushi's happiness, and you'd be a monster to want that bright smile wiped off his face.

By the time Osomatsu was done explaining it to Jyushi, who had been behaved and didn't interrupt Osomatsu as he spoke, the sun had already left the sky in favor of the moon. Snow had started falling from the skies again and the city lights were blending well with the darkness and the stars in the night sky. The orange lights on Jyushi's room gave it some luminosity at least, which were automatically turned on once it started getting darker. Iyami had curled up to a ball in one corner as he laid his head on a big stuffed giraffe's neck with Chibita resting on his back, Jyushi was still curled in the same position he was earlier, Todo and Kara were both on one side of the bed, and Osomatsu was the closest to Jyushi, sitting on the edge and trying to explain things to him.

Then came the question. "Jyushi, would you allow me to inject you with the syringe then?" Kara had complied once he heard Osomatsu's story, and even if Todo refused at first, he had let himself get injected the moment he saw Jyushi in the streets.

Jyushi looked away for a moment, before glancing at Osomatsu with uncertainty. "Osomatsu-san.. no, Osomatsu-niisan." He took a deep breath. "Please don't be angry. I believe you, I really do! And you're my older brother, I get that, I really do.." He gripped his own locket and it seemed like he was seating out of nervousness. "But.. as much as I want to help you.. I need my brother's permission before I get injected by any needle! I know you're my brother in another dimension, but in this one.. he's my only brother. I could call him to ask permission, but he'll say no.." Of course he will. Ichi was a big brother, so he'd be protective of Jyushi. "How about this." He clapped his sleeved hands together. "Why don't we wait for Ichi-niisan to get back from France? And you explain everything to him! He's a nice person, and I know he'll help.. so can I get injected once we get Ichi-niisan's permission?" He asked. "I'm really sorry, Osomatsu-niisan.."

Each word Jyushi said was laced with fear, and Osomatsu had to place a hand on his shoulder to make sure his smile didn't falter again. "Of course. I won't stab you with a needle just because you said no, I'm not a monster. Don't worry, I'm not mad. We'll wait for your brother to return before I inject you with the syringe. In the meantime, we'll still play together to make sure you're not lonely. Besides, explaining things to someone in person is easier than in a cellphone, right?" He made an understanding smile. "I'm not angry at you, Jyushi. You're listening to your real big brother, so you're a really nice person. Besides, he's right. You need permission from your big brother to get injected with some weird-ass syringe. Don't feel bad. I understand, honest!" He playfully grinned in order to make Jyushi feel better, along with poking his cheeks again. "C'mon! What'd I say earlier about frowning? Squish."

Jyushi smiled again, swatting Osomatsu's hand away with his sleeve playfully. "No more frowning! I'm gonna smile lots and lots! Yup, Osomatsu-niisan! Thank you so much for understanding!"

Jyushi wasn't as careless as Todo thought he was, and Todo himself understood why Jyushi would require permission from his big brother before some stranger decides to inject him with a syringe. Hell, Todo nearly killed Osomatsu yesterday for doing the same to Kara. Todo took out his phone from his pocket. Seven thirty already. Damn, they'd need to find a hotel to stay at soon. But first, they needed to grab something to eat, because his stomach just made an embarrassing noise that caused everyone in the room to turn to him, Iyami and Chibita waking up from their slumber. "Was that you, Todo?" Asked Chibita groggily, wiping his eyes with his hand. Todo bit his lip and he felt his own face heat up in embarrassment.

Osomatsu chuckled, and so did Jyushi and Iyami. "Oh my god. Are you hungry already? Shit, didn't we already eat all the food at the cart and you're still hungry? Wow, Todo."

Before Todo could accidentally commit murder in Jyushi's room, Kara stopped both of them from fighting by flicking Osomatsu's head. "Osomatsu-niisan, stop making fun of Todo so much. Todo, learn how to take a joke. Anyways, we ate breakfast earlier and had drive-through on our way here, but other than that, we didn't really have that much of a meal, correct? I mean, we had pancakes and eggs for breakfast. Plus, we only had burgers and fries on the way here. No, the soda float doesn't count as a proper meal so don't even suggest that, Osomatsu." Kara frowned. "Besides the hotel, we'll have to look for some place to eat.."

Jyushi shook his head. "No need! I'll have Hatabou ask the others for the hotel's location, but the food? Let's all have dinner together! You three are my brothers, and Chibita-san and Iyami-san are my friends!" He cheered. "Since Ichi-niisan and I live here, we always have to eat out. Ichi-niisan and I usually go eat with Hatabou and the other employees, but since you're here, why don't you join us? If it helps, I'll pay for the hotel and the dinner as long as you need! We're waiting for Ichi-niisan, so you'll probably need to stay near Flag Corporation for a week!"

 _Oh yeah. If Jyushi's brother was the president of Flag Corporation, that would mean he's pretty damn rich._

"Are you sure about that? Osomatsu could pay for the hotel, but are you sure you want to pay for the food?" Todo felt smug when Osomatsu suddenly turned to him with a face that basically asked why was he paying for the hotel bills. Todo wanted to remind him that Osomatsu was basically the reason for all of this, and since they're helping him, he should at least pay for their needs. "Is Hatabou even going to like that?" Todo ate a lot, and just by seeing Osomatsu gobble down his breakfast earlier, he was probably the same.

"Ichi-niisan and I always pay for the bills when we eat out with Hatabou and a few of the employees. He doesn't really mind as long as I eat veggies with my meal." Jyushi blinked in confusion. "Though Ichi-niisan left Hatabou in charge of the company while he's away, I'm pretty sure it's the same when we go out for dinner. But it's fine, really! Plus, I get to tell Hatabou that you're really my-"

"No!" Osomatsu interrupted, grabbing Jyushi's shoulders. "J-Jyushi.. why don't you tell Hatabou everything once I tell Ichi about it too? He's probably not going to believe you." Because you have the mentality of a five year old, thought Osomatsu. Before Jyushi could ask why on earth Hatabou wouldn't believe him, Osomatsu spoke up again. "Not all people are as accepting as you or Kara. There are people like Todo who will need more proof to believe in something. In short, there are people who will fucking murder me once they find out what I do and where I come from. I mean, my phone was able to deflect bullets and was able to hack the security systems of this building. I will get arrested."

Jyushi thought for awhile, before nodding and making yet another. "Okay! I understand! But still, we should all eat together! It's boring without Ichi-niisan around! And maybe I can tell you more about him! I don't think it'll be weird to talk about Ichi-niisan!"

"But Jyushi! Are you sure?! You do know you're dealing with the five of us here, right?!" Todo cried.

Todo was arguing for the sake of being polite, Kara knew. But Todo was basically losing an argument against Jyushi who kept insisting it won't be bad for them to talk over dinner, with Jyushi adding in he won't mind if anyone ate too much. Before Todo could argue again, his stomach rumbled louder. Louder than before, and both Chibita and Iyami were watching Todo try to win an argument he couldn't win. Even Osomatsu's grin became wider as Todo's stomach kept nagging at him, his face becoming redder the longer he tried to argue. Jyushi seemed to notice, because as Todo kept telling him it was fine if they payed for their own dinner, Jyushi seemed to be giggling at the sounds Todo's stomach was making and was covering his mouth with his sleeves.

To spare Todo from further humiliation because Todo was his childhood friend and he'd probably die if he got any redder, Kara sighed and patted Todo's back, assuring him it was just fine. "We accept your invitation for dinner, Jyushi. Thank you so much." Kara interrupted, giving an apologetic smile at Todo. "While I know you were trying your best to be polite by trying to convince Jyushi to split the bill, Jyushi was being hospitable to us and had insisted on paying for our dinner. Turning him down despite how much he insists is rude. Besides, your stomach said otherwise and kept interrupting you." He said with a small grin. "You already lost from the start, Todo. Don't feel bad. We're all hungry."

Not as hungry as Todo though, thought Osomatsu. "There goes Todo's dignity. Down the drain." The eldest Matsuno said with a smirk. He was caught off-guard when Todo grabbed the large stuffed giraffe Iyami was lying down on earlier and hurled it at Osomatsu, knocking him to the floor. Not painful, but it was unexpected. "Ah! Tater Tot can't take a joke now, can he?"

"Go to hell, you stupid eldest brother!"

"You called me eldest brother! I'm so proud of you, Tater Tot!"

As Osomatsu and Todo started bickering, Jyushi notice Iyami and Chibita rub their temples in what seemed to be annoyance as Kara crossed his arms and shake his head disapprovingly. Sleeve still covering his mouth, Jyushi tilted and turned to Kara. "Kara-san.. no, Kara-niisan." It made sense to call him "nii-san", since he's apparently one of Jyushi's older brothers in another dimension, according to Osomatsu earlier. "Is that okay? Will they actually kill each other?"

Kara shook his head, giving a nervous grin at his little brother. "They started doing this earlier. I think it'll be natural from now on. No need to worry, Jyushi."

Jyushi tilted his head confusingly as Todo and Osomatsu started throwing rubber balls at each other. Jyushi couldn't believe that Todo was his slightly younger brother from another dimension, but he guess it didn't matter. Osomatsu was the eldest, and he didn't even seem to be the same as Ichi. Still, Osomatsu was the eldest and deserved respect. Besides. At the end of the day, it didn't matter who was older or younger; brothers protected each other and supported each other, despite who acted more mature.

But still.

Todo, a supposedly intimidating pink-haired demon who dressed like a punk, was throwing rubber balls at the eldest brother Osomatsu, who was laughing as he gathered the other rubber balls and threw them at Todo.

* * *

When Hatabou came to Jyushi's room to tell him it was time for their daily trip of going out for dinner, Jyushi surprised him by saying they should all go to dinner together. Hatabou would have denied that, but if Jyushi's smile disappeared, he was going to get murdered by Ichi. So instead of declining, he just accepted. Hence, why he was at the limo sitting awkwardly next to Chibita, who was sitting next to Iyami. Across them sat Osomatsu, Jyushi, Todo, and Kara. It didn't seem like anything was wrong, since Jyushi talked to the other three so happily.

It was really awkward though. Sitting next to Chibita, one of the guys he tried to kill earlier, Hatabou thought. While he didn't feel any anger radiating from Chibita, he could feel that the smaller man radiate an aura of unease. Of course. He tried to straight-up murder him earlier. Wouldn't you feel scared when your childhood friend sits next to you in a car, hours after they tried to kill you? They weren't that far from the other four, but at least Hatabou could whisper something and the guys across them wouldn't hear. Besides, Jyushi was being loud with Osomatsu, so he'd be damned if they actuallu managed to hear him whisper.

"What are you doing here in the city, jo?" Hatabou whispered, making sure none of the four look-a-likes heard. Thankfully, the three of them were just chatting with Jyushi, so it was some sort of distraction, at least. "And why did you sneak in the building, jo? That wasn't very nice, jo. We had to find the problem with our security and check how our technology got hacked, jo."

Chibita didn't ignore him, thankfully. "If you think we're helpin' Osomatsu find a job, sorry to disappoint." The way he spoke was almost angry, which wasn't surprising since it was Chibita. Unlike Osomatsu, Hatabou didn't pick on Chibita when they were younger. Hatabou had always been a few inches taller than Chibita, and the younger him had been ecstatic to finally meet someone smaller than him. But Chibita slightly grew and his temper became shorter, even to Iyami, who he used to help back in the days. The last time Hatabou saw him had been a few years ago. "Why'd we sneak in? Simple. A riot was goin' on earlier. And it wasn't nice for us to sneak in? Please. You're the guy that had guards all over us, ready to end our lives and all."

He had a point, Hatabou gave him that. "You saw what was going on, jo. A riot was going on outside and was bothering the employee, jo. Reporters, protesters, and those who claim to be on our side. It just happens a lot when you work for a company that sells information in exchange for a hefty sum, jo. And I can't just tell them to go away, jo. That's why I was angry. And I had to be scary in order to get my way, jo. It's common now for me to be that angry, jo. Flag Corporation is a really dangerous company. We don't just hire anyone, jo. The president mostly hand-picks them or sees if they're capable enough, jo."

"Capable?" Chibita looked at him. "Of what?"

"Gathering information. Blackmailing. Hacking. Killing people regardless of connections. Throwing away needless emotions for the sake of work. And the most important thing, ensuring the happiness of the president's little brother and the capability to put on a fake smile that is convincing." He clenched his fists, thankful that Jyushi was paying attention to his new friends to notice Hatabou's eyes darkening. Chibita noticed that he dropped his verbal tic as well. "The president of Flag Corporation is the reason I'm still here, up and alive. And in return, I swear my loyalty to him and his brother. In his absence, I'll try to make sure the company runs smoothly, all the while ensuring his little brother is always smiling."

Chibita frowned. "Hatabou."

Hatabou took a deep breath, watching as Osomatsu tease Todo which resulted to the pink-haired male baring his fangs at him. Both were stopped by Kara, who started scolding them. Hatabou watched as Jyushi giggled at their antics, blissfully unaware of what Hatabou was going through. It didn't matter, Hatabou thought. As long as he's managing the company and making Jyushi happy in Ichi's place. "Chibita, we're friends, aren't we, jo?" Back at it again with the verbal tic, Chibita thought. "And Jyushi too. He's your friend too, isn't he, jo?"

 _Are we really? I mean, you did try to kill us earlier._

Despite that train of thought, Chibita nodded. "Yeah. 'Course we are, idjit. Jyushi too."

"Then please." He clenched his fists tighter. "If you truly care about Jyushi, then don't let Osomatsu get involved with his life, jo."

At that statement, Chibita blinked. The four idiots were still chattering on and on, and Iyami beside him was just looking out the window. It felt like Hatabou was a completely different person. "Come again?"

"Chibita." Hatabou looked at him with his dark eyes, voice low. "That isn't our Osomatsu."


	26. Chapter 26: Synchronization

The restaurant, as Todo expected, was fancy as hell that compared to Kara, it was even more painful to look at than his blue hoodie with his face on it. Only Iyami had a chance at something like this, he thought. When they arrived, Todo was once again in charge of Jyushi's wheelchair because Osomatsu had apparently thought it would suit him better since Todo was the first to meet Jyushi. As it was a cold night, Jyushi had decided to wear a yellow cardigan over his casual clothes, along with his yellow scarf. Osomatsu helped Jyushi put his mittens earlier, and to Todo's uncertainty, they were yellow cat mittens. He also decided to bring his small yellow sling bag, and he had put his locket inside, claiming that he'd lose it or someone might steal it if he were to wear it.

Apparently, Jyushi, Hatabou, and a few of Flag Corporation's employees were known around the restaurant, especially since Jyushi, Ichi, and Hatabou ate here every night. With the presence of five new guests, they were immediately lead to a table which was far from the exit, which kind of unnerved Todo since he wasn't used to fancy establishments such as this. The five of them, Jyushi, Hatabou, Fuyu, and Yuki were all at the same table while the other employees were separated from them. They had met Fuyu and Yuki outside the restaurant, and apparently, those two were also in charge of making sure Jyushi ate a healthy dinner while Ichi wasn't around.

They sat as far from the entrance as possible, which is apparently the usual table that Ichi picked. According to Jyushi, Ichi hated attention and wanted to stay at corners to avoid attracting any. Jyushi had left his wheelchair at the entrance and had walked all the way to the table with his cane and Todo's assistance. Since the table was for nine, they had all fit perfectly in one table and had no problem with the arrangements; Jyushi was sitting next to Todo, who was sitting next to Kara, who was sitting next to Yuki, who was sitting next to Fuyu, who was sitting next to Chibita, who was sitting next to Hatabou, who was sitting next to Iyami, who was sitting next to Osomatsu, who was sitting next to Jyushi.

Jyushi didn't mind his placement at the table, since he was near three of his brothers. As he promised Osomatsu, he wouldn't tell Hatabou, Fuyu, or Yuki anything about what they talked about earlier, so he was going to call both Osomatsu and Kara with "san" instead of "niisan". Kara was the one that suggested Osomatsu and Todo shouldn't be sitting next to each other, because god knows what those two would do. Todo was sitting next to Kara, who would probably help him with his anger issues. Osomatsu was close to Jyushi, and he could immediately jump in if something tries to hurt him, Todo, or Kara, so it wasn't a bad placement. Iyami was uncomfortable next to Hatabou, but since he was beside Osomatsu, he knew he wouldn't get bored. Fuyu and Yuki were a couple, so it was natural for them to want to sit next to each other, but they could also talk with Chibita or Kara if they wanted.

As for Chibita, he was the only one who had millions of problems with where he was sitting. He was sitting next to his childhood friend who had nearly murdered them hours ago and had scared the living shit out of him back in the limo with how he was acting. It was natural for him to get scared to be sitting next to him, and when Hatabou had told everyone he wanted to sit next to Chibita so they could continue their rather lovely chat, Chibita wanted to die. He sent a look towards Iyami and Osomatsu, hoping both of his friends understood he was asking for help.

Osomatsu had noticed how odd Hatabou was acting towards Chibita, sure, but there was something else bothering him. "Hey Jyushi." He poked the cheek of his younger brother, knowing how much it was making him laugh. Jyushi looked at him with an excited smile and tilted his head in confusion as a questioning gesture of some sort. "I know you eat out with the other employees, so I can see why they're here with you in such a fancy restaurant, but is it really necessary to have like fifteen bodyguards all over the place?" He wasn't even lying, there were literally fifteen similar-looking bodyguards all over the restaurant. Osomatsu was also sure those were the same guards Hatabou tried to kill them with.

Hatabou, who was busy scanning through the menu, put it down in order to answer the question meant for Jyushi. "We do this everyday, jo. President Ichi is the president of Flag Corporation and requires protection, and his little brother is no exception, jo. President Ichi already has his fair share of bodyguards at France, but Jyushi still needs his, jo. Especially since his older brother isn't around and Jyushi's movement is limited. If there was trouble, there should be people to protect him, jo."

"Yup!" Jyushi added. "I don't really think we need this much guards since assassinations rarely happen anymore! Plus, five or six is as capable as fifteen! Putting fifteen or more guards is just overkill!"

 _Wait. What in the actual living fuck did he just say..?_

"Assasination?! Are you kidding me?!" Todo cried out, slamming his fists against the table and causing the glasses to rattle. The other employees from Flag Corporation seemed to ignore him, but the other patrons glanced at their table, only to look away once either Todo or Hatabou sent them a threatening glare and daring them to tell them to shut up. Fuyu and Yuki seemed worried for his outburst, but Osomatsu made hand gestures to signal this was normal. Kara grabbed Todo's arm to prevent him from accidentally splitting the table in half. "Is this even safe?! Is it safe for you to be outside?! Why were you out all on your own yesterday?!"

"By request! It's rare that Ookina-san even lets me go on my own without supervision! To be honest, that was the first time in my life I went outside without any helicopters flying over my area, and without anyone from Flag Corporation stalking me! I think Ichi-niisan nearly died when he realized I was out on my own! That's how I got home too! He sent the limo over to Sutabaa to pick me up, and he was there too! He just hugged me as soon as I got in and pretty much lectured me how dangerous it was! He didn't notice the leather jacket Todo-san gave me though!" He giggled, playing with the menu board. "Nnn.. but yeah! We nearly got assassinated about.. twenty times? Or was it fifty? I lost count-"

"SHEEEEEEH?!"

"WHAT?!"

Iyami, Chibita, Osomatsu, and Todo all reacted the same way and jumped from their seats and stared at Jyushi in disbelief. Kara somehow kept his cool and was trying to calm the four of them down, because they were making a scene. Especially Iyami, who was doing his gag to show how surprised he was. Fuyu and Yuki watched the scene play out in amusement while Hatabou simply continued to read the menu and ignore the situation completely. Jyushi, despite the fact that he was talking about the amount of times he and his brother nearly got assassinated, simply giggled at how everyone was acting. Again, he was covering his mouth with his long sleeves.

"Okay, this is no laughing matter, Jyushi. Guys, we need to calm down since poor Kara's trying his best to make sure we don't give ourselves heart attacks and die on the spot." Osomatsu spoke up, assuming he was the leader of the group of five, which consisted of him, Todo, Kara, Iyami, and Chibita. "Alright, everyone calm? Perfect!" He clapped his hands together, taking a deep breath before exhaling. "Jyushi, you're not kidding are you?! Are you actually serious?!" Okay, he just lost his cool even though he was supposed to calm the other three down. Way to go Osomatsu, he told himself. "You really got assassinated more than once?!"

Fuyu decided to intervene. "He's very serious. All attempts at taking his life were ill-prepared and poorly planned though, so nothing has been an actual threat to Jyushi's life. Nothing yet, at least. And before you ask why don't we go to other restaurants, trust us, we do go to other restaurants. A lot. One way or another, we always have to end up looking for another restaurant because of the fact that many have tried to hurt Jyushi and President Ichi in the past. And there are no places where there are any takeouts available, so bringing the food to Flag Corporation is hard."

"We are trying to fund enough for multiple kitchens for about ten different floors at Flag Corporation though. We don't know how long it might take for President Ichi to find chefs and get enough of the things he needs so he'll be able to have kitchens at the building." Yuki interjected. "President Ichi says that if we have those, some of us may be able to have our lunch and dinner at Flag Corporation, so we can immediately go to work as soon as we're done taking a break! It will be good for him and Jyushi too."

At least the four of them sat down, but they were all giving worried looks at Jyushi, who was still smiling despite what they just talked about. "So, nothing bad has happened in this restaurant yet?" Kara asked. Fuyu and Yuki nodded in reply. "Well.. he does live a rather fearsome life, with his disability and the fact that he's the brother of the president of Flag Corporation. Even with the protection he is given by his guards, I hope it is more than enough to keep him safe. Physically, mentally, and emotionally."

Everyone turned to him. "What do you mean by that?" Asked Iyami.

"Well, fifteen bodyguards is a lot. As Jyushi said, five or six is just fine. Fifteen is overkill." Kara pointed out. They were everywhere in the restaurant, even guarding a potted plant near the entrance just in case someone were to try to sneak behind it or something. "But they're enough to protect Jyushi, at least. Physically. No one can lay a single hand on Jyushi while they're around, because they are trained to keep Jyushi safe. But." He worriedly glanced as Jyushi, who was chewing on his own sleeve, but was still paying attention to the conversation. "I don't think it affected Jyushi, but we can't all assume it's fine since Jyushi doesn't seem to be terrified of getting assassinated anymore. But as they say, the brightest smiles hide the darkest secrets. And Jyushi here has such a bright smile, one so bright that it can light up an entire room!"

Todo caught on, which didn't surprise Kara. Todo was his childhood friend, and they had multiple talks similar to this one in the past. Noticing how Todo bit his lip as Kara said that last sentence, he knew Todo was going to add his own thoughts and opinions in the entire thing. "I agree." Todo added, cheek resting on his face. "You guys.. even if you give Jyushi a thousand bodyguards, make sure you're always close to him whenever assassination attempts happen. I'm sure his brother was always with him whenever that happened, but people get traumatized too."

Jyushi cocked his head to the side. For a split second, Todo could have seen fear, but he shrugged it off. It was probably just his mind playing tricks on him. "But I'm fine-"

"We're not saying you aren't, Jyushi. What we're saying is that always be close to anyone from the company, Hatabou, Fuyu-san, or Yuki-san when such a thing happens." Both said in unison.

Osomatsu was rather impressed by how Kara and Todo were talking about such a topic without seemingly forcing it into Jyushi's head. Then again, in this universe, both of them had been dealing with each other ever since they were kids, so it made sense they understood what the other was saying and was adding their opinions to make it simpler for Jyushi to understand. "So what you're saying is that anyone who's close with Jyushi must literally be close to him when assassination attacks happen? Just to assure him it's alright if Jyushi ever gets terrified?"

 _You're not as idiotic as I thought you were, Osomatsu._

"Exactly. Never underestimate an enemy just because they don't plan well. Never let your guard down when you think you have the upper hand either." Todo chided, reminding Osomatsu that he successfully managed to pin down Todo earlier, only to have his head slam against the door when he let his guard down and let his mind drift somewhere else. "Always be careful. Don't be too paranoid though. Your life'll suck if you fear every little thing."

Yuki looked impressed. "Why, Todo-san! You and Kara-san seem to be flowing with good advice!"

"And the way you two talked! In perfect harmony, I must say!" Fuyu added.

Osomatsu grinned. "I like the fact that you two almost knew what to say after one of you finished talking. Did you plan this out or something?" Osomatsu asked.

Kara and Todo shook their heads. "Ah, no. We had a rather similar chat a long time ago." Kara waved his hand dismissively and Todo looked away in what seemed to be embarrassment. "That is a story for another time! So, what are we ordering? If it isn't too much, I guess I'll have steak."

"Seafood." Todo added, slipping the menu board back to the waiter, who was awaiting the orders of the others.

As everyone recited their orders and the waiter jotted down notes, Kara couldn't help but notice a somewhat nasty glint in Hatabou's eye. When trying to focus on where Hatabou was looking at, he slightly paused at the sight of Jyushi beside Todo. What Todo didn't seem to notice was the fact that Jyushi was looking down on his lap, yellow eyes quivering.

It remained like that until Hatabou interrupted him. "Jyushi, what's your order?"

Jyushi looked up hastily. "A-Ah! S-Same as Todo! Except with a fruit salad for desert, please!"

After living with Todo for a good amount of time, Kara knew it was natural for him to sense fear hidden behind a mask. And no matter what, he'll try to uncover what Jyushi is hiding behind that smile.


	27. Chapter 27: As You Wish

As soon as dinner was over with no interruptions such as ninjas trying to break in and snap Jyushi's neck, Fuyu and Yuki waved goodbye to the group as they went home. As for Osomatsu and his group, they had been told that Hatabou had some of Jyushi's bodyguards drive Iyami's van to a hotel, as well as move their stuff to their room, which the five of them had to share, but at least there were separate beds this time. Before Osomatsu could ask about the payment, Hatabou had added that he already payed for it. Under Jyushi's request, of course. "Jyushi, why? I mean, I would have payed it myself if you just said so-" Osomatsu tried to speak.

But again, he was interrupted by Jyushi, the hyperactive brother of his. "Well, you went on a two-hour trip just to see me and play with me, and visited me to make sure I'm not lonely without Ichi-niisan around! And you're even planning on staying for a week too! It's the least I could do, Osomatsu-san! No need to be so shy!" Jyushi replied to Osomatsu's question happily. They were currently at the limo and were heading straight for the hotel, where Jyushi and Hatabou would drop off Osomatsu and the rest for the night so they could get their rest. "Everything is already paid for, so no need to worry if something breaks because of an accident! Oh, and you can order anything you want just in case you get hungry!"

 _He's too nice. You'd think a guy like him would be spoiled, but it's the opposite._

"Thanks a lot then. I owe you a lot, Jyushi." Osomatsu grinned, patting his little brother's head softly. Sadly, he couldn't call him his little brother yet, unlike Kara and Todo. Jyushi hadn't let himself get injected yet, but as Osomatsu said, he wasn't upset. He could understand why Jyushi would want to ask Ichi's permission and Osomatsu was glad to hear that Ichi was being a good older brother regardless if Osomatsu was related to him or not.

"You don't owe me anything!" Jyushi yawned, covering his mouth with his sleeve. "But.. let's go somewhere tomorrow.. and let's play.."

He smiled a bit. "Alright. I'm sure we can go somewhere tomorrow once you ask Hatabou for permission. But you look really tired, Jyushi. You can sleep now, if you want. We'll play again tomorrow, okay?"

"Mhm."

Jyushi was leaning against his shoulder the same way Todo was leaning against Kara, except Todo had practically passed out as soon as they got in. He was tired from today's events, from having to deal with the aftermaths of the syringe earlier and having to sneak inside a building by hacking nearly every single piece of technology it had. Also, they ran like hell through a nearly endless hallway. Chibita was supposedly talking with Hatabou from the other side, and Iyami was leaning against Chibita, snoring loudly. Unlike earlier, Osomatsu wasn't as loud, probably because Jyushi seemed so tired and Todo was sleeping. Kara had his eyes shut, but he was humming a tune as Todo slept soundly and Jyushi seemed to be falling asleep with the little tune Kara was humming. Osomatsu decided to hum alongside him.

While Osomatsu and Kara were humming lullabies to their little brothers, Hatabou and Chibita were still whispering to each other, thankful that the four across them weren't hearing a thing from their conversation. Iyami was passed out too, so they didn't have to worry about them overhearing anything and reacting to it in extreme ways. "Hatabou, I'm not gonna fuckin' bash you against the wall or anything, but so help me, if you don't tell me how the fuck did you know about this Osomatsu being from another dimension, I will personally strike you with my ladle and halt this car just to put you in the middle of the street, take over the car, and run you over." He snarled under his breath, glancing at the four look-a-likes across him.

Thankfully, Osomatsu and Kara were so busy humming, they didn't hear any of Chibita's threats directed at Hatabou.

The slightly taller male didn't budge, avoiding eye contact with Chibita as he spoke. "That's classified information, jo. I can't tell you, jo." He murmured. "But I can tell you something else, jo. He's definitely powerful enough to take on every single guard at Flag Corporation, jo. Besides the fact he reacts quickly to certain situations, he has some sort of power that comes from an unknown source, jo. Our Osomatsu was a great fighter, but this one? Unstoppable, jo. When I had the guards surround you earlier, I knew something was off with Osomatsu, jo."

 _Unstoppable? Power? He can't possibly be talking about.. the phone.. can he?_

There was a chance that was the source of power Hatabou was talking about. For one, the phone had been from another dimension sent to their's for Osomatsu's sake. It can text between dimensions, absorb projectiles and counter them, and hack all sorts of technology with just a push of a button. It had been in Osomatsu's bag the entire time, but Chibita saw Osomatsu slightly take it out during dinner earlier, probably itching to text Choromatsu. "I don't know what you're talking about, Hatabou." It was best to lie at times like these.

If Hatabou already knew about Osomatsu, there was a chance he'd take the phone away from him once he knew the phone was able to do such things. And that phone was the only thing Osomatsu had to communicate with his little brothers. Chibita wouldn't let Hatabou do that. Even if the Osomatsu came from another dimension, Chibita would still side with him; he was just a lost person looking for a way back home. Chibita could at least offer assistance to the poor soul.

"Don't lie, jo." Hatabou's voice lowered again, to the point it was barely audible. Chibita had strong ears, so he was able to hear every word Hatabou murmured. "He's from another dimension in which things are different from ours, jo. You don't know how he might act in the other part, jo. He could be a dangerous criminal. He could be an outlaw. He could be-"

"Hatabou. If we're really friends, as you claim to be, then you'd believe in Osomatsu. Even if he isn't necessarily the one we grew up with, he's still Osomatsu. He's less creepy and disturbing, if that's what you're worried about." Chibita interrupted, watching as Jyushi finally fell asleep leaning on Osomatsu's shoulder.

Osomatsu chuckled and placed Jyushi's head on his lap and started stroking his hair, continuing to hum with Kara as Todo started murmuring things in his sleep. Osomatsu had his eyes closed and so did Kara, giving them serene expressions as they hummed a tune to give their little brothers good dreams. Chibita's eyes softened; Osomatsu was being an older brother figure to Kara, Todo, and Jyushi. He wasn't lying when he said he missed his brothers terribly.

Hatabou was watching them as Chibita was, except he was watching with such a focused expression. "Is he really, jo?"

"He's not planning anything diabolical, I can assure you that. Our Osomatsu was lonely, wasn't he?"

"Awfully lonely, jo." Hatabou agreed. Well, at least there was something they won't argue about. "Even with us, Iyami, Totoko, Kaoru-san.. he was very lonely, jo. He wanted siblings, little siblings to be able to lead and to teach and to play with and to take care of. But it just never did happen, jo. Fate decided he should remain an only child and as he grew, he became more problematic, jo." Hatabou turned to Chibita. "Do you remember that one time at school, jo? When we were given the task to watch over the class' pet hamster each week. When it was Osomatsu's turn.."

"The hamster died two days in Osomatsu's care. He was claiming to be cleaning it's cage, but fuck, that was extremely disturbing. He was standing there at the back of the room, holding a fucking dead hamster with a blank expression. The same goes with the neighborhood cats. Once he makes contact with them.. they either disappear or die." Chibita's frown deepened. "Creepy guy.. I mean, if you know him well, you can see there's some normality in him. He likes pachinko, horse races, 'those' kinds of magazines, cute girls, and is just your average NEET. But damn.. he was creepy at times."

"I'm glad we're the only ones that noticed those little things, jo. If the adults found out, they might accuse Osomatsu of being cursed, jo. Iyami knew, but he didn't say anything about it, did he, jo?" The limo suddenly stopped before Chibita could reply. Hatabou clicked his tongue. "Is there another riot going on, jo?!" He barked. As if to confirm, people outside starting chanting, screaming, and they felt as if the limo was being knocked on. Hatabou rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "Not again, jo." He leaned back against the seat, eyes closed. "Let's just pray it stops soon, jo."

Osomatsu and Kara's eyes snapped open, and both frowned at the noise outside. Todo stirred awake and rubbed his eyes irritably and Jyushi slowly opened his eyes, slightly frowning. "Fucking hell." Todo mumbled, rubbing his eyes. He didn't seem to notice he was still leaning against Kara's shoulder, nor did he seem to care. He looked incredibly irritated because of the fact the knocks and yells disturbed his dream and woke him from his slumber. "What the fuck is going on outside?"

"Another riot, it seems." Mumbled Iyami. Ah. He woke up too. "Me wonders how you manage to live like this, Jyushi."

Jyushi closed his eyes, still tired, but unable to sleep in Osomatsu's lap with all the noise outside. "Ichi-niisan and I learned to live with it. It doesn't mean we like it, though. I hope he's not experiencing this at France right now.." Osomatsu patted his head to calm him down, seeing as he had some sort of pained expression on his face. He was getting a headache from all the noise. "Make it stop please. It's hurting my ears.." He murmured against Osomatsu's jacket.

"Just keeping driving, jo! Ignore them!" Hatabou barked at the driver as soon as he heard Jyushi's wish. After a few seconds, the limo started moving and the sounds of people chanting became faint. "I swear, jo! People these days are so rude! They could at least stick to nasty internet videos if they hate us so much, jo. Bothering Jyushi and President Ichi is another level, jo!" He huffed.

"Agreed." Everyone replied, minus Jyushi, who had fallen asleep on Osomatsu's lap again, thanks to the eldest Matsuno's patting.

Todo yawned and sat properly, stretching his arms. "Thanks for the shoulder, Kara. I'm just gonna take a quick shower once we get to the hotel."

"Make sure to wear the white sweater and the black sweatpants, Todo. Those are your only clothes that don't look edgy as hell." Osomatsu reminded, yawning. He was tired too, but he should take a hot shower before collapsing into bed again. And drink a glass of milk to make sure Iyami and Chibita don't pour another glass of tap water on him for having nightmares. "But if you don't want to wear the sweater, I can lend you some of my pajamas. We have the same size. Do you want to borrow it?"

Todo grunted a reply, which sounded like a no. Oh well. They were still getting used to each other's presences after all.

* * *

Hatabou had dropped off Osomatsu and the other four a few minutes later, leaving only him and Jyushi in the limo. Jyushi was still on the seat across him, but he was lying down and sleeping soundly, legs curled close to his chest and sleeves wrapping around and hugging his legs. Osomatsu had carefully laid Jyushi on the seat as they stopped by the hotel earlier, and had given him one last look before he left the car. Hatabou frowned at that thought. Despite what he and Chibita talked about earlier, he couldn't bring himself to trust that Osomatsu that had the same face and name, but was completely different from his childhood friend.

Hatabou had trouble making friends, similar to Osomatsu. His Osomatsu, to be specific. Not the one who just had dinner with him and Jyushi and had managed to earn Jyushi's trust. But since he had trouble making friends, it would be natural for someone similar to try to befriend him. He had met Osomatsu after he moved from the city to the small town outside it with his parents and his older sister, and after meeting Osomatsu, he was introduced to Chibita, Totoko, Iyami, and Kaoru. Osomatsu, his childhood friend, was that one troublemaker at town that all adults seemed to recognize as the only child of the Matsuno couple. He was a troublemaker, yes, but he had good qualities too.

He loved animals, and had taken it as a hobby to feed stray cats and dogs in the neighborhood, though fishing was also a hobby for him. He loved baseball, but didn't join any baseball team in school for the sole reason that the baseball team didn't like Osomatsu or his presence. But despite his general creepiness, Hatabou stayed as his friend. And when he left the town to go back to the city, he had bid farewell to all his friends, especially Chibita and Osomatsu. He had loved their company the most. He wasn't too close to Totoko due to his knowledge that Osomatsu had a tiny little crush on her, and Iyami and Kaoru were adults, so it was different.

To go back to the city was Hatabou's worst nightmare as a child. But as an adult, his worst nightmare would be having the boy across him dead. Jyushi was President Ichi's only family left in this rotten world, and Hatabou was entrusted by President Ichi to take care of him. Well, with everything President Ichi has done for him, it was the least Hatabou could do. With Dekapan, Fuyu, and Yuki, he was one of the people that would do everything for President Ichi, his little brother Jyushi, and the future of Flag Corporation. Even if he looses all his friends, his sanity, and his own life, in the progress.

Jyushi's eyes suddenly opened, and he sat up, looking around the limo. "Osomatsu-san and the others.."

"We dropped them at the hotel, jo." Hatabou informed. "But they said they'll visit tomorrow. Osomatsu wished you a good night, and so did Kara and Todo." And by visit, that meant they would go through the main entrance instead of the side entrance, thankfully. So Hatabou didn't need to worry about any of their systems getting hacked again. It was a hassle to fix all of that, and Professor Dekapan was a force to be reckon with. He was glad he had something to bribe him with earlier, because if he didn't, the entire building would have became a mess. The lobby's air conditioners were tampered with, too. "Jyushi, do you have any plans tomorrow?"

The other stiffened. "Y-yes. Hatabou, can I go play with Osomatsu-san and the others at the park and at the mall? Please? I know you're going to get worried and all, but if you're going to have me escorted by a lot of bodyguards, can you at least promise me that they won't interfere with any activity we might do?" He looked down at his own lap, sleeves pressing against the sling bag. "I.. I just want to have fun. With Osomatsu-san, Todo-san, Kara-san, Chibita-san, and Iyami-san. With no one having to worry about anything. It's not everyday I get friends to visit me.." He looked at Hatabou. "So, if possible, may I skip tonight's session? I promise I'll do it tomorrow night."

Hatabou thought about it for awhile. "As you wish, jo. But just to be sure you don't forget..." He crossed his legs. "Do you remember the data from last night's session, jo?"

Jyushi nodded frantically. "Yes, of course. One of our clients, Okane Atsushi, passed away last night. Sources say it's a bullet to the head, but the only weapon found on the crime scene was Atsushi-san's own gun, with his fingerprints and no one else's. Some think it's a suicide, but most of his lackeys state that he was aiming a gun at one of his gang members. They were ushered out by an unnamed individual and he was left with an unknown person, who seemed to be an accomplice of one of the gang members and the same person that ushered them out. They heard Atsushi-san taunting that person before he died from a gunshot, but when they were forbidden from entering the building again, so they didn't see how Atsushi-san die. Due to Atsushi-san's death, we only have about seven hundred forty eight clients, as of last night."

"Very good, jo. You can skip the session for tonight, but tomorrow, you'll have to do it again, jo." Hatabou gave a worried look to Jyushi. "..If you don't want to do it anymore, please tell me, jo. I'm sure President Ichi would understand-"

"No! I can handle it, I swear!" Jyushi cried, waving his sleeves around. "This.. this is the only thing I can do right. I can't keep smiling forever, Hatabou. And I can't walk properly, I'm too weak, and I've never passed school. I dropped out because I couldn't take it or understand anything, and Ichi-niisan finished for me and taught me everything he learned. The least I can do for everyone in Flag Corporation is to store all the data in my head for safekeeping. So even if Flag Corporation's database gets hacked or blocked, all the information about every single person in Japan is stored within my head. And everything can keep on going.."

"Jyushi.. just tell me if there's anything wrong, jo. You don't have to smile all the time, jo."

"Hatabou. Half of our clients are people who wish to ruin the lives of others. They buy information from Flag Corporation and spend a lot of money just to ruin the lives of others." Jyushi said, avoiding eye contact. "There is nothing good coming out of what Ichi-niisan is doing. But who am I to judge? I probably don't understand why he's doing all of this." He finally looked at Hatabou, forcing a smile. "Let's talk about something else, Hatabou. Like what I'm gonna wear tomorrow!"

No, Hatabou didn't want to talk about anything else, but if it would make Jyushi happy, he wouldn't mind. "Of course, jo."

* * *

 **Announcement!**

 **Starting next Monday, June 13th, I will only be updating "The Disappearance of Osomatsu-san" during Fridays and Saturdays due to the fact that I'm going to have school soon.  
But I'm not abandoning the story, don't worry! I might reply to comments and messages late, but I'm not abandoning it! I'll make sure to update it a lot during holidays!  
Since I still have another week of freedom, I'll still update "The Disappearance of Osomatsu-san" daily!  
Again, thank you all so much for the support!**


	28. Chapter 28: Calming Cavalier

The hotel room was bigger than the one Osomatsu, Chibita, and Iyami stayed at two days ago. And thank god, there were five beds; three on one side, and two on the other. As Jyushi said, he payed for everything, so once they arrived at their hotel room, there were plates of expensive-looking sweets on the table. It was either Jyushi wanted to be nice to them, or he had way too much money and decided to spend it on everything the hotel had to offer. They appreciated it though. Iyami and Chibita were once again watching the news while Osomatsu texted Choromatsu about their day, while Kara had went to the bathroom alongside Todo, for some reason.

 **"Well, it seems we have to wait for the other Ichimatsu to come back from France, then. No use chasing him all the way there when the other Jyushimatsu can't even walk properly, and hacking an airplane is an even worse crime than what we've done today. Besides the fact that the other Hatabou sounds incredibly psychotic and more of a megalomaniac in that dimension than in here, everything sounds like they're doing fine. Just be sure to take care of the other Karamatsu and Todomatsu, as well as the other Jyushimatsu. They may not be related to you, but they're still the other selves of your own little brothers. Finding the other me and other Osomatsu seems harder, for some reason. But worry about that later. Worry about how to convince the other Ichimatsu first. If he's some president of some big-shot company, prepare yourself for hell. The other Jyushimatsu seems to be his only family, so he might listen to him."**

"Speaking of Jyushimatsu, how is he?" He texted. The reply came ten seconds later.

 **"Professor Dekapan checked up on him, since he's practically our family doctor. And he's not doing any better. We don't know what it is, but Jyushimatsu's still sick. There's nausea here and there, but nothing else. His temperature's higher than any of our grades back in high school, and he says his body's sore. He's often at the couch or bed with Ichimatsu. Ichimatsu's always at the house now, taking care of him by reading him storybooks or inviting any of his cat friends to play with Jyushimatsu. Sometimes, Jyushimatsu says he sees things. Hallucinations, I think. But they're often flashing images. That's why Ichimatsu's always taking care of him and has no time for the phone. Todomatsu buys us coffee a lot from Sutabaa after work to keep us awake. I think I'll hand the phone to him in a few days. Karamatsu-niisan's at home helping Ichimatsu with Jyushimatsu. Todomatsu's at work."**

Osomatsu bit his lip. "Choromatsu, please. I know getting me back there is important, but after I inject both Jyushi and Ichi, tell Professor Dekapan to focus more on Jyushimatsu for the time being. I'll try looking for the other Choromatsu and the other me by myself. Being sick for more than a week isn't his thing, right? I want to get back as soon as possible, but I'm sure you alone can help me with that, and maybe even Karamatsu. Professor Dekapan is the only guy we can trust with this, and he's always said that Jyushimatsu is the least likely to fall ill. Doctors are going to fucking ask you guys about nearly every single thing if you bring Jyushimatsu to the hospital. I don't think that's a common cold anymore."

 **"Osomatsu-niisan, I understand if you're extremely worried about Jyushimatsu and care for his health, but he's not more important than you, and you're not more important than him. Professor Dekapan is worried for you two and had assured me about a thousand times he doesn't mind helping between getting you back here with us and researching on Jyushimatsu's condition. Besides, Jyushimatsu keeps asking Karamatsu-niisan or I how you're doing. He wants to talk to you, but poor guy can't even find the strength to sit up. Don't you dare suggest anything like that again. I know you meant well and you're looking out for him, but do not suggest that ever again, Osomatsu-niisan. If Professor Dekapan starts to help out with Jyushimatsu more, Jyushimatsu would feel incredibly guilty for being sick and having Professor Dekapan focus on him instead of getting you back. Do Jyushimatsu a favor and don't suggest anything like that again. He's already sick enough, he doesn't need guilt making him feel worse."**

Choromatsu had a point, and making his brother feel guilty is the last thing Osomatsu needed to hear. Osomatsu bit his lip harder, to the point it was practically bleeding. "Sorry."

 **"Don't worry. I know you're just worried for us, and I'm happy to know you're still a good older brother. Anyway, it's late now, yes? I suggest taking a well-deserved rest. You said you guys are just going to play with the other Jyushimatsu tomorrow, so I don't think anything bad could happen. But just in case, keep the phone at hand. You can win physical fights if anyone tries to punch you, and projectiles are useless against the self-defense program. Plus, the other Todomatsu is incredibly powerful, as I heard from Karamatsu-niisan, who heard from the other Karamatsu. Have a good night, Osomatsu-niisan."**

After reading that text, Osomatsu placed the phone on the nightstand on his left, which was Kara's nightstand as well. Since his bed was in the middle, between Kara's and Todo's, he could pick any nightstand to put his phone on. He just placed it on Kara's, since the blue-eyed male already talked with Karamatsu once and Osomatsu trusted him enough to have him answer the phone for him just in case Osomatsu wasn't able to. Osomatsu was still waiting for Kara and Todo to finish whatever they were doing in the bathroom so he could take a quick shower and slip into his pajamas. He let out a sigh, worrying over his brothers at the other dimension.

Chibita heard his sigh. "So what's goin' on the other side?"

"Jyushimatsu's getting worse. I asked Choromatsu to just tell Professor Dekapan to focus more on Jyushimatsu's condition, but Chorofappyski made me realize that if that were to happen, it would guilt-trip him immensely. I'm just worried." He looked at his own hands. "And Choromatsu has to constantly stress himself with being the most responsible and all, Karamatsu has to be the eldest in my place, Ichimatsu has to take care of Jyushimatsu constantly, Jyushimatsu's suffering, and Todomatsu's the only one working to keep his sanity in check and to avoid being stressed over the things back at home. And three of them are sleep-deprived." He stared at the scarf Karamatsu knitted, which was hanging on the headboard with his sling bag. The bottle and syringe were both on the same nightstand as his phone.

"I'm.. sorry to hear that, Osomatsu." Chibita replied, not really knowing what else to say.

Osomatsu didn't seem to care. He lied down on the bed. "I just want to go back soon. To be honest, I didn't even know if my brothers were real a week ago, when I woke up without them. I thought that I just imagined my entire life with them and everything I've been doing was just one really long dream. I'm glad it's not. I mean, it kinda sucks that they're all over the place and I have to inject them with some sort of syringe so I could go back to my own dimension, but seeing them in general.. just makes me happy? I know Kara's not Karamatsu and Todo's definitely not Todomatsu, but they're the same person, just in different dimensions. And even if there are differences, I can see a bit of my brothers in them. So even if they aren't really them, I don't feel like I'm hanging out with strangers or friends. I feel like I'm hanging out with brothers, you know?"

"I heard my name. You better not be talking shit about me." Todo exited the bathroom with Kara in tow. To everyone's surprise, especially Iyami's, Todo's hair was messy and was black in color. As Osomatsu said, Todo was wearing his white sweater with pink stripes and black sweatpants, and a pink towel was hanging over his shoulders from behind his neck. He noticed the looks the three were giving him, and he scowled. "You guys really thought pink was my natural hair color? Please. It's just hair dye. I'll put some again in the morning, since I'm too tired to put some now. I took a hot shower and the hair dye rinsed off.. and I forgot I wasn't supposed to do that. I had Kara help me wash it off. He says he'll help me put some again in the morning."

"I know it was dyed. I'm just shocked to see you without it." Osomatsu commented. "Why do you dye it anyways?"

"I like it that way. Same reason why I wear earrings in the first place. Pink always fit me for some reason, even if I did get a lot of shit back in grade school. But if you use it the right way, that color looks less girly and more intimidating." He said, brushing some strands of hair out of his eyes. "Plus, me and Kara were always being mistaken for each other. And now that you're here, I just realized I look more like you than I look like Kara. Hair dye's gonna help people differentiate me from you or Kara. Not all people focus on our eye colors."

"You mentioned our names, Osomatsu-niisan?" Kara asked, sitting on his own bed which was on Osomatsu's left side. Kara was wearing a white shirt with blue sleeves and blue pants, so it wasn't that painful to look at.. until Osomatsu noticed Kara's face on the shirt. His hands had a slightly pink color, so it was obvious Todo wasn't lying. Though it was kind of amusing to think that Todo, someone who claimed to be able to take care of himself, just needed someone else's assistance just to wash off and apply pink hair dye. "Did something happen- ah! Your lip is bleeding!"

Ah. So it was. Osomatsu didn't really notice how hard he bit until Kara started wiping his mouth with a tissue. "Thanks." He mumbled to Kara, who threw it to the nearest waste bin. "Just talking to Chibita about something. It seems Jyushimatsu's getting worse. But enough about that." He turned to Chibita again. "Chibita, you and Hatabou were talking about something earlier."

Chibita blinked. "You.. you noticed that?" He made sure to keep his voice low, didn't he?

"Well.. you kept glancing at us every five seconds. It was impossible to just ignore that." Osomatsu pointed out. "But I didn't point that out at the limo, since you might stop talking to Hatabou if you realize I can see you. Hatabou might become more wary of us, too. And I don't think Todo, Kara, or Jyushi noticed, but they were going to notice if I didn't do anything about it."

"So that's why you decided to distract the three of us?" Todo placed his hands on his hips, an annoyed expression on his face. "By fucking calling me Tater Tot and a bunch of bad nicknames? 'Totty' was the worst one you came up with!"

Osomatsu shrugged, a playful smirk on his face. "Well, how else was I suppose to keep your attention on me? And Totty's not a bad name! That's what me and my brothers call Todomatsu! But Tater Tot fits you better, you know?" He teased, before shifting into a much more serious attitude. "But Chibita, what were you and Hatabou talking about? It looked really serious, with you whispering and all."

"Me heard you mention Osomatsu's name." Iyami piped in. Chibita turned to him in disbelief. "Me wasn't asleep, you know! No one can sleep besides someone who tried to kill us! Me was just listening! Me didn't hear what you two were talking about on the way to the restaurant, but me did hear you talk about our Osomatsu on the way to the hotel!"

Everyone was focused on Chibita now. Osomatsu planned on taking a shower earlier, but this was far more important. Iyami was sitting on the sofa across Chibita, and Todo had sat on his own bed, lightly combing through his hair with his fingers. "W-well.. it's kinda creepy." Chibita said. "Not a ghost story, but he just decided to ask me why we came to the city. I didn't give him an answer, but then he talked about how we were friends. The hell, can we still be friends with him even after he tried to kill us? I mean, damn.. back to the topic, that idjit asked me if we were friends. I said yeah, 'cuz having him try to kill me is not how I was planning for this day to end. But the idjit knows."

"Knows?" Osomatsu asked.

"He knows. About you. He knows you're not the Osomatsu from this dimension. I don't know how he does, but he-"

"Well." Osomatsu plopped down on his bed, hands over his eyes. To the four, he might seem surprisingly calm, when internally, he was panicking. The amount of sweat dripping from his forehead was a giveaway that he was definitely not okay with that information. "I'm dead. I wasn't planning on telling Hatabou until I managed to convince Ichi, but Hatabou's probably gonna tell Jyushi, but Jyushi already knows, so that's not a problem. But what if Hatabou breaks into this hotel room and murders me, and tosses my body off the window-"

"He's not okay." Todo pointed out.

Kara sighed, rushing over to Osomatsu's side worriedly. He was acting the same way back at the never-ending hallway at Flag Corporation earlier, so it wouldn't take much to snap him out of it. "It's okay, Osomatsu-niisan. We'll protect you if Hatabou sends assassins to kill us!" He said in a chipper voice to make Osomatsu feel better.

"No I won't. That moron can protect himself if he's able to pin me down without me noticing." Huffed Todo, crossing his arms.

"Anyways, you idjits.." Chibita rubbed his forehead in irritation. He sometimes felt like he was the only one with actual common sense sometimes. "I didn't tell him anythin', but he knows that I know about Osomatsu. Then he started spoutin' stuff like Osomatsu being strong enough to beat up everyone at Flag Corporation. And he says Osomatsu has some sort of weird power. It's probably the phone."

Osomatsu removed his hands from his eyes. "Okay, what." He sat up. "Power..? I don't remember being some sort of anime superhero who has powers blessed from fucking aliens from outer space. But the real question is, how the fuck does he know?!" He walked to a corner and slammed his fist against the wall, Kara running over to him to calm him down. Todo didn't seem bothered, but he also didn't bother to turn to Osomatsu's direction and just stare at Chibita, waiting for an answer. Iyami was looking at the TV, but he was obviously listening and was trying to ignore Osomatsu freaking out and Kara trying to calm him down.

 _I knew you weren't chill about this._

"I don't know." Chibita replied. Osomatsu finally stopped knocking against the wall and slowly turned to Chibita. "Don't look at me like that, damn it! I honestly don't know, you idjit! But Hatabou knows, what are we gonna do about it?! You need to calm down! I know you wanna get home as fast as you can, but with all these obstacles in our way, it's best not to rush, damn it! It's only been three days, and if ya don't want to end up dead like that Atsushi guy from yesterday, don't always expect everything to be sunshine and rainbows!"

"Stop yelling." Kara interrupted, as calm as ever. Todo finally looked interested. "We don't have to bother the occupants of the rooms beside ours with our loud noises. Both of you, calm down. If this is such an issue that cannot be solved easily, we'll try to find out ourselves. Osomatsu-niisan." The eldest Matsuno perked at the mention of his name. "You have a phone that cant text through dimensions. If this bothers you so much, just ask Choromatsu about it. Hatabou may have sources. Seriously, you all need to start calming down. With your constant reactions to things, who knows how we'll end up?"

"Hate to break it, but Kara's got a point. You guys need to chill. Maybe me too." Todo joined in. He had freaked out at the dinner table alongside Osomatsu, Iyami, and Chibita when Jyushi was talking about assassination attempts, so he knew he had no right to tell the other three to calm down when he himself tended to do the same.

Luckily, Kara wasn't judging him. Kara never did. "I'm not saying we should just kick back and relax, especially since things back in Osomasu's dimensions are taking a turn for the worst. But I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to at least take our time? I mean, Osomatsu planned to go on a little play-date with Jyushi, didn't he? We can take our time trying to build up Hatabou's trust if it bothers you guys so much. Also, it's rather late. Why don't we all worry about this tomorrow? We had a really rough day, breaking into a building and all."

Karamatsu was usually ignored by his brothers, that was a fact that Osomatsu knew all too well. But the Karamatsu of this dimension, Kyabarie Kara, even though he lacked the confidence and glamour that Karamatsu had to catch the attention of any pretty girl passing by, Kara was much more noticeable due to his supposed painfulness being a mask similar to Karamatsu's, except his was more brittle. They had way too much in common besides their vocabulary, but the difference between Karamatsu and Kara was how they handled the current situation.

Choromatsu had always been in charge of calming everyone down just in case something bad happened. Karamatsu was usually there spouting out painful lines and jokes to ensure everyone that everything was going to be okay. But Kara had no siblings or family, at least, no family anymore. Todo was like a brother to him, and Todo was an absolutely terrifying force to be reckoned with. It made sense he knew how to deal with these kinds of situations.

Osomatsu sat back down, and he just noticed the rather painful sensation on his right hand.

 _Why the fuck did I think punching a wall is the best way to get my emotions out..?_

"Glad to see you're not freaking out even more, Osomatsu-niisan." Kara smiled. "But aren't you going to take a bath?"

He blinked. "Fuck, you're right." He stood up again and grabbed his pajamas, which he folded and put to the side of his bed earlier. "Ah, and Chibita.. sorry for yelling at you."

Chibita waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry for yellin' at ya too."

"See, Kara? Everyone's friends again." Todo rolled his eyes as he said that statement sarcastically. "I don't know about you nerds, but I'm going to bed. Wake me up when someone dies-"

"Todo, don't oversleep alright? We have to apply your hair dye first thing in the morning!"

Todo scowled at Kara, who had a cheeky grin. He heard Osomatsu burst out laughing at the bathroom and Chibita and Iyami snickering. With his face red, he proceeded to bury his face on his pillow and pull the blankets so he was just a cocoon on the outside. "Alright, mom!"


	29. Chapter 29: A Game of Chess

When Osomatsu awoke the next day, he had already dressed up and prepared for his little play-date with Jyushi. Naturally, the other four were coming with him, because he needed them by his side just in case something were to happen. So while Chibita was helping him put on his clothes and Iyami was fixing everyone's clothes back to their backpacks like an exasperated soccer mom, Kara was helping Todo apply his hair dye, as well as pick out his clothes for the day. Since it was Kara, it wasn't a challenge for him to convince Todo to wear something less edgy and dark and a bit more comfortable and bright for the day. Osomatsu had to point out that all of Todo's clothes consisted of the colors black, white, and pink, in which Todo responded by tossing a pillow straight at his face while he was drinking his coffee.

Nothing special, thought Osomatsu. It was snowing, so he decided to wear his beanie, mittens, and the rainbow scarf, naturally. As for his outfit, it was just a white shirt with his family symbol, red plaid pants, a black cable knit jacket, and red sneakers. His hoodie had to be washed, and so did his gray sweatshirt, which was apparently still stained with Atsushi's blood from two days ago. Poor Iyami had to scold him like a parent as he ranted about how hard it would be to wash off the blood.

Besides, Chibita and Iyami were wearing their casual outfits, and Iyami didn't even wear a coat or scarf! Chibita was a different case and had layered a coat over his shirt and wrapped an orange neckerchief around his neck. His scarf was probably going to get washed as well, since Chibita and Iyami had used that scarf to wrap around Todo's bleeding head two days ago. "Here's your bag, idjit." Chibita handed him the small red sling bag containing his important items. Though he decided to leave the bottle for today, the syringe was still with him, just in case. Chibita wrapped the scarf around his neck, adjusting it so it wouldn't fall off. "Here ya go, you idjit. All set?"

"Yeah. I dunno about Kara and Todo though."

The first to wake up out of five of them was Iyami, who had ordered mugs of coffee for everyone and had watched the early news. Next was Kara, who had took a bath and prepared Todo's clothes for the day. Next was Osomatsu, who had also taken a bath, but lazed around a bit in only his boxers until Chibita woke up and hit him with a ladle, demanding for him to get dressed. Last was Todo, who Kara had to drag to the bathroom due to the pink eyed male's constant refusal on letting go of the bed. And Kara told him to not oversleep too! He was probably playing games on his phone all night long again.

Osomatsu was actually thankful that Kara decided to wear something normal, something that didn't have his face. Though Kara did say he was going to be wearing the sunglasses, at least it wasn't as painful as his glittery tank top with his own face printed onto it. It was a white polo similar to Todo's, and he just layered a blue jacket over it. As for the pants, he thankfully decided to skip the blue sequin pants in favor of jeans, and his blue winter boots. Unlike Todo's wardrobe, Osomatsu didn't get to see Kara's. According to Todo, it was like his wardrobe, but with less leather and pink, and more comfy clothes and the color blue. There were blue earmuffs, mittens, and Rosa's sequin scarf on Kara's bed, so Osomasu could at least confirm that Kara was much more simple in his fashion choices compared to Todo.

Though the yells of Todo from the bathroom were hilarious to listen to, at least.

"It burns! It burns!"

"Todo, please, it's just the hair dryer, and please don't move around so much! You're lucky I decided to bring my apron with me, otherwise, you could have stained my clothes."

"It's burning my skin! And why're you pulling off my hair?!"

"Maybe if you cooperate, we'll get this done faster. I'm just combing it, so just hold still- Todo, stop biting my arm. I put on metal bracelets for a reason. Ever since you bit me the first time you asked for assistance regarding hair dye, I have never left these metal bracelets wherever I went, and the area you bit me at has a mark now."

"Fine."

 _Todo's a giant nerd, it's confirmed._

Osomatsu decided to check his phone for today, as well as greet his brothers a good morning. "Good morning, Choromatsu. Or if this is Karamatsu, good morning to you too. I'm just waiting for Todo and Kara to finish getting ready. We're meeting up Jyushi at Flag Corporation. Hopefully, there won't be any riots for today. There were two yesterday, and they were annoying as fuck. Like, they stopped a limo just to protest about some shit. Anyway, Jyushi wanted to go somewhere, since we only talked at the building yesterday and he wants to have some fun. We're probably going to be out playing all day. I guess you don't have to stress yourself for today, so just text me if our life signs are flickering to death or something. That goes with any programs too. Just send me anything about dimensional bullshit later, alright? Take some rest, you, Karamatsu, and Professor Dekapan definitely need it."

Once he sent the text, he instantly got a reply. When he checked it, it didn't seem to be a text reply. Rather, it was a file. Tilting his head, he pressed the file and waited for it to load. "The hell is this?" He murmured under his breath. And then it opened. Like a video file. The screen flickered from a loading screen to black, before a green color replaced the darkness.

 **"Osomatsu-niisan!"**

The noise came from the phone. Iyami looked away from the piles of clothes and Chibita turned from the TV to Osomatsu. The noise seemingly startled Kara and Todo, because Todo ran out of the bathroom with a towel over his head, shirtless, and only in his black leather pants. Kara ran after him, wearing his glittery blue apron and glittery blue rubber gloves, his blue jacket tied around his waist, and the sleeves of his white polo rolled up, revealing two metal bracelets on each arm. "What the fuck was that?!" Todo yelled, agitated at the chorused voices for some reason.

 **"This is a recorded message, so if you reply to this, you're an idiot."**

 _That voice.. Ichimatsu?_

 **"Ichimatsu-niisan! Don't be so gloomy and mean! Hey, Osomatsu-niisan! It's me!"**

 _Todomatsu?_

 **"Ichimatsu-niisan, can you help me up? Hi, Osomatsu-niisan! You're okay!"**

 _Jyushimatsu?_

 **"It worked! It actually worked! Doctor Dekapan is amazing! Brother, it's us!"**

 _Karamatsu?_

 **"Calm down, everyone! You're gonna make me drop the damn phone! Oi, Karamatsu-niisan! Don't dance all over the place! Ah! Ichimatsu! Help Jyushimatsu sit up, he's falling! And put the blanket over him, Todomatsu, he'll freeze! Argh, whatever! Osomatsu-niisan, this is a recorded video message!"**

 _And Choromatsu?_

Chibita and Iyami were now sitting next to Osomatsu, with Todo and Kara peeking from behind Osomatsu. The eldest Matsuno was shakily holding the phone as it's screen displayed a blurry video of the five Matsuno brothers, Osomatsu's little brothers. Choromatsu was holding the phone with his arms outstretched, and Todomatsu was trying to grab it from him. He could see Karamatsu dancing in joy in one corner of the room, and Ichimatsu was sitting on the couch, Jyushimatsu's head leaning over his shoulder as a blanket was wrapped around him. Choromatsu was in his casual outfit, Karamatsu, Todomatsu, and Ichimatsu were all wearing their jumpsuits, and Jyushimatsu was in his pajamas. They were all at the living room, as it seemed. And Choromatsu, Karamatsu, and Todomatsu all had eye bags under their eyes. Ichimatsu's hair looked messier, if it was possible. As for Jyushimatsu, his eyes looked tired and glassy, but at least his hair was still normal. His single cowlick seemed droopy though.

Osomatsu's hands trembled and his lip was quivering. This was a video. A video of his five little brothers just acting as normal. He felt tears stream down his cheeks as the video played out, consisting of Choromatsu and Todomatsu bickering on who should be holding the phone, Karamatsu in that one corner simply posing and looking cool with his painful shades covering his eyes, and Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu watching everything play out, small smiles on their faces.

 **"So, uh.. we're recording this at.. night? Yeah. Professor Dekapan just wanted us to test out if this is working. We're gonna send this to you in the morning, since you probably need rest. But it works fine! He says he's going to see if he can make video calls too! But this'll work for now! Anyway, we're all here! Um, mom and dad are.. out, but it's fine! I'm here, so is Karamatsu-niisan, Todomatsu, Jyushimatsu, and Ichimatsu! See?"**

 **"Hi hi, Osomatsu-niisan! I wish I can give you a hug, but I can't even stand up! And you're somewhere else entirely, aren't you? Well, don't forget to muscle hustle always! We all miss you a lot!"**

 **"I heard you nearly got shot. Good thing you didn't."**

 **"Yamimatsu-niisan, what the hell? You shouldn't say stuff like that casually. Anyways! Chorofappyski told me my other self is a punk! Once Professor Dekapan makes the video call application, you are sending me a video of my other self as soon as possible! I must see if it's real!"**

 **"Heh. I've never seen our brothers so happy and relieved before, Osomatsu-niisan. Our bonds as brothers are definitely stronger than steel! Our hearts beat us one!"**

Okay. Osomatsu was crying now. The tears were falling on the phone's screen and his hold on the phone was shaky. Everyone's eyes softened at the way Osomatsu reacted to a simple video. Kara wanted to give him a pat on the shoulder, but he was still wearing gloves that were tinted with pink hair dye. To his surprise, Todo patted Osomatsu on the back as he let out a few sobs, and so did Chibita and Iyami. "Let it out, Osomatsu. It's alright." Said Todo in a soft voice, which actually surprised Kara, seeing as how they were bickering yesterday. He didn't say anything about it though.

 **"Well, that's all for now, Osomatsu-niisan. I'll text you again!"**

 **"Heh. I'll help Choromatsu in case he needs a break from the phone. And I'll look after all our little brothers in your absence! C'est la vie, my dear older brother!"**

 **"I'm off to work, then. I'll treat you to Sutabaa once you get back if you want! Let's all go on a picnic, too!"**

 **"Stay alive."**

 **"Bye bye, Osomatsu-niisan! I promise to get better soon so we can play once you get back! I'll gather loads of acorns for you too! Hustle hustle! Muscle muscle!"**

The video ended and Osomatsu was bought back to the text screen. Even as it ended, Osomatsu still couldn't stop the tears from streaming down his cheeks. Chibita took the phone away from him and started wiping the screen with a towel as Osomatsu started to rub his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. Iyami stood up and went back to his task of organizing their clothes, but not before glancing at Osomatsu worriedly.

"I'm fine." Osomatsu said, wiping his eyes. Despite the tears blurring his vision, he was smiling brightly. He was now full of hope, and all it took was a simple video. Choromatsu really knew how to handle things, despite his absence. "I'm fine, really! I'm just.. happy. Really happy. I.. I just.. I missed them so much and wanted to see how they were doing.. and.. I'm glad. Things may not be as bright as they were, but they're okay, they're alive, they're working hard-"

And Todo hugged him. Osomatsu's eyes widened. "This is a one-time thing only. Don't get used to it." He murmured.

Osomatsu would have teased him for being such a tsundere about a simple hug, but he really couldn't muster enough energy to do so. Todo was being nice to him and he really needed a hug right now, so he just hugged Todo back and started crying on his shoulder. Todo wished he was wearing a shirt, because Osomatsu's hot tears against his cold skin wasn't really a pleasant feeling. It was kind of gross, but for now, he'd let it slide. It wasn't everyday he'd get to comfort someone who was separated from what was important to them.

Kara smiled, watching as Osomatsu pulled away and made a cheeky grin and rubbed the remaining tears out of his eyes. Todo huffed and ran over to Kara with a slightly amusing expression on his face. Was that embarrassment? Todo really was such a softie. "C'mon Kara. It's time for you to kill me with that hair dryer again. And don't give me that look!"

* * *

"Alright, I've got his outfit ready. Yuki, dear, help Jyushi stand up so I can help him put this on."

Fuyu and Yuki were told by Hatabou to help Jyushi get dressed for today, so they came earlier than usual. Usually, they'd drive to a restaurant to get Jyushi some breakfast and do the same at lunch, but since he was going to be out for the entire day playing with his new found friends, they decided to come earlier. Plus, Jyushi was probably going to have three meals with his friends too, so Fuyu suggested that Jyushi should bring a small yellow backpack instead of his small yellow sling bag. They were similar in design, as they were both yellow and had a purple paw print patch, but the backpack was bigger. Fuyu suggested that Jyushi should bring extra clothes just in case his current ones were to get dirty.

It wasn't too different from what Jyushi wore, if Yuki had to be honest. It was a yellow sweater with white stripes and orange sleeves, orange plaid shorts, black suspenders, black and yellow striped socks that reached his kneecaps, and orange winter boots. But the sleeves of the sweater was so long that it obscured Jyushi's hands. Nonetheless, Fuyu still told Jyushi to put on his yellow cat mittens, so his hands wouldn't feel cold. To shield Jyushi from the snow, Fuyu had told Jyushi to also wear a cute little beanie that Ichi got for him two weeks ago. It was a yellow beanie with cat ears and orange spots, and Ichi had found it cute and had bought it for Jyushi. Fuyu then took the yellow scarf and wrapped it around Jyushi's neck as a finishing touch.

"Aw, you look so cute with that beanie on!" Cooed Fuyu. "President Ichi's really good at picking out your clothes, huh? He made sure that even if we mix and match, all your clothes will fit you perfectly."

Yuki remembered that Ichi also got himself one, and it was purple with black spots. It was probably with him at France.

Yuki picked up a small automatic umbrella from the far corner of Jyushi's bedroom. President Ichi really had a fascination with cats, because besides all of Jyushi's bags having a paw print patch, Jyushi's mittens being cat mittens, and Jyushi's beanie having cat ears, the yellow umbrella Yuki picked up and opened also had cat ears popping out. Jyushi was really childlike with all his stuff being rather childish in appearance. "Jyushi, you should bring this too. It can fit in your backpack, right? What are the contents?"

Jyushi opened his backpack and showed the contents to Yuki. His locket, a small yellow cellphone with a keychain of a cute yellow duck, a yellow journal, a yellow metal pencil case, a yellow water bottle, a yellow cat coin purse, and folded clothes that are also yellow. Yuki made a small smile as Jyushi showed him his backpack, his bright smile plastered across his face. Jyushi was really such a kid. His stuff was enough proof of that. And yellow was a color that fit him all too well, it seemed. While purple, President Ichi's seemingly favorite color, usually represented royalty or mystery, yellow represented energy and happiness. Those colors fit President Ichi and his younger brother. He put the umbrella inside the backpack and zipped it, giving Jyushi a pat.

"Very good! You have everything you need, don't you? And remember to call us every hour to update us on what you're doing! Don't lost your phone too!" He chided, almost like a parent. "Ah, wait.. I'll fix your scarf."

"Okie dokie!"

As one of his many caretakers, Fuyu and Yuki always helped Jyushi in the things he couldn't do, such as walk without the aid of his cane of his wheelchair, or help him get dressed. But other than that, Jyushi loved to play with them when Ichi was busy. Yuki was the one that suggested Jyushi should draw to let out all his energy that he couldn't release due to his limited movement, and had taught him how to play simple board games like snakes and ladders and Monopoly. Chess was hard for Jyushi to comprehend, but Ichi seemed to love that game.

Speaking of chess, Ichi sometimes played that game with any of his employees. While President Ichi was definitely not someone you could simply fool around with and act casual with, he was as unpredictable as his little brother. He was sometimes kind to his employees, and Fuyu and Yuki's wedding was proof. He was Yuki's best man and didn't even bother to pay for a pianist, seeing as Ichi shifted between standing next to the groom and playing the piano himself. His scary side often showed when something bad happens, and he sometimes acts like Hatabou in that state. Another way to get to his scary side was do something that would hurt Jyushi; he would never forgive you if you did something to his little brother.

Maybe Ichi liked chess so much because it was like his life. Maybe Ichi thought of himself as the black king, while the white pieces were the rest of the world. He and Flag Corporation were the black pieces, Jyushi included. Fuyu thought about it for awhile; it did make sense. Ichi was the king in the dark side of the board, everyone listened to him and his orders were absolute.

Jyushi probably represented the black queen, with unlimited potential and the strongest piece on the board, as Ichi's entire mindset seemed to revolve only around the happiness of his little brother.

Dekapan and Hatabou were probably bishops, in Fuyu's opinion. Dekapan was the brains of the entire building and Hatabou often took over for Ichi when Ichi wasn't around. Ichi and Hatabou also seemed to get along well.

As for him and Yuki, Hatabou had always told them both that they were considered people that Ichi kept closest to him, besides his own brother. Maybe Fuyu and Yuki were knights.

He didn't know about anyone who could fulfill the place of a rook, but his mind drifted to two people. Though those people weren't as close as Fuyu, Yuki, Dekapan, and Hatabou were to Ichi, those two girls seemed to be close with Jyushi, and they often chatted with each other whenever Jyushi decides to roam around the building instead of staying in his bedroom.

One of them was a girl that Jyushi had met when he and Ichi were on vacation, and she had started working at Flag Corporation four months ago, but as one of the many people that gathered information, since Jyushi already had many caretakers. The other person was a girl younger than the other by a few years, but just as capable. Those two were rather close and were working together to gather information regarding the personal lives of their clients, while the others gathered information on current events in Japan or the personal lives of random people who their clients seem to despise.

If Yuki remembered correctly, their names were Warai Homura and Chiisana Hana. He wasn't close to them, but Fuyu seemed fond of them and acted as if she was their older sister. While Homura seemed somewhat shy, she was calm and was able to do her job with diligence. As for Hana, the smaller girl with a blue flower on her hair, she was more energetic and much more loud than her friend Homura, but was friendly and caring. Those two were often doing their jobs with everyone else, so they weren't able to play with Jyushi as much as Fuyu and Yuki were able to.

As for the pawns, maybe the rest of Flag Corporation.

Ichi seldom talked to any of them and even if he did, it was probably only once or twice. Unlike Fuyu, Yuki, Homura, Hana, Dekapan, and Hatabou, everyone else just seemed to listen to the orders of the king, Ichi, while not bothering to find the reason behind those orders. Those who were deemed important got a chance to learn more about President Ichi other than the fact he was a busy man with a little brother he doted on. The pawns listened to all of the king's orders with no questions asked, just like what pawns should do. And as important rooks, knights, and bishops were, the most important pieces were definitely the king and queen.

But they were on the dark side of the board. Whoever was the king and queen on the brighter side had remained anonymous, but Ichi had always said that the world had always been against him and his brother. And if the light couldn't accept Ichi and Jyushi, then Ichi would gladly walk to the path of darkness, reluctantly bringing Jyushi with him. And he did it. He became the king to his own world. He studied hard and with the help of Dekapan and Hatabou, he rose to the top of the food chain and had become the president to Flag Corporation, the company that was the reason Akatsuka City was doing as well as it was. But in exchange, the citizens would get their personal information leaked in exchange for cash.

 _As sad as it is, that's life for you. Ichi made a good choice though; if the world rejects you, you make your own. And when they come crawling back once you show them your power, it's better to turn a blind eye._

"Yuki-san?" Jyushi tilted his head. "You're spacing out!"

Whoops. That was rather embarrassing, staring at Jyushi's scarf while he thought about chess. Fuyu was giggling while covering her mouth with her hand. He would admit that his wife is adorable, but he was still flustered about getting such a reaction to him drifting off somewhere else. "Ah, sorry! Anyway, you're all set?"

Jyushi smiled. "Yup, yup! All set!"

"Good. You're still bringing your cane with you, right?"

"And wheelchair!"

Of course he'd bring his wheelchair with him, that was the reason it existed in the first place. Fuyu patted his head. "Of course. Your friends have probably arrived. Hatabou had sent a limo to fetch them."

As Fuyu helped the wobbly Jyushi walk to his wheelchair, Yuki couldn't help but let out a sigh. Thankfully, his wife and Jyushi probably dismissed it as a sigh of exhaustion. If Ichi really thought he was playing a game of chess, he should be more careful; the game was still not over. Ichi and Jyushi were still reigning on the top with Fuyu, Yuki, Homura, Hana, Hatabou, and Dekapan supporting them, and the pawns were doing all the dirty work. But even if Ichi was reigning on top of Akatsuka City, Yuki wondered if Jyushi was able to do the same.

Because there was something about his new friends that just bothered him.


	30. Chapter 30: Inner Thoughts

Osomatsu, Todo, Kara, Chibita, and Iyami were planning on driving to Flag Corporation's building in Iyami's van, since he was the only one with a vehicle, a driver's license, and enough common sense to drive a van without accidentally running people over out of sheer impatience and anger alone. But before the group of five could even exit their shared hotel room to grab a quick cup of water so Osomatsu's voice wouldn't be as raspy from his crying, a member of the hotel's staff knocked and had informed them that their ride has arrived, along with a tray containing Osomatsu's glass of water. And by ride, they meant the same limo they rode on last night.

Osomatsu was honestly wondering how rich Jyushi was. They would have gotten done earlier, but with Osomatsu's constant teasing and Todo's extreme reactions towards Osomatsu's teasing, they weren't really giving the other three a break.

"Oh my god, you look edgy as hell! Ow, the edge! It hurts so much!" Osomatsu tried to stifle his laughs, but was unable to. He was honestly wondering if Todo could see any other color besides black, white, or pink, because he decided to wear his black training jacket with a little bit of pink in it, the gray plaid scarf, a pair of his many leather pants, pink sneakers, and the black beanie with the pink pin that was shaped like a little swirly cookie. Considering Osomatsu had rummaged through Todo's wardrobe yesterday, one would think he wouldn't be surprised when he saw Todo wearing those clothes. But Osomatsu was always looking for a way to tease Todo. And maybe find a faster way to kill himself, because Todo was glaring daggers at him. "Oh my god. This is hilarious."

"I will rip your fucking organs with my bare hands and choke you with them if you make another fucking comment-"

So much for them getting along, Kara thought.

Todo even went as far as to give Osomatsu a hug earlier, but he guessed it was all down the drain for now.

"Can you choke him with his organs later? We're running late and I doubt they're going to wait for us any longer." Kara sighed, wrapping the scarf around himself. It was Rosa's sequin scarf and he briefly wondered how his potted ficus was doing under the care of Dayon. He should borrow Todo's phone and call him later. More likely, he should get his own phone soon. He was pretty sure none of them had a phone, besides Todo. Osomatsu's didn't really count, since it was only a phone that could text between dimensions, act as a self-defense mechanism, and hack an entire building. But texting? Not really, no. "And Osomatsu, please stop making fun of Todo's fashion choices. If it makes you feel any better, I'm the one who suggested he should wear his training jacket instead of the leather one."

"Don't worry Kara. As edgy as Todo looks, he actually looks pretty damn cool." That wasn't a lie. Osomatsu always thought that Karamatsu looked painful, sure, but he was curious what it felt like to wear his brother's clothes. And not just Karamatsu's. It included Todomatsu's somewhat girly fashions that are trendy, Choromatsu's somewhat sophisticated clothes, Ichimatsu's comfy sweaters that reeked of cat piss, and Jyushimatsu's soft-looking outfits that looked rather cute with their bright colors. The baseball uniform looked kinda cool too. He wondered where Ichimatsu and Jyushimats bought one. Maybe he could buy one for himself once he gets back to his dimension. "Like a punk. Kinda intimidating, really."

Todo huffed. "As it should be." Osomatsu decided it'd be best if he didn't tell Todo that he only found his outfit intimidating due to the fact it reached the same amount of painfulness as Karamatsu's clothes, except less glitter and glamour and more edginess and painfulness. "We should hurry. Hatabou might murder us if Jyushi gets impatient."

Chibita's thoughts drifted to his conversation with Hatabou as he followed the others out of the hotel room. He was wondering if he was able to talk to Hatabou today, maybe along Iyami, so Osomatsu, Kara, and Todo could hang out with Jyushi as brothers. It would surely make Osomatsu feel better if he was hanging out with the alternate versions of his brothers, plus, Chibita was really curious and wanted to continue his conversation with Hatabou without the fear of having Jyushi hear about it. Even if Jyushi already knew about Osomatsu being from another dimension, having him hear the disturbing stories about the other Osomatsu might scare him into being near Osomatsu ever again.

The five of them were lead to the limo, which kind of made Osomatsu feel weird. Jyushi was really rich, wasn't he? He wondered what happened to the parents of Ichi and Jyushi in this dimension and how Ichi got so rich. He didn't just own a company out of the blue, didn't he? While he heard from Kara that his parents were dead and Todo was left by his parents at a young age with his grandfather taking him in, he hadn't got the chance to ask Jyushi about his parents yesterday. He did say the other Dekapan was his guardian, and Fuyu and Yuki said something about being two of Jyushi's "many caretakers". Ichi must be very protective of Jyushi to give him multiple caretakers and bodyguards. But seriously, where were the parents? And if Jyushi was his age and so was Ichi, isn't Ichi a bit too young to be owning some big-shot company?

 _Those are the questions.. I hope Jyushi lets me ask him more of 'em today._

As the limo drove off to Flag Corporation, instead of chatting with one another, they were all thinking about different things.

Iyami himself was thinking about the whereabouts of the other Osomatsu as he frowned thoughtfully. Hearing Chibita talk about him yesterday made him wonder how he was, where he was, and what the hell happened to him. It had been a week since Osomatsu, the one sitting with them, had suddenly awoken in a world so different from his. Where was the other one then? Did he drunkenly jump into a river to never return back to the land of the living? He was acting sort of weird when they last saw him too, and it wasn't just because of the alcohol. Almost melancholic and pathetic, and him being drunk as he supposedly stumbled all the way home still made no sense to Iyami. According to Matsuyo and Matsuzo, he collapsed as soon as he got home. But he was sure that Osomatsu didn't come home and the Osomatsu that had siblings somehow ended up in his place. It baffled Iyami to no end, honestly. The entire thing was just a train wreck.

Chibita was still thinking about his conversation with Hatabou last night and how the slightly younger male knew. Hatabou was being kind of creepy with how he was acting, and telling Chibita to make sure Osomatsu doesn't interfere with Jyushi's life? Couldn't he at least inform him about such things before Osomatsu had told Jyushi about everything? And no way in hell was Chibita doing that. Osomatsu was a nice person, and as much as he hated to admit it, this Osomatsu was less creepy than their Osomatsu and a bit more compassionate and caring. Still, that didn't mean he didn't care for his Osomatsu, as scary and disturbing as he was. He was still his childhood friend and it had been Chibita's choice to befriend him in the first place. As Osomatsu's friend, he needed to find him, no matter what. But he'll also help the Osomatsu he's currently with into reuniting with all his brothers. He still wondered why he chose to stick by Osomatsu as children though. Maybe he was a messed-up kid too.

Kara was a different case compared to Iyami and Chibita. He was more concerned about Osomatsu, Todo, and Jyushi more than the other Osomatsu or Hatabou. His worrying over Todo was natural, since they were both childhood friends and Todo had always been such a hassle to take care of. Nonetheless, he cared for his childhood friend's well-being as much as Todo cared about Kara being taken advantage of due to his gullibility and his kindness towards others. And while he only met Osomatsu a few days ago, he couldn't lie that he didn't care for Osomatsu the same way he cared for Todo, but it was probably due to the memories he got from the syringe. As for Jyushi, he felt a natural big brother instinct the moment he saw him. Maybe it was because the state he was in or the people he was associated with, but Jyushi kind of reminded him of Todo when he first got into that yakuza group; associated with people who were bad influences and would probably hurt you, either physically or emotionally. While Todo got hurt physically, Kara was sure Jyushi would get hurt emotionally if he stuck by Flag Corporation any longer.

Todo had way too much in his mind to be simply put into words. He was thinking about how Aida and Sachiko were, those two girls that used to be his co-workers. Though he knew he couldn't call them his friends after what he did to that annoying customer which showed them his true self. He wondered how that customer was too. Who cares, he said to himself as he decided to think of something else. Aida and Sachiko were cool and all, but he also wondered how Dayon was. As nice Dayon was, he prayed that Dayon hasn't broken anything back at the apartment yet. Maybe break Rosa the ficus, that'd be cool. Todo really didn't have much people to worry about besides those three and Kara, but now, he could feel himself slowly worry for Osomatsu and Jyushi, and maybe Chibita and Iyami too. But there was something that bothered him, a question that couldn't be answered. He felt as if there was something wrong with Fuyu and Yuki, but he only dismissed it as paranoia. They were a nice and grossly adorable couple, but there was something about them that made him feel uneasy. And to Todo's frustration and horror, he didn't know what it was.

And Osomatsu, the eldest Matsuno, was smarter than most people believe, thanks to presence of Choromatsu back at his dimension making him look like an idiot in comparison. Osomatsu had his legs crossed, arms behind his back, and lips curled into a frown. It was just a play date with Jyushi, sweet little Jyushi who looked as harmless as a puppy, so there was absolutely nothing to worry about. But much to his frustration, whenever he found himself slightly calming down in the presence of his four companions, he would end up being reminded about the fact that he was at another dimension and the people he were hanging out with weren't his friends and his brothers. But did that matter right now, he kept asking himself. Even if they weren't his brothers, they were the other selves of his brothers, so technically, they were still them. As confusing as it sounded, Osomatsu knew he had too at least be optimistic. Not as optimistic as Jyushimatsu to the point it's almost delusional, though. He needed to keep his head up so he didn't lose hope in getting back to his dimension. He had five little brothers and a professor awaiting his return, so sulking wasn't an option. Not anymore, at least.

"Man." Osomatsu was the one that spoke first, snapping out everyone from their own thoughts. "Life's pretty tough, isn't it? I mean, fuck. When I awoke in this dimension, I thought something was really off. Then I saw the futon, the room, the photo album.." And that damn alarm clock. For some reason, he couldn't bring those words out. "And everything was going downhill as soon as I went downstairs. Mom and dad greeted me as normal and we had breakfast together. And I knew something was terribly wrong. They usually have breakfast on the other room because me and those other five losers share the same table. And I got scared. And I locked myself up in my room for a week. I mean, if my brothers don't exist, a lot of me would cease to exist. And I thought that if I left the room and saw the world where my brothers don't exist.. I thought a part of me was gonna die off."

That made sense to Chibita and Iyami. Maybe that's why Osomasu locked himself up, besides the fact he needed to sulk.

"So when mom said she got a package from someone named Choro, I just flipped out." His lips curled into a small smile, replacing his frown. "And there I saw Totty's phone. Then Chorofappyski, that bastard, just texted me out of the blue!" He was grinning now. "And I was yelling while I was typing out my reply! Then he told me small details, like how I was at another dimension and all! And I ran to Chibita's oden stand because I was looking for Iyami, and they ended up helping me!" As Osomatsu spoke, it seemed like he was getting happier. Chibita and Iyami gave each other understanding looks laced with amusement, glad that they were able to help out Osomatsu. "And then I met Kara. The next day, I met Todo. And by Todo, I meant Todo's leg." Todo huffed at that, while Kara chuckled. "And I met Jyushi. And in a week, I'll meet Ichi. Then either Choromatsu's other self and my other self. And then.."

 _I'll be able to go back home.._

"I'm surprised you didn't get a heart attack from it. Y'know.. the sudden text from your brother." Todo nonchalantly said. "To be fair, if anyone else gets a text from a person they thought didn't exist, I'm sure they'd faint. Or at least call the cops to track down the number and catch the weirdo that sent that text. It's literally the most logical option out there." It would be rather creepy if he got a text from someone that claims to be in another dimension, looking for him. He'd burn his phone and call a priest to bless the rest of his belongings if that were to happen.

Why call a priest, exactly? Just in case some of his items were to start spouting the same creepy bullshit. Better safe than sorry, he reasoned.

"Eh. Me and those guys went to space just to play baseball to graduate from being NEETs, so I don't see how that's weird. Weird to the point you'd start questioning your own sanity, sure, but battling against aliens in a game of baseball which is basically a fight to the death? I'm sure that's weirder than a phone that can text through dimensions."

Kara blinked upon hearing that odd statement. Baseball? In space? Against aliens? "Wait wha-"

The limo screeched to a halt, prompting Iyami and Todo to fall off their seats as Osomatsu managed to grab onto the seat cushions, Kara grabbing his arm out of instinct, and Chibita managing to balance himself by pressing himself against the seat cushion. While Todo landed on his face, poor Iyami had landed on his overbite, his painful screech ringing in everyone's ears.

Todo used his hands to push himself upward, his lip practically bleeding the same way Osomatsu's lip was bleeding last night. Except this one was caused by a stupid car that decided to just screech to a halt and throw them off their seats instead of some dumb moron biting his own lip. "Overbite, shut the fuck up!" Todo snapped, hand covering his mouth and nose. He had landed on his face and it had hurt a lot. Maybe not as painful as having your head whacked by a crowbar which caused it to bleed, but it still hurt. "Fucking hell! Who the fuck drives this thing?!"

"Me is in pain!" Iyami barked out a reply.

"Todo, please stop picking fights with everyone." Kara scolded, helping Iyami back to his seat besides Chibita, who raised an eyebrow upon seeing his overbite. It was still gleaming and not a single scratch, so what was Iyami complaining about? Then again, it seemed like it was.. moving? Was his overbite finally going to snap? Despite the amount of questions flooding in Kara's brain, he focused on his childhood friend's bleeding lip instead. "Oh god. It doesn't look that bad, Todo. Let me get that for you. Get your hand out of the way." He took his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped off the blood from Todo's lip. He turned to Osomatsu. "Why'd we stop all of a sudden?"

"No idea." Osomatsu murmured. He really wished he and the other four had just went with Iyami's van instead.

As soon as he said that, the door slammed open and a very angry Hatabou walked in the car, eyes darting towards every angle in the car. He seemed more stressed than usual, Osomatsu noted. "Is anyone hurt, jo?! I'm sorry, but our driver is such a nutcase at times, jo! And by sometimes, I mean there's a fifty-fifty chance he'll either do his job right, or end up killing someone while trying to do his job right, jo!" He spotted Iyami rubbing his head dizzily and Kara wiping the blood off Todo's lip. If it was even possible, Hatabou looked angrier and looked like he wanted to run to the driver and chuck his head against the glass of the car's windows. "Oh my fu-"

There was another interruption. "Hatabou? Is Osomatsu-san there already? How about the others?" Jyushi peeped from the corner of the doorway. Todo could see his iron grip on the doorway and his legs were wobbling. His one hand held his cane, which he was using to keep his balance. He must have left his wheelchair to follow Hatabou. "Are you guys okay? Mister driver went a tad bit crazy there, didn't he? I'm pretty sure he drifted across the entire front yard of the building! That's gonna leave a mark mister janitor can't clean up! A really big mark! Ichi-niisan'll get upset!" He pouted. "And I thought nothing bad would happen today! I hope the rest of the day doesn't end up like this." He said softly.

 _Oh yeah. There was a play date for today.. I nearly forgot, thanks to these fucking questions bothering me._

"Um, Jyushi." Chibita meekly called the kind brother, who turned to him with a confused expression. He felt Hatabou stare at him, his judging gaze seemingly wanting to burn a mark on Chibita's bald head. If Chibita accidentally said something that would upset Jyushi, Hatabou would kill him at the spot, no hesitation. "I-If it's fine with you, I wish to talk to Hatabou today. It's something really important. Ya don't mind if we chat with Hatabou there for the day, do you?"

"Me as well!" Chimed Iyami. Chibita mentally thanked him for joining him. The three look-a-likes sitting on one side all turned to each other, confused. Jyushi looked at him now, turning away from Chibita. "Very, very important! So very important that runts like you might find it extremely boring! Why don't you play with Osomatsu and the other two instead? Have fun and let the grownups do all the talking!"

Todo wanted to smack Iyami for calling Jyushi a runt in front of Hatabou, but Jyushi didn't seem to take any offense. Rather, he couldn't understand what that word meant. Todo was also itching to point out that he, Kara, and Osomatsu were adults as well. Maybe Jyushi too. Then again, he had the mentality of a child and the other three didn't even look close to being adults. "Oh! So you're gonna play with Hatabou at the building?" He tilted his head. "You're gonna play grownup games like chess and filing taxes?"

"Um.. yes?" Chats about a disturbing person and alternate dimensions were considered talking, which were considered bonding, and therefore, playing. Playing was bonding. At least that's what Chibita told himself. Or he just wanted to justify what he was planning.

Hatabou wanted to say something about it, but Jyushi's cheerful giggles made him change his mind instantly. "Okay then! Hatabou's always busy! Playing with him might help him loosen up! Right, Hatabou?" He giggled, still holding onto the doorway. "You're so nice, Chibita-san, Iyami-san! Yup! Go ahead! Have tons and tons of fun! Maybe Fuyu-san and Yuki-san will play too, and maybe Homura-san and Hana-san'll join in too!" He turned to Hatabou. "Isn't this great, Hatabou? You'll have people to play with too!"

 _Yeah. Real great, jo._

As Jyushi kept cheering on Hatabou from the doorway, Chibita moved to Osomatsu. Osomatsu leaned forward as Chibita started speaking in a low voice. "I'm gonna ask Hatabou 'bout the issue we were all worryin' about last night. Iyami'll be goin' with me just in case, and he can't keep babysitting you guys forever. You ask Jyushi about anything regarding his brother or him, or just play with him, I don't really give a shit. Just enjoy your day or whatever. I'll try to gather information from Hatabou, but I ain't tellin' him about you knowing that he knows you're from another dimension. I'll tell ya everything ya need to learn later, alright ya idjit? Don't get yourself killed from whatever stupid reason and keep an eye out on Jyushi. Hatabou doesn't seem to be the type to loosen up around Jyushi's supposed friends."

Osomatsu nodded. "Thanks a lot."

"No problem."

"Solid plan. We can ask Jyushi about himself and Ichi, and you can ask Hatabou about everything else Jyushi can't answer." Todo murmured, sitting beside Osomatsu. "We're counting on you two. Let's share information later."

Hatabou cleared his throat to catch everyone's attention. He didn't seem to hear what Osomatsu, Chibita, and Todo were talking about since he was focusing so much on Jyushi earlier. "Well.. I certainly wasn't expecting guests of my own, jo. But I guess a chat's fine, jo. It's better than just gathering information and doing boring work, jo. Maybe I'll give you a tour of Flag Corporation too, jo. Jyushi, remember; If you need anything, just call me and I'll send someone to get it for you. Okay, jo? Also, where's your wheelchair?"

"Outside! When you ran over here, I decided to walk and follow you! Fuyu-san and Yuki-san still have it."

"..You stumbled all the way here, jo?"

"Yup!"

Hatabou sighed. "Please." He turned to Osomatsu, Todo, and Kara. "Do not let him wander all on his own, jo. Jyushi's very excitable and rarely goes out with anyone besides his caretakers or his own brother, jo. I'll go get his wheelchair, jo. Jyushi, come here. Take a seat. Our nutcase of a driver will drive you to the mall, jo. You said you guys'll walk over to the park once you're done at the mall right? Remember to have your umbrella open if it starts snowing a lot more."

Todo stood up from his seat, walking over to a wobbly Jyushi and extending his hand towards him. Jyushi accepted the help, and with the aid of the cane, he walked over to where the seat was and slumped right next to Osomatsu. Todo was on his right, Osomatsu was on his left, and Kara decided to sit right next to Todo in case he tried to murder Osomatsu in the limo. Jyushi smiled brightly at Todo. "Thanks, Todo-san! You helped me out again! You're a really nice guy, you know!"

 _..nice guy?_

"Ah! Todo-san! Are you okay?! You're turning red!"

Osomatsu chuckled. "See? Big softie right there!"

Even Kara had to let out an amused snort. Todo officially lost all his dignity. "Nothing to be ashamed of, my dear friend."

There was clearly something to be embarrassed about when Todo went out of his way to ask Kara for help regarding his clothes and even asked help to apply his hair dye, all to maintain his delinquent-like look and his supposedly tough punk persona. And the result? Being called a "really nice guy" by the little brother of a president whose company could ruin millions of lives with a single order.

"This is the worst."


	31. Chapter 31: I'm Not A Nice Person

Hatabou didn't want to ruin Jyushi's day by having bodyguards surrounding them as they walked through the mall, so instead, he had fifteen of Jyushi's bodyguards hiding in multiple spots where they could see where the hyperactive male was going along with his friends. They had been dropped off at the mall with Jyushi telling the driver to pick them up from the park at seven so they could all have dinner together again. Jyushi wasn't really walking, he was only sitting on his wheelchair and using his cane to point out which direction to go. Before Osomatsu could tease Todo and tell him to push Jyushi's wheelchair again, Todo seemed to have done it voluntarily and pretty much assumed it was his duty. Kara noticed and made an amused smirk.

Todo didn't seem to be complaining about it at all; he had been the one to take Jyushi's wheelchair off the car and even help Jyushi walk all the way to it, patting on the seat as he gestured Jyushi to sit down. Now they were currently going through the mall as if it was a normal day with some delinquent-looking young adult pushing the wheelchair of Flag Corporation's president's little brother while his cavalier of a best friend followed, as well as their brother from a different dimension. Everything was normal, as far as everyone around them was concerned.

 _Todo really is a big softie._

"Ichi-niisan and I know a person at this one shop! He says he used to be a policeman, but know, he has a clothing shop! That's where Ichi-niisan and I mostly get our clothes!" Jyushi kept saying happily, pointing his cane forwards. Todo nodded and kept pushing Jyushi's wheelchair while the other two trailed behind them. Osomatsu had his arms behind his back while Kara's hands were stuffed in his pockets. For some reason, Kara decided to wear his painful shades. "You three were wearing matching hoodies yesterday! Red, pink, and blue! Different designs, but it looked like it was manufactured by the same company! Maybe I should get one for me and Ichi-niisan! Then we can all match!"

"So, we're heading to the department store first? The clothing store?" Todo asked.

Jyushi nodded. "Yup! Then we go buy some food at the supermarket! We'll be having a picnic at the park! And Todo-san!" He used his cane to press against the floor, prompting Todo to stop pushing the wheelchair. Jyushi turned to him, noticing the look on Todo's face. It was the same face he pulled yesterday when Jyushi had told them he would be paying for their dinner. "Let me pay for everything, okay? I don't mind, honest! Plus, we're brothers in Osomatsu-niisan's dimension, aren't we? Let me treat you all to something nice for hanging out with me! It's not often I go out with friends who are also my brothers in another dimension!"

Todo hoped that no one was hearing what Jyushi was saying, or if they did hear, he hoped no one was taking it seriously and just assumed Jyushi was being a child and was spouting nonsense. Todo was more focused on the fact that someone was going to have to pay for them again, and he didn't know why, but he just couldn't handle it. It was the same with him refusing to get Kara involved with his bullshit, so maybe Todo was scared of kindness? Or at least, irked out by it? He was a delinquent and a threat to society, but Jyushi kept insisting he was a nice guy. Plus, he practically lived with a guy that could be a housemaid with his skills for cooking and cleaninh. "Still-"

"Is there even any dignity left in you? Or did you lose it when Jyushi called you a nice guy earlier?" Osomatsu teased, slinging a hand over Todo. Kara stayed close to them just in case Todo were to throw Osomatsu on the floors below them, because Todo seemed to be glaring daggers at Osomatsu again. They only left with Osomatsu yesterday, but Kara knew this would be a long-time thing. Or short, depending on how long Osomatsu would be stuck at this dimension. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to be polite, Todo. But save it for another time. Jyushi just wants to share with you."

"Yeah yeah! Osomatsu-niisan put it to words, yay!" Jyushi cheered, using his free hand to wave around, the sleeve flapping wildly. "I only get to share with Ichi-niisan, Hatabou, Fuyu-san, and Yuki-san! I don't get to share much with my-" He suddenly trailed off, almost as if he didn't want to say the next word. "N-Never mind. Anyway! The clothing shop is just ahead! Onward!"

Todo snorted, pushing the wheelchair as Jyushi pointed his cane forward. What a child, he thought. Yet, it was somewhat amusing. He could blame Todomatsu's memories for making him feel this way, but even if Jyushi was his older brother from another dimension, he couldn't help but be amused at how much of a kid he was acting. Jyushimatsu was the baby of the bunch, and judging by Todomatsu's memories, he acknowledged that. Todomatsu was Jyushimatsu's only little brother, and though Jyushimatsu didn't pick on Todomatsu as often as Osomatsu or Ichimatsu did, Todomatsu sometimes had doubts believing that Jyushimatsu was minutes older than him.

 _But does it matter? I mean, at the end of the day, they're sextuplets. Same age, same face. It doesn't really matter who's older, because brothers are supposed to look out for one another._

While he was pushing Jyushi's wheelchair, he didn't seem to notice that Osomatsu still had an arm slung over him and Kara was happily whistling, seemingly glad that no murder would be happening at the mall today. Todo would have used that opportunity to grab Osomatsu's arm and swing him around, but he just let it happen. Osomatsu didn't even look like he was planning on teasing him further and he just walked as normal, a small smile on his face, almost as if nothing was wrong.

It looked like one of those smiles Todo saw when he was receiving Todomatsu's memories.

A trouble-making smile that warned the five younger brothers that something stupid was going to happen that day. Choromatsu hated it, Ichimatsu got himself ready for danger whenever he saw it, Karamatsu and Jyushimatsu would assist the eldest in his stupid schemes whenever he did it, and Todomatsu would try his best to make sure Choromatsu would remain sane for the rest of the day. But Osomatsu's eyes didn't look as energetic. He looked relaxed, and with the crying he did earlier, they were slightly puffy.

 _He.. really misses them, doesn't he?_

How silly. Of course he does. Todo just couldn't understand it because unlike Osomatsu, he didn't have any siblings. Nor did he have a mother that spoiled him or a father to fool around with. His parents had enough of him as an easily angered child and just left him to his grandfather. Up until now, he didn't know if they were still out there, but if they were, they probably had a better child than him. He laughed at the thought. A sibling sharing the same blood as him? Foolish.

His parents weren't as patient as his grandfather. Nor were they as patient as Kara, his childhood friend. Kara's parents were equally patient people and though they were a bit terrified of Todo when he first broke a flower pot at their house, Kara had calmed him down and had loaned him a shoulder to cry on. Unlike his parents, they could clearly see that Todo was suffering from something he couldn't help; he was easily angered by everything and he didn't knew why. But he knew Kara and his parents were nice people, and he started visiting him often. He still visited them even after his parents left him at his grandfather's, who had bought Todo back to the city just to be with his friend.

So when Kara's parents died, he knew it hurt Kara. A lot. He could at least return the favor. Kara was there for him, and so should he. Kara moved out of his parents' house and took some of their stuff with him, but gave the others to his other relatives. And when Todo's grandfather died, Kara knew that Todo couldn't possibly survive the world out there without someone to help him. Thus, he invited him to live with him at a somewhat small, but still nice, apartment. It had worked fine between them, and Todo's job as a cashier and waiter at Sutabaa really helped them both.

Todo stared at his own knuckles as he pushed the wheelchair.

He wasn't a decent person.

He wasn't a good person.

He wasn't a "nice guy" as Jyushi called him.

He was one hell of a train wreck with anger issues.

Kara was the one that helped him get a job and befriend Aida and Sachiko, and it lasted for a good while before Todo's anger issues re-surfaced and he got dragged into the yakuza group by Dayon. And he let his anger out on a customer. Todo justified it by saying he was an annoying prick, but whenever he remembered his manager's angry face and Aida's protective stance towards Sachiko, he couldn't help but feel guilty.

He was fired on the spot. And Kara saw. He was just about to bring lunch to his childhood friend, when he saw some random guy stumbling out with a black eye, a bloodied nose, and probably a missing tooth. And when he entered, he saw Todo's hands curled into fists, a vein appearing on his forehead, and he even nearly punched the hell out of his manager if he didn't suddenly feel Kara's hand grasp his wrist, mutter an apology towards the manager and the two girls, and lead him out the café without another word.

The way back home was rather awkward, but Todo couldn't understand why Kara didn't lecture him on the way home about his violent outbursts. Kara just held onto his wrist and lead him back to the apartment and patched him up, stating that the customer had left bruises on his face and even on his arms. Dinner was normal, and Kara didn't seem to be angry. He just asked Todo what he wanted for dinner and asked him if he wanted any alcoholic beverage to go with it.

Now that was rare; Kara didn't drink, and though he tolerated Todo drinking beer, he wasn't really fond of drinking things that tasted "gross" to him. Todo thought he was just joking until Kara actually gave him a can of beer and told him that there was another one at the fridge just in case he wanted more. And the night resumed as normal, except Todo's old uniform for Sutabaa was now hidden in a box underneath Kara's bed for "safekeeping". The day after that was slightly different, since Todo often left for work at the morning. But when he awoke and just ate the breakfast Kara prepared, he decided it would be best to stay at his room and stupidly think of accepting the offer of the yakuza group.

Todo hated that fact about himself; the people who treated him with kindness often had to suffer the consequences for his actions. So when he saw Kara carry out an unconscious but thankfully alive Osomatsu, he felt everything he did crashing down on him. He became a delinquent who purposely messed up his jobs out of spite and Osomatsu had nearly got shot at the process. He could still feel the area where Kara had injected him with the syringe. Did it hurt? Of course not! He suffered worse!

But did the memories and guilt mixed together hurt him?

Oh, it did. A lot.

He snapped out of his thoughts when Jyushi pressed his cane against the floor. "Looks like we're here!" Chirped Jyushi, using his cane to point to the sign of the store. The three of them looked up at the name. Osomatsu winced, Todo cringed, but Kara looked like he absolutely knew they were in for something fun when he read the name.

Osomatsu removed his arm from around Todo and crossed his arms. "Alright, who the fuck decided to name a clothing shop 'Justice for All'? What even is this about?"

"I thought this was a clothing shop." Mumbled Todo.

Jyushi giggled, clapping his hands together. "You'll see!"


	32. Chapter 32: Blue Rabbit and Pink Wolf

First off, the clothing shop actually looked nice inside. Second, bright and dark colors of fabrics seemed to be mixing well together. Third, there was one section of outfits that actually had sequins on them and it terrified Osomatsu to no end. Fourth, Jyushi absolutely loved the place and had squealed the moment Todo had pushed his wheelchair in. "Me and Ichi-niisan go here a lot! He claims that this shop is actually better than the rest, since no one tries to bother you while you're changing clothes!"

While other customers stared at the four clones at the doorway because of the fact Jyushi was yelling and giggling loudly, the manager immediately slammed his office door open and made his way towards Jyushi, who was still giggling wildly on the wheelchair. "Jyushi-chan! I didn't think you were coming this week at all, darling! I heard from Hatabou-chan that Ichi-kun went to France and all, so I didn't think you'd drop by at all! At least, not without your group of good-looking bodyguards!" The manager's voice reached their ears perfectly. "I'll be there in a sec, darling! I can sense whether you're here or not, plus, your voice is absolutely loud! It livens up the place!"

 _Wait a fucking minute._

Back in Osomatsu's childhood, besides Iyami, Dayon, and Dekapan, Kaoru was another adult the troublesome sextuplets, Chibita, Hatabou, and Totoko knew of. He was their neighborhood's friendly, yet incompetent, policeman who had owned a cute doll with the name of Kaoru-chan. While in his dimension, Kaoru had retired from being a policeman when Osomatsu and his brothers were in high school and move to the city to "pursue his dreams", he literally had no idea what Kaoru was doing back there. And now, in this dimension, where he was sure he was still affiliated with Kaoru one way or another, he just knew he was going to get fucked.

Though he just realized that a lot of things changed during their days at high school. But what he didn't expect was to see the same policeman he said goodbye to all those years ago.

"Kaoru?!"

And there he was. Kaoru, the old policeman, indeed.

The policeman he knew as a child was now wearing a nice white suit, multi-colored bangles on his wrists and a pair of sunglasses hanging on his head. If it was even possible, the sunglasses were much more painful than Karamatsu's or Kara's, which was saying a lot. The employees seemed to note his presence and give short greetings to him, and he gave some in return, but he didn't stop walking towards Jyushi. He suddenly stopped upon seeing his precious ray of sunshine surrounded by three clones. One had an absolutely wonderful sense of fashion (in his opinion), and his blue attire seemed to fit him perfectly. The one pushing Jyushi's wheelchair also looked rather nice, though he looked more of a punk than a gentleman, unlike the one wearing blue. He also seemed to like pink. Lastly, but definitely not least, was a familiar-looking boy with two strands of idiot hair popping out and a wonderfully knitted rainbow scarf wrapped around his neck.

Kaoru could argue that they all shared the same face, even with Ichi. But the one with the rainbow scarf was all too familiar to him. "Oh! Osomatsu-kun?! Is that you?!" Black hair, black eyes, two strands of cowlicks, this was definitely Matsuno Osomatsu! He wondered why his eyes were slightly puffy though, but he was focused on something else. He was with Jyushi, the little brother of a regular customer, and two other individuals that had the same face as them! Friends! Osomatsu had friends! "You've grown taller! When did you come to the city?! Oh my goodness, what happened to you?! Your eyes! Sleep-deprived? Crying?! Who made you cry?! I'm still a policeman at heart! Whoever made you cry shall be arrested this instant!"

"Oh, um, ah.. three days ago? I think?" He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Jyushi turned to him curiously while Todo was giving him a look that was the mixture of judgment, amusement, and confusion. Meanwhile, Kara had been staring at the clothes at the sequin section the moment they stepped in, a hand over his mouth. If Kara were to remove his shades, his blue eyes would probably glitter with amazement and admiration. Was he even paying attention? No matter, Osomatsu hadn't seen Kaoru in years, and the fact that he's talking to Kaoru now, in another dimension, wasn't helping. "A-and no! I'm fine! I cried, yeah, but it wasn't anyone's fault!" Though technically, it was Choromatsu's and the other four's.

Jyushi bit his sleeve, tilting his head and his cowlick seemingly wiggled. "Eh? You know Masayoshi-san, Osomatsu-san?" Jyushi decided to switch back from "niisan" to "san", since Kaoru didn't know anything about Osomatsu being from another dimension. Plus, Kaoru thought that Ichi was Jyushi's only brother, when in reality, he had four more. Or at least, he did have four in the other dimension. He smiled brighter when he did realize Osomatsu knew Kaoru. "Uwaaa! Really?! Why didn't you tell me you knew Masayoshi-san?! Masayoshi-san's a really nice person!"

"I knew him ever since I was a kid! I just didn't know he had a clothing shop! Last time I checked, he was a policeman who retired when I entered high school! And he moved away to the city! I haven't seen him in years, how the hell am I supposed to react?!" Osomatsu waved his hands defensively. Todo was snickering now at Osomatsu's frantic expression, turning his face away. Kara snapped back to reality after gazing upon the sequinned outfits for so long and frowned at Todo for being rude and snickering in front of Osomatsu. "And.. Masayoshi?"

"That's my last name, Osomatsu-kun." Kaoru said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

 _Welp. Makes sense, I guess. I don't even know the last names of Iyami and Chibita. Or if they even have one._

"Anyway! I would interrogate you in order to find out what exactly made you cry, but I'm no longer a policeman! At heart, yes, but on the outside? I'm a manager of this lovely establishment!" He snapped his fingers. Some of the lights on the far corners of the place lit up. "As you know, I am Masayoshi Kaoru, but you can just call me Kaoru-chan if you wish! Jyushi there insists on calling me 'Masayoshi-san' though. I'm the manager of the lovely 'Justice for All' establishment! My articles of clothing shall do justice to both you and your fashion sense! If you're lucky, it might do justice to society too! Now." He clapped his hands together. "Jyushi-chan, Osomatsu-kun. I don't think I've met your lovely-looking two friends!"

"Ah. I apologize for the intrusion, my dear sir!" Kara removed his shades. Osomatsu felt the painfulness emitting from him and snorted in amusement. "My name is Kyabarie Kara. It is a pleasure to meet the manager of such a wonderful place! This person right here is my dear childhood friend!" He gestured to Todo, who flinched upon hearing Kara refer to him.

"Um, my name is Todo." Todo inched away from Jyushi's wheelchair and had hid behind Kara. "Katsuna Todo. Kara's childhood friend and roommate. Nice to meet you."

 _Wait, is he.. shy?!_

Kaoru smiled at the introductions of both Kara and Todo. "Well, how nice to meet both of you! I do thank you for accompanying Jyushi-chan here! He doesn't go here unless he has his older brother or his bodyguards with him!" He seemingly teared up. "And Jyushi-chan now has friends to accompany him! Friends! And you too, Osomatsu! I remember you wanting siblings in your youth! I thought your only friends were Chibita, Hatabou, and Totoko-chan! But to think you have made friends.. I'm so happy for you, Osomatsu-kun!" He hugged Osomatsu as tight as he could, which almost made Osomatsu's spirit leave his body.

"Ack! T-Thanks?! Let me go, I can't breathe..!"

Kaoru let go of Osomatsu. "Apologies! Anyway, why did you bring them here, Jyushi-chan? They don't seem to be in need of anything better than what they're already wearing! Osomatsu always had such a simplistic style. He just follows trends, but he manages to make them look even better! Kara-kun here seems to have such a cool style! That sequin scarf really compliments him! Oh, and Todo-kun too! Is he going for a punk look? That's an awful lot of black and pink.. are those leather pants? Excellent! They compliment each other nicely!"

Osomatsu didn't bother informing Kaoru that the scarf Kara was wearing was the same scarf he wrapped around his potted ficus, so Jyushi just giggled at the confusion of Osomatsu and Todo. "I wanna get them something nice! I'm pretty sure Osomatsu-san can look good in both bright and dark colors! Blue seems to be Kara-san's best color, and pink is Todo-san's! But I think Todo-san probably looks better in pink and black! As for Kara-san, I think blue mixed with either black or white is the best choice! Osomatsu-san seems to be good for anything with loud colors! Like red or orange!"

"..You took us here for clothes shopping?" Todo said with a deadpan expression.

Jyushi smiled brighter. "Mhm! I want you guys to pick anything you want, and you guys'll have to wear it! After this, we go buy lots and lots of snacks! Besides, I heard Osomatsu-san say something about pajamas last night! You didn't bring any pajamas with you and you refuse to borrow Osomatsu-san's, so we'll find you some nice looking ones!"

"Wait, what?!" Todo flushed red. Was he actually serious about this?! He was fine sleeping with just a sweater and sweatpants, and he certainly believed that pajamas weren't necessary as long as he had soft and loose clothes.

Kara seemed to be delighted at that. "Jyushi's right! You don't have any pajamas, don't you? We have the same size, but you refuse to ask for anything, so you often sleep with your clothes from the previous day. I'm pretty sure we're all the same size, so maybe finding you some won't be too hard!"

While Kara and Jyushi were making nice comments about pajamas the flustered Todo would be wearing, Osomatsu's eyes wandered off to one display. Kaoru seemed to nod at him, not minding the fact that he could take some clothes to show to his friends. Osomatsu grabbed a pink rabbit kigurumi from the display and showed it to the three of his look-a-likes. "Y'know, these are comfy as hell. Here, wanna try it out-"

"Go to hell." Todo growled lowly, baring his fangs.

"Feel free to try out anything! Call me if you need help, okay? Oh, and don't worry much about the prices! Jyushi-chan and his brother are regulars, and this is the first time Jyushi-chan dropped by without anyone from Flag Corporation following him like shadows! I'll give you a discount on all items Jyushi-chan, but just this once, okay? Ciao!" Kaoru bowed to the group and went back to his office.

"He's really nice! He knows when Ichi-niisan and I drop by, since my voice is so loud!" Jyushi chirped. "Osomatsu-niisan, can you push my wheelchair? Kara-niisan, since you've known Todo-san for so long, you know what he likes and hates! Feel free to look around and grab anything you want! Osomatsu-niisan and I will look for anything that looks nice! Show me the things you grabbed, okay? I'll pay for everything, don't worry! Osomatsu-niisan, let's look for something that fits you!"

Osomatsu grinned and grabbed the handles of Jyushi's wheelchair and zoomed off, leaving the kigurumi with Kara. Todo's face finally went back to normal, but he huffed and crossed his arms. "I'm not wearing a rabbit onesie. I'm a man in my twenties despite what the buck tooth bastard said about being adults earlier, and I'm perfectly fine wearing a sweater for bed."

"It's called a kigurumi, onesies are for toddlers. And it's made of soft material and is very comfortable, so we're grabbing it anyway. Don't worry, we'll look for pajamas that seem to fit you if you refuse to wear the kigurumi. If it makes you feel better, I'll grab one as well. Maybe one for Osomatsu and Jyushi too." He smiled at Todo, who only scowled in response. Kara sighed. "Todo, as I said last night, we don't have to let our guards down. But nothing's going on right now, right? It's just Jyushi taking us out shopping. Loosen up a bit and don't stress yourself too much about it, alright?" He grabbed Todo's wrist and pulled him to another part of the store.

Todo's eyes softened. Kara didn't really need to deal with people like him. "I'm sorry." He murmured.

"No need to be sorry. I understand why you're so cautious. But I'll be fine, with you around. And Osomatsu will be fine too. He has his phone with him. And if something happens to Jyushi, Osomatsu's there to protect him." He turned back to face Todo and smiled. "Now, let yourself relax for a bit, okay? And hold this." He handed the kigurumi to Todo. "I'll be the one to pick things out. You decide whether you want them or not. Here." He showed a black sweater to Todo. It was similar to the one he wore last night, except it was black with two pink stripes. "What do you think?"

"I give it a six outta ten." Todo commented nonchalantly.

Kara shrugged, giving it to Todo. The colors looked like it would fit Todo, so he didn't really care if Todo had rated it a zero or one at all. "Fair enough. This one?"

Kara held out a black polo. Todo preferred the white ones, to be honest. "It kinda fits you better."

"Alright." He gave it to Todo, who he was using as some sort of assistant to hold the clothes. He grabbed a blue kigurumi, but unlike the pink rabbit Osomatsu picked out, it was a wolf. "Ooh. Nice. Look."

Todo snorted. The wolf was an aggressive animal, and it didn't match Kara in the slightest. "We should switch. You be a blue rabbit. Is there even a pink wolf?"

"If there's such thing as a blue rabbit, there should be such thing as a pink wolf." Kara chuckled, giving it to Todo. He was glad Todo was strong enough to hold piles of clothes without breaking a sweat. "If I wear this one day, you'll be wearing the rabbit one. Oh! And this fits Jyushi, doesn't it?" He held out a giraffe kigurumi.

Todo blinked. "That's.. a really long neck. How the hell will it stay up?"

"Gravity will find a way to keep it's poor neck upwards. I'm sure Jyushi likes things like these. There was a giraffe stuffed animal at his bedroom, right?" Kara joked, grabbing a red panda kigurumi and showing it to Todo. "And this! For Osomatsu-niisan!"

"That's an insult to pandas everywhere, Kara. Have you no shame?" Todo smirked. "But I agree. It fits him. Put 'em here." Kara gave him the two animal pajamas and resumed looking for more. "Eh? You need more of those?"

"For the Ichimatsu and Choromatsu of this dimension! You saw those two in your memories too, right? Ichimatsu's the one that likes cats. Choromatsu's the one that's closest with Osomatsu-niisan. Since purple and green are their main colors.." He found a purple bat kigurumi and a green frog kigurumi. "See? It fits them!"

"It does, doesn't it?"

As Kara continued to rummage through the store and let Todo follow him and carry the clothes he picked out, a small smile made it's way on his face. Todo kept making snide remarks, but he seemed playful and was sometimes commenting on how cute certain clothes looked. He was loosening up, wasn't he? Hopefully, Todo won't notice how he was being. Todo was easily flustered at being called a softie, and he always tries so hard to look intimidating. But now, he was just following Kara and helping him gather clothes that were supposed to be pajamas.

Until Todo dropped all the clothes. "Holy shit! Kara look!"

"What?!" Kara turned to where Todo was pointing, expecting to see Atsushi as a zombie or anything similar.

Instead, he saw Jyushi riding on Osomatsu's shoulders from the other side of the store, holding a pile of clothes and giggling wildly as Osomatsu grabbed random items and threw them upward for Jyushi to catch. While that was horrifying enough to watch, Kara just noticed that Osomatsu was running all over the place and Jyushi's wheelchair and cane were parked on one corner of the shop. Kara would have ran over there and lectured Osomatsu himself, but instead, Todo left his side and ran towards Osomatsu, leaving Kara to pick up the clothes he dropped.

"Osomatsu, you little shit! What the fuck do you think you're doing?! Put him down before you drop him!"

Watching Todo sprint towards Osomatsu and try to pry Jyushi off his shoulders before Osomatsu dropped him, Kara couldn't help but crack a smile. No matter how hard Todo tried to make people hate him, he was still a softie.


	33. Chapter 33: Muscle Hustle!

As soon as they all finished shopping for clothes and food, the group of four exited the mall and made their way towards the park. The four shopping bags filled with clothes were all being carried by Kara, while the bags of food was being carried by Osomatsu. Todo was once again in charge of Jyushi's wheelchair, and Jyushi's job was to lead them all to the park by pointing his cane everywhere. Jyushi also bought a large box of cake, which was resting on his lap. At least the trip to the supermarket was much more normal than the clothes shopping, and Osomatsu didn't dare to give Jyushi another wild ride. Todo had caught up to him, and after gently handing Jyushi to Kara, both of them started bickering if not for Kara breaking up their petty argument yet again.

Of course, Osomatsu didn't mind carrying three bags of groceries, since Kara was carrying four bags of clothes which were probably heavier in comparison. Todo insisted on helping them earlier, but Kara assured him that they'd be fine. Todo would have to make sure that Jyushi was okay and he wouldn't drop the cake that was sitting on his lap. "Oh. There it is. The park." Todo murmured, seeing the park across from where they were. Sure, there was snow everywhere, but Jyushi wanted to go there so Todo didn't complain. "We need to cross the street, right?"

Jyushi nodded excitedly. "Yup! Then we find a spot to eat our food at! Then we talk about stuff lots and lots, and go play!"

"Let's wait for the lights to go red then." Osomatsu said, noticing the large amount of cars passing by. It must be a busy day, but there wasn't too much traffic, so there was nothing to complain about. Besides, traffic tended to stress out the drivers and cause a lot of unneeded noise. "Can't risk getting run over."

Once the lights flickered to red and all the cars stopped, Todo checked both sides of the road before pushing Jyushi's wheelchair, deciding he and the group should go behind the crowd and not rush at all. Kara and Osomatsu followed behind them, whistling a tune as they walked to their destination. Osomatsu didn't notice a small tear on the bottom of one of the plastic bags, and when the group finally got to the middle of the road, the bottom of the plastic bag ripped open, the contents slipping out. "Ah!" Thankfully, that plastic bag only contained the plastic utensils, plastic cups, and paper plates, so no food had spilled out. Osomatsu frowned. "Well, shit. What in the actual living fuck? How did I not notice that?"

"The plastic bag gave in? Damn, we should complain about this next time. They could have at least doubled the plastic bags if they're so thin. These are the kinds of plastic bags that can't handle more than three tubs of ice cream." Kara knelt next to Osomatsu to help him pick up the items. He handed the shopping bags to Todo, who had let go of the handles of Jyushi's wheelchair when he heard the items clack against the road. "Hold this please. Oh, and you bring Jyushi to the sidewalk first. I'll help Osomatsu-niisan."

Todo frowned. Not at the fact that he was being charged to carry shopping bags while pushing a wheelchair, but at the fact that no one had stopped to help Osomatsu, besides Kara, himself, and technically, Jyushi. They glanced at them and continued on their little merry way, ignoring them completely. "Alright, then. C'mon Jyushi. Let's get you there first."

Todo continued to push Jyushi's wheelchair towards the sidewalk as Kara helped Osomatsu pick up the items. The spoons and forks were packaged together, and so were the paper plates and cups. "I'll hold them for you, Osomatsu-niisan."

"Thanks." Osomatsu said with a smile. Kara was really helpful, wasn't he? He even showed him that cute red panda kigurumi earlier. "Those are the cups, these are the plates, thank god the spoons and forks are packaged together. It'd cause a mess if it wasn't together in one-"

"OSOMATSU-NIISAN, KARA-NIISAN, LOOK OUT!" Jyushi shrieked, sleeves flapping wildly.

Osomatsu looked up at Jyushi curiously, before he saw Todo looking at another direction. When Osomatsu turned to the direction Todo was staring at, he noticed a car speeding up towards them, seemingly not caring that the stoplight was still at red. Osomatsu's eyes widened and he dropped the package of plastic spoons. Osomatsu would have ran off to the side, but Kara couldn't dodge that if he were to follow Osomatsu. He'd get ran over! So out of instinct, he jumped over to Kara instead of leaving him at the road, and waited for the car to crash into him instead. He closed his eyes and waited for the impact, hugging a now startled Kara as tight as he could.

"Osomatsu-niisan! Kara!" Todo yelled. Jyushi covered his mouth with his sleeves.

 _And I was so close to going back home..! This is the end..!_

But instead, the sound of footsteps running towards him caused the car to screech to a halt. Osomatsu slowly opened his eyes, and he gasped upon seeing Todo stand in front of them, arms outstretched and his pupils shaking. Besides the shrieking of Jyushi and the other few people at the sidewalk who had saw what happened, Osomatsu could also hear Todo's heavy breathing. Osomatsu was still hugging a startled Kara, so Todo turned back to him and knelt down to their level, not caring that he crushed a few of the paper cups. "Kara, are you alright?! Holy shit!"

Kara pulled away from Osomatsu, letting Todo inspect him for any injuries. He couldn't simply brush it off, knowing how stubborn Todo naturally was. "Y-yeah.. I think I am." He turned to Osomatsu, who was still holding him by his shoulders. "How about you, Osomatsu-niisan?! Y-you nearly got hit! And you tried to protect me!"

"I'm fine! Really! You're not hurt? How about you, Todo? You ran over here and nearly got ran over!" Osomatsu himself nearly got ran over by a car too, though he couldn't help but fuss over Kara and Todo. Especially Todo, who had ran towards them and had managed to stop a car by running out in front of them. Was he insane?! But then again, Kara was an important person to Todo and it would be natural for him to run over to them to protect his best friend. "You're both fine?! Thank god! Wait, where's Jyushi?"

"Osomatsu-niisan! Kara-niisan! Todo-san!" Jyushi stumbled to them with the assistance of his cane. The cake and the shopping bags were sitting at his wheelchair, which was parked on the sidewalk. "Y-you three nearly got ran over..! Are you okay?! S-should I take you all to a hospital?!" He stuttered, using his free hand to grasp at Osomatsu's arm, checking it to see if it was bruised or anything.

"We're fine. Good thing Todo got you on the sidewalk." Osomatsu assured him. Was Jyushi crying? Oh fuck, he was crying. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and he was sobbing, and his legs were also wobbling. He pulled his arm out of Jyushi's hold and tried to wipe his tears off. "Hey! D-don't cry! We're still in one piece, right guys?!" Todo and Kara nodded hastily, trying to show Jyushi they were fine. When Jyushi continued to cry, Osomatsu suddenly hugged him so he could rub his back in an attempt to soothe him. "Sssssh. Calm down, calm down. Nii-san almost got ran over, sure, but he's perfectly fine! Stop crying, it's alright.."

Noticing the items that were still on the ground, Kara knelt over to gather them again while Todo marched up to the car and started knocking on the door, a murderous expression on his face. Osomatsu wasn't paying attention to how Todo was muttering ways to murder the driver, seeing as how he was busy trying to stop Jyushi from crying. Though he could hear Todo's curses as he banged on the door, trying to intimidate the driver into finally opening it so he could receive his beating from the pink-haired demon from the depths of hell. "Come out here you son of a bitch, I'll slam your fucking head against your car for nearly killing my brothers, you fucking piece of shit-"

The car suddenly started and drove off, nearly running over Osomatsu in the process if he didn't shift to his side. He ended up landing on his butt, but he was still holding Jyushi. With a growl, Todo suddenly started running after the car, still shouting curses. "What the fuck is wrong with him?! Tch, someone better get that bastard's plate number! Making that guy keep his license is utter bullshit!" Osomatsu hissed through gritted teeth, and Kara scowled, nodding in agreement. However, both of them stopped scowling and muttering curses under their breaths once they heard Jyushi sob against Osomatsu's chest, prompting Osomatsu to pat his hair. "Hey buddy. I'm fine, see? No scratches at all. Tell ya what, let's go to the park now and play a lot, okay? Don't cry." He turned to Kara. "Er.. Kara? Is Todo going to be okay? I mean, he is chasing after a car and all."

Kara sighed. He had walked over to the sidewalk to put the items on Jyushi's wheelchair before he walked back to Osomatsu. "He chased after a motorcycle once, since it nearly ran him over back at high school. It wasn't necessarily a pretty sight.."

Osomatsu frowned. "See? Todo's so reckless, he's gonna end up being injured if he keeps chasing after that car-"

"Oh, I didn't mean Todo. Seeing the state he put the driver in was a nightmare. Todo was fine." Kara bit the inside of his cheek, exhaling. It was amazing how loud Todo's voice was, and he could still hear his voice from far away. Osomatsu looked at him awkwardly. "..yeeeeah. I should really chase after him before we see news about a rabid man attacking a car while disturbing the peace of the city by shouting curses."

* * *

Osomatsu couldn't carry all the groceries and the shopping bags all on his own, so he had thought of putting everything on Jyushi's wheelchair and pushing it while Jyushi clung onto his arm, stumbling as they walked. Thankfully, they found a gazebo and set down everything they got from the mall to the table. Osomatsu parked Jyushi's wheelchair to the side and helped Jyushi sit down. Kara didn't really lie about chasing Todo down, and Osomatsu had agreed to meet Kara and Todo at the park once Kara stopped Todo from trying to chase down a car. For now, it was only him and Jyushi, who was still sobbing. Even as he clung onto Osomatsu's arm earlier, he didn't stop crying.

 _He was scared that we could have died. All three of us. Damn, and this play date was supposed to make him feel happy.. and he thought all three of us were gonna die at the same time._

"So, uh.. want some cake?" He asked awkwardly, setting out a paper plate and opening the box of cake. Jyushi didn't reply; he just sniffled. Osomatsu sighed, sitting next to him. "Alright, Jyushi. I'm not gonna lie when I say I nearly pissed my pants when I thought I was gonna fucking die. I held Kara like that because even if he were to get injured, I didn't want him to die and he'd receive less bruises than I could have gotten. And seeing Todo just standing in front of us like that nearly killed me. I'm the eldest. It's my job to protect my younger brothers." He patted Jyushi's hair and proceeded to run his fingers through it. "We could have died, but we didn't. We have Todo to thank for that. Now," He smiled. "Stop crying. Nii-san will start crying too if you don't stop. You don't want Osomatsu-niisan to be sad now, do you?" Seeing the sunshine brother cry was not a pretty sight, and Osomatsu was seriously going to start bawling too if Jyushi didn't stop crying.

Jyushi shook his head, furiously wiping his eyes with hi long sleeves. "I was just scared that.. I was going to lose my only friends.." He muttered. "I w-was scared that I'll be lonely again.. and it'll be my fault if you die, because I was the one that suggested this in the first place, and-" He hiccuped. "I thought.. I'd lose something important again.. Ichi-niisan's my only family, and.. I thought I'd lose my other family.."

"But you didn't. We're perfectly fine! Hell, Todo's fine enough to chase a freaking car! Gotta give him praise for that once he comes back." Osomatsu grinned, ruffling his hair before grabbing Jyushi's cheeks and squishing his face again. He beamed when Jyushi started giggling again. "That's the smile I was looking for! Don't worry much about us, alright? I'm the eldest, Kara's the second eldest, and though Todo may be the youngest, his mentality is basically what an eldest brother's should be! And we need you to keep your head up and keep smiling for us, alright? Muscle muscle! Hustle hustle!"

Jyushi tilted his head at that, making Osomatsu pull his hands away from Jyushi's face. "Muscle.. muscle?"

"Yeah! That's your catchphrase in my dimension! It's some sort of phrase Karamatsu taught Jyushimatsu, but since you're not related to Kara, there was no way he could have taught you that. So I'm here to teach it to ya instead! Whenever you feel bad, just start thinking of those words, alright? Now, repeat after me." He took a deep breath and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Muscle muscle! Hustle hustle!" Thankfully, they were the only ones crazy enough to have a picnic during winter, and no one heard. "Muscle muscle! Hustle hustle!"

Jyushi giggled, before taking a deep breath and copying Osomatsu. "Muscle muscle! Hustle hustle!"

Osomatsu grinned wider. Jyushi wasn't crying anymore, but they needed to keep it up! "That's the spirit, Jyushi! Alright! Louder! Muscle muscle! Hustle hustle!"

"Muscle muscle! Hustle hustle!"

"Muscle muscle! Hustle hustle!"

"Muscle muscle! Hustle hustle!"

"Muscle muscle! Hustle hu-"

"Can you two please keep it down?! What's with the catchphrase?!" Osomatsu and Jyushi turned to the source of the voice, and to their surprise, the one that had yelled at them was Todo, covered in head to toe with snow. Kara was walking beside him, an amused smile on his face. "Jeez! We're lucky we're the only ones here! Otherwise, we could have been arrested for causing such a fuss!"

"Like you could talk, Todo." Chuckled Kara. "You chased down a car whilst screaming profanity. And that included your screaming when you tripped onto a pile of snow! I doubt the amount of people asking us if you were okay wasn't a fuss."

Todo flushed red, brushing the snow off his shoulders. "Hmph!"

The two of them sat across Osomatsu and Jyushi as soon as they reached the gazebo. Osomatsu stood up and distributed plates as he sliced the cake and gave slices to each of his little brothers. "Hey, Todo. There's a bag of seaweed chips in there if you want something as salty as you." Todo growled in response, in which Osomatsu chuckled at. "Lighten up, Tater Tot. Anyway, got the bastard's plate number? I mean, you were chasing him for a good amount of time."

"Sorry." Mumbled Todo as he ate his cake, crumbs on his cheek. He obviously had a sweet tooth, and the pancakes they ate at Kara's apartment yesterday was proof. "I was too focused on actually trying to catch the car that I didn't check the plate number. Hell, I didn't get to see who the fucking driver was. What a shame." He poked on his cake for a while before stabbing it with a plastic fork. "Sorry if it kinda.. ruined your day, Jyushi. But hell, I didn't expect a car to zoom in and nearly crash into them."

"This is no one's fault, except the driver's. No need to feel so sorry, Todo." Kara sighed. "No can do about that.. let's talk about something much more pleasant, shall we?"

Jyushi nodded excitedly, chewing on his cake loudly. "Yup yup! Hey, let's check the clothes we all got instead! Osomatsu-niisan and I found similar hoodies to the ones you three were wearing! I got some custom made for Ichi-niisan and I!" He pulled out a yellow fabric from the shopping bag, and after flapping it, they could clearly see it was a yellow hoodie similar to their's. Except the print was a purple plus sign. "This is mine! And this," He pulled out another hoodie from the shopping bag. It was purple and had a yellow line, almost like a minus sign. "Is Ichi-niisan's!"

"Cute." Todo commented with a smile. "Kara got you two those over-sized animal onesies-"

"Todo, please, they're called kigurumis. Onesies are for toddlers." Kara said with amusement laced in his voice. Todo shrugged and Osomatsu chuckled at that statement. "Hm. Jyushi got a giraffe, and it also has a rather long neck. Osomatsu-niisan has a red panda. Todo agreed to wear the pink rabbit only if I wear the blue wolf. We also got some for the Ichimatsu and Choromatsu of this dimension, which is a purple bat and green frog respectively. The bat even comes with cute folded wings!"

"Lemme see! That sounds so cool." Osomatsu grinned. He had a kigurumi with his brothers back at his dimension, so seeing one earlier kind of lightened up his mood. Todo handed him one of the shopping bags. "Ah, so you did! Ooh, nice sweater, Todo. You really need more of these striped sweaters instead of your edgy fashion."

"Shut up. Spare me the teasing, I just saved your life."

"Nah."

"Asshole."

"You know you love your older brother."

"Hmph." Todo took the last bite of his cake. He had been taking larger bites than anyone else due to his sweet tooth. "As if." He wiped his face with the sleeve of his jacket. "Oi, Jyushi. There's a swing set over there. You wanna play there? I'll push you." He extended a hand towards him.

Jyushi smiled, putting down his plastic fork beside his paper plate of unfinished cake. He took Todo's hand and his cane as he shakily stood up. "Really?! Thank you, Todo-san!"

Todo smiled in return. Kara was right. He didn't need to keep his guard up at all times. Sure, he needed to be careful, especially since a car nearly ran two of his older brothers earlier, but he had to loosen up a bit. For Jyushi. "Here. I'll help you get there." He turned to Osomatsu and Kara, who were still eating their cakes. Osomatsu had opened up a bag of seaweed chips and were putting some of them on a paper plate. "See ya nerds later. Also, don't eat up all the cake. I'll eat some later."

"Jyushi! What about your cake?! It's still here!" Kara cried. He was not throwing away food! That would be so, so wasteful!

"He'll finish it later, mom." Todo murmured, walking away with a happy Jyushi.

Osomatsu grinned at Kara. "Like a parent." He teased. Kara blushed. "He'll be fine. Jyushi, I mean. No matter what we do, Todo'll always be fine, so we don't have to worry so much about him. It's kinda nice to see him less serious for once." He pushed the plate of chips towards Kara. "Here. Want some? They're less salty than Todo, so-"

A snowball was hurled at him. "I heard that, Osomatsu!"

Kara snorted. He didn't think having an older brother and two younger brothers would be fun. Even if his older brother was from another dimension.


	34. Chapter 34: The Black Bishop

"Please. Take a seat. I insist, jo. After all, talking about grown-up things and filing taxes is what adults do, jo."

To say Hatabou didn't like this one bit was too much of an understatement. Hatabou had to keep up a smile until he waved Jyushi goodbye. But kicking out Chibita and Iyami wouldn't do any good at all. He wouldn't break his promise with Jyushi, and he told him he would offer hospitality to both of Osomatsu's friends. So the three of them were currently at Hatabou's office, floor ninety-nine, with nice cups of tea and a nice view of the city. Not as nice as the view on Jyushi's room, but still nice.

 _Don't let your guard down, Chibita, this is Hatabou. He may have been a bit of a doormat as a child, but remember; he almost killed you yesterday. Absolutely do not let your guard down around him._

"What is it you want to talk about, jo?"

"You know what we want to talk about, Hatabou. It's not really that hard to figure out." Chibita frowned, leaning against the sofa and taking a sip out of his cup of tea. Iyami sat next to him, arms and legs crossed. The taller man was looking around the room, probably for anything to use as a shield of some sort. They can't be too careful around Hatabou, "How did you know Osomatsu was not our Osomatsu?"

The other individual looks at them both, dead in the eyes, almost as if he was disgusted. "His eyes, jo. His eyes are different." Hatabou took a sip from his tea, not caring it was burning his tongue. The burden of being in charge of Flag Corporation was far worse than the damage the hot liquid of "leaf water" had caused to his tongue. "They're the same color, yes, but.. his are different Our Osomatsu's eyes were always empty, jo. Dull. Dark. There was nothing in there, but it looked like it was hiding something, jo. The one you're with, however," He sets the teacup down, resting his hands on his lap. "His eyes are.. brighter. They seem full of hope and happiness, jo. Even with those eye bags under his eyes and how tired they look.. compared to our Osomatsu, he seems happy, jo."

 _And that isn't a bad thing._

Iyami clicked his tongue, wondering if Hatabou actually considered someone's happiness a reason to glare at the other Osomatsu with more intensity Todo had ever glared at someone in his entire life. Of course Osomatsu was happier than their Osomatsu; he had five younger brothers to play with, tease, and hang out with, compared to their Osomatsu, who was creepy, disturbing, and terribly lonely. Despite the fact he uses the term "five other losers" constantly, he knew Osomatsu cared for all his brothers deeply. That was the reason they were at this hunt in the first place. "You consider his happiness a reason to hate him?"

"He's incredibly dangerous, jo. And before I get any interruptions, I'll explain why, jo." Hatabou replied, snapping a finger. "Chiisana-san!" Within seconds, a small girl, the same height as Hatabou, entered the room with multiple folders on her small hands. She had long brown hair tied into twin tails, a blue flower resting on her hair, and the female uniform of Flag Corporation's employees. "Gentlemen, this is Chiisana Hana." Iyami and Chibita noted he dropped off his verbal tic for the time being. "My personal assistant, though she's mostly with her dear friend, assisting in the information gathering regarding individuals all around Akatsuka City and the outskirts of the city, your neighborhood included. She has only been around for a short amount of time, but alongside another employee, she is incredibly fast when it comes to research and information gathering. Chiisana-san, these are my childhood friends." He gestured to Chibita. "Tsuyoi Chibita." He then gestured to Iyami. "Shiirudo Iyami."

"Pleasure to meet you both!" She giggled, handing the files to Hatabou. "It's really hard working at Flag Corporation, but every step it took to get this position was worth it! I do hope my best friend will get her promotion soon enough, but I have to keep doing my best as well! If you need any information, don't hesitate to ask me! Oh, but do tell Shonouske-san! He is the temporary boss of the company!"

From the corner of his eye, Iyami saw Chibita flush red a bit and he nodded stupidly.

 _Wait a minute.. was he.. blushing? Does he actually find this flower girl cute..? Sheh! His taste in women is worse than Osomatsu's! At least go for one that's taller than Hatabou!_

"Thank you, Chiisana-san. Your assistance is greatly appreciated." Hatabou nodded to her, counting the files mentally by running his fingers through the edges on the top. "You may take a break now. Do inform the rest to do the same. I'll be busy this afternoon, so tell Warai-san to cancel anything else for today. And ignore reporters or people causing a riot, they're such a hassle to take care of. Oh, and don't tell her about the little surprise. We're doing that once President Ichi comes back from France. Besides, Jyushi was the one that suggested a party in the first place."

"Understood, sir. I'll act as normal. Have a good day." Hana scurried away.

Once the three of them were alone again, Hatabou slid a file from across the table to Chibita and Iyami. They both opened the file and their eyes widened, jaws dropping open, and looks of confusion and shock were plastered across their faces. "Flag Corporation gathers and sells information. That should be no surprise, jo." Back at it again with the verbal tic, both Chibita and Iyami thought. "We only got all of our information updated last night, and you should be thankful that I haven't told Jyushi of this information yet, jo. As you can see, that is a file regarding Katsuna Todo, jo. I was honestly surprised."

He wasn't lying. It was Todo in the picture clipped on the corner, except his hair was shaggy and black, as it was last night when he had accidentally rinsed off his hair dye.

He still had a frown on his face and the same pink eyes, but he was wearing a pink polo and his silver earrings seemed to be present. Chibita and Iyami scanned through his files furiously. They were more shocked on the fact that not a single detail was spared. Flag Corporation was serious when it came to information, it seemed. Name, Katsuna Todo. Gender, male. Age, currently twenty two. Parents, unknown. Extra family, unknown. Birthday, sixth of November. Residence, Akatsuka Apartment Complex. They looked through his skills and assets, as well as job history. As expected, the only job Todo had ever gotten was being a cashier at Sutabaa. As for skills, it listed his capabilities in self-defense and fighting.

Another file was slid to them. "That's Kyabarie's file, jo. His was easier to update, since he rarely does something illegal and whatnot, jo."

Chibita handed Todo's file to Iyami, and he picked up Kara's. Like Todo, his picture was clipped on the corner of the file's folder. Unlike Todo, he was smiling in his picture, though he was wearing a white polo and blue button-up vest, compared to Todo's somewhat casual attire. Not even his painful shades were present. Name, Kyabarie Kara. Gender, male. Age, currently twenty-three. Parents, Kyabarie Enya is his mother and Kyabarie Runo was his father. Extra family, unknown. Birthday, second of October. Residence, Akatsuka Apartment Complex. As for his skills, there was cooking, cleaning, sewing, home economics, and he seemed to be rather smart with history, math, and science. English seemed to be his weakest subject. As for his jobs, there were none at all.

"Why are you showing us these?" Asked Chibita.

"Look through more of the files instead of just the personal information, jo. We updated their information yesterday, jo. We found something really, really interesting." His grip on his teacup was being much more tight, and his cup was threatening to spill the hot liquid all over his pants. "I understand if Katsuna was willing to be friendly, and so was Kyabarie, but as you can see there, written clear as day-"

"How did you get this much information." Chibita interrupted, hands shaking as he held Kara's file. "The death of Atsushi, which only occurred two days ago. The cause of his death was a bullet, sure, but no one knew who shot him. He shot himself. Yes, Todo and Kara were present, but Todo nearly died two days ago, if not for Osomatsu and Kara. Todo saved our lives too." He leaned against the table, voice dangerously low. "Are you implying that I need to keep Osomatsu as far away from Jyushi as possible, because of what he can do? He protected Todo-"

"By shooting someone-"

"He didn't shoot anyone, the bullet was deflected back at him-"

"If he was able to do that, he could be a threat to Jyushi-"

"I can assure you, Osomatsu would never hurt Jyushi no matter what-"

"Oh, but he can hack an entire building without a care, jo? I researched on that too. How and why did Osomatsu hack-"

"Now, don't you change the the topic! Osomatsu could never-"

"He could, and he probably won't hesitate-"

"Osomatsu could never-"

"And that pink haired punk he was with. Katsuna. He's a dangerous-"

"No-"

"Yes, and he would probably-"

"Kyabarie Kara could be a threat too. He has a rather nice set of skills-"

"Please tell me you're joking. Kara is the kind of guy that would let people walk all over him, he has a potted ficus with a name and a scarf for god's sake-"

"What I'm trying to say is-"

Iyami slammed his fists against the table. "Enough! Arguing isn't going to do anything! Osomatsu's not our Osomatsu, yes, but me thinks that it's not necessarily a bad thing!" He looked at the smaller males, who were dangerously close to each other while leaning on the sides of the table, probably planning to rip each other's throats off if he hadn't interfered. "Hatabou, you may not believe me, and that would be rather stupid of you, but the closest thing Osomatsu has done that actually involved hurting someone was deflecting a bullet that nearly killed the pink brat! And that was to protect him! Does that sound utterly sinister to you?!"

Hatabou didn't seem fazed. "It doesn't matter if he protected someone. He could harm Jyushi, jo."

"What is your problem?!" Chibita snapped. "Haven't we said enough that could change your mind?! Do you need someone to have a gun directed at Jyushi for you to believe us?! Osomatsu would never hurt him!"

The slightly taller male inched away from the table, before walking to the other side of the room. "That's what they all say, jo. And what do they do?" He grabbed something from one of the cabinets and slammed it open on his desk. Chibita and Iyami could clearly see it was a chessboard, the easy-to-bring kind. He picked up a white pawn piece from the board, nearly crushing it with his closed fist. "They lie, jo. They lie and lie and lie." He dropped the nearly crushed piece to the ground, grabbing a white rook. "No matter who, no matter what." He dropped it again, picking up a white king next. "And they won't stop. They won't stop until we do something about it."

Chibita and Iyami expected him to drop the piece as well. But to their surprise, Hatabou crushed it with his fist, letting the crushed pieces fall to the floor and mess it up.

"And that's why I'm here."


	35. Chapter 35: Trust

It was a fun day, Todo had to admit. He found himself smiling and laughing as he played with Jyushi all day and ignoring Kara's cries of when Jyushi will finish his plate of cake, which was probably covered in snow and frozen bugs by now. They spent a good while at the swing set, before they started to build small snowmen and use pebbles as their little eyes. Osomatsu and Kara joined them later, and now, the four brothers were just lying on the snow, laughing after having an intense snowball fight, with Todo and Kara against Osomatsu and Jyushi. It eventually resulted into Todo and Kara chasing down the other two, with Jyushi riding on Osomatsu's shoulders while throwing snowballs. And now, all four of them were lying on the snow.

Thank god no one was around to judge four seemingly adult men playing around in the snow. But all good things must come to an end, and the sun was setting, signaling the four of them it was time to leave the park.

"Oh my god. You suck. How could you not have dodged that?" Todo managed to get out, despite laughing hard. He was covered in snow, but he didn't seem to be as pissed earlier.

"Speak for yourself, Tater Tot. You're the one covered in snow head to toe, idiot." Replied Osomatsu with a grin.

"We did our best, Osomatsu-niisan. Though Todo could have ended the game earlier if I had let him cover a rock in snow. You're lucky I have morals." Kara added in. Compared to everyone else, he was covered in less snow. But only because Osomatsu was seemingly aiming at Todo earlier in order to tease him. At least it got Todo out of his angry little shell.

"That was so much fun! Thank you so much! Ichi-niisan and I don't get to play outside as much as we used to when we were kids!" Giggled Jyushi, as he was being helped up by Todo. He was covered in snow, but he wasn't feeling cold at all. His outfit was thick enough to keep him warm. "Aw, I promised Hatabou we'd be done by now. Let's all go for dinner again! Oh, and let's do this again sometime! With Ichi-niisan too!"

"Agreed." The other three chorused, goofy grins on their faces. If anyone else were to see this right now, they would probably wonder if they were dreaming or hallucinating; by the way they all smiled, it was impossible to tell them apart from each other.

The group then decided to wait outside the park as soon as they finished grabbing their things. Jyushi was sitting on his wheelchair and was happily singing a song alongside Kara. Todo was still in charge of pushing the wheelchair while Kara and Osomatsu carried the shopping bags and groceries. Thankfully, the groceries weren't as heavy as they were earlier, since Osomatsu had eaten half the bags of chips and they used a lot of the plastic utensils earlier. The clothes inside the shopping bags were neatly folded by Kara after they showed them to each other, so it didn't seem as heavy as it was earlier. Jyushi was in a better mood than he was earlier, and Osomatsu was glad he wasn't crying anymore.

Jyushimatsu and Karamatsu both were pretty nice singers, Osomatsu had to admit. And Jyushi and Kara remained the same. But even though they had nice voices to listen to, Todo's eye kept twitching in annoyance. He didn't seem to be a fan of pop songs, or anything sung by Osomatsu for that matter. While he did like the voices of the people currently singing, he just hated pop songs in general. "Dear god, please let the limo arrive soon." He muttered under his breath, the singing voices of Jyushi and Kara becoming louder with each passing second. Osomatsu snorted at his misfortune.

Then suddenly, Jyushi stopped singing. That resulted to Kara stopping as well. "Oh! I forgot! I want to show you guys something important! Um, please hold this, Todo-san." He gave his cane to Todo and started rolling the sleeve of his right arm upwards. But since the other hand was covered by a sleeve and mitten, he wasn't doing a good job at it. His fingers were probably failing to grasp the fabric with how the mittens and the sleeve were limiting the movement of his fingers underneath.

"Let me help you with that. You need hands for these." Kara helped Jyushi roll up his sleeves with both of his hands, similar to the way he rolls the sleeves of his own clothes. "Why don't you show your hands? They are covered with mittens, aren't they? They can't possibly be cold. And," He ran his fingers through the areas of the fabric Jyushi had bitten. "Why do you bite the sleeves of your clothes? You were doing that yesterday too, weren't you?"

"I think it's a rather bad habit of mine.." Jyushi murmured, flapping the sleeve of his other arm. "I also picked on my nails a lot, so Ichi-niisan told me to use my sleeves and flap them instead, since picking my nails isn't really safe. I ended up biting my sleeves a lot, though." Once Kara had finished rolling the sleeves properly, Jyushi used his free hand to grasp the fabric covering his hand, and pulling it off. His hand, as the three expected, were normal. To their surprise however, his fingers had yellow nail polish. A metallic object was wrapped around his index finger, obviously meaning it was a ring. "Ah. The nail polish was applied by Fuyu-san. Ichi-niisan said that if it had nail polish, I couldn't possibly bite it anymore since it would taste so yucky. Plus, it would make my nails hard."

Osomatsu was more impressed at the fact how soft and clean Jyushi's hand looked compared to Jyushimatsu. Then again, with his disability, Jyushi probably never touched a single baseball bat in his life. Or Ichi never let him, probably. "So, what is it that you wanted to show us?"

"Oh! This one." He moved his index finger. "Ichi-niisan said that if a ring is on your index finger, it means affiliation. This is a ring that means we're from the Suuji Family! He has one too, except it's on his left hand. He's left handed! Anyway, Ichi-niisan said this ring was really, really important! Asides from the sleeves preventing me from biting my fingers or picking on them, they hide the ring. It was kinda expensive too, but I don't understand why." He started shaking his one arm until the sleeve rolled off a bit. He used his free hand to remove the ring from his finger. "So, I wanted to lend it to you!"

 _..What?_

"Jyushi.." It was Todo again, the guy that kept trying to be polite, but was failing horribly. He lost his dignity on the process too. "You just said it was important-"

"I'm just lending it. For a day. Return it to me tomorrow when you come over!" He smiled brightly. "No one will notice! Besides, I trust you all enough to be able to return it to me. If you lose it, no worries! I'll just tell Ichi-niisan!" He grabbed Osomatsu's wrist, causing him to drop the groceries. He then gently placed the small ring on Osomatsu's palm and forced him to curl his fingers around it. "Don't wear it yet. Hatabou might see. I'll put my mitten back on, so Hatabou won't see it's not here. Think of it as an initiation!"

The other three blinked in confusion. "Initiation?"

"Of our friendship!" He chirped, grabbing his mitten from his armrest and slipping it back on. He then pulled his own sleeve downwards, so it was covering his hands again. "We're brothers in Osomatsu-niisan's dimension, right? So we need to trust each other! I trust Osomatsu-niisan to take care of the ring! Todo-san and Kara-niisan need to trust Osomatsu-niisan to not mess it up!" He giggled. "Okay? That also means Todo-san shouldn't choke Osomatsu-niisan! Trust is important in a family, and we need to trust each other!" He looked at Osomatsu with his bright yellow eyes. They were sparkling with happiness, it seemed. "Osomatsu-niisan. Even though we're not really your brothers, I hope you're not upset with the fact we remind you of them."

 _Ah. Jyushi's not as naive as I thought he would be._

Osomatsu stared at the small silver ring on his palm. The numbers "114" were engraved on it if he looked close enough. Jyushi was looking at him with genuine sympathy, and so was Kara, who had crossed his arms and was nodding. Todo, however, was looking away, but glanced at Osomatsu to give a quick nod. He smiled a bit. "I'm not upset. I'm.. alright. Thanks for the concern, Jyushi, but onii-san's fine." He remembered the video message earlier. "I really am. Don't worry about it, guys. Anyway, don't worry about the ring! I'll return it to you in the same condition it is now!"

"You're gonna accidentally lose it or do something to it, I just fucking know you will." Todo commented, a smug smirk on his face.

Osomatsu pretended to be hurt as Jyushi giggled at Todo's statement, Kara sighing in exasperation, but a small smile on his face. "Sweet little Tater Tot, your lack of faith in me is astounding." He zipped open his sling bag and gently placed the ring inside. "Ah, isn't that our ride over there?" He pointed at the distance, where a familiar limo was driving in their direction.

The limo stopped right where the group was waiting, so Todo helped Jyushi up again so they could bring his wheelchair inside the limo. Kara and Osomatsu both opened the doors, revealing Hatabou sitting alongside Chibita and Iyami. "Ah. Good evening everyone." Kara greeted. Iyami and Chibita both raised their hands awkwardly and waved them as a greeting, while Hatabou simply nodded, eyes blank and focused Jyushi. Kara pulled the wheelchair inside with Osomatsu's assistance, and Todo was helping Jyushi get in. "How was your day?"

 _Peachy._

"Just fine." Chibita replied dismissively, ignoring Hatabou's creepy stare at him. Todo helped Jyushi sit down on the seat across them, and the four of the look-a-likes sat in the same order as they did yesterday. Chibita was not going to tell them about how Hatabou nearly crushed all the white pieces from his little chessboard. He had crushed a glass of water yesterday, and now, he nearly crushed all white chess pieces. He could probably crush someone's hand with his strength, and Jyushi might not know anything about that. "How about you guys? Had fun?"

The four of them wanted to leave out the part where three of them nearly got ran over, knowing Hatabou might freak out. Thankfully, it was Jyushi who spoke up for them. "We went to the clothes shop! You know, the one Ichi-niisan and I go at! We got matching hoodies too! Masayoshi-san gave me a discount on all items, and we all got animal kigurumis! I got a giraffe!" Jyushi chirped, waving his sleeves around. "Oh, and we all went on a picnic! We played around in the snow too! We made snowmen!"

"That's nice, jo." Hatabou commented, voice stoic. "Well, we'll be having dinner at the same place, jo. Fuyu and Yuki are unfortunately busy and cannot come with us, as well as Chiisana-san and Warai-san, jo. Others will be coming, though I am sure we will have the table all to ourselves, jo." He clapped his hands together, before gesturing to the briefcase beside him. "I do know we'll be able to talk to each other properly. There is a lot of things I hope to discuss with the three of you, jo. And Jyushi, there is also a lot of things we have to share about Flag Corporation."

Osomatsu suddenly noticed Jyushi stiffen beside him. Feeling his brotherly instincts kick in, he grasped Jyushi's wrist tightly. "Hatabou, what is it?" He asked. Kara seemed to sense something was wrong and his breath hitched, but Todo had quickly put his guard back up. His lips were curled into a frown, and Osomatsu could see that his fists were curling tightly. Like Osomatsu's hold on Jyushi, Kara was holding onto Todo's wrist, mostly to prevent Todo from throwing a punch at Hatabou.

"Don't be so impatient, jo. It's a topic I'd rather discuss over a nice meal, jo." Hatabou said, unfazed. Osomatsu also noticed Chibita and Iyami both look down, almost as if in shame. "Because after all." Osomatsu saw Hatabou's eyes darken. "Trust is important in a family, correct?"

Osomatsu gulped. It probably wasn't going to be a peaceful dinner, he knew.


	36. Chapter 36: Hatabou's Game

If there was anything to describe the current situation, it was awkward. While the other employees at other tables were chatting freely, with some getting ridiculously drunk after drinking, the group of seven at the table at the back were all suffering from deafening silence. Since Fuyu and Yuki were both absent, there were two empty seats, and both were on each side of Hatabou. Kara sat next to Todo, who sat next to Jyushi, who sat next to Osomatsu, who sat next to Iyami, who sat next to Chibita. Both sides of Hatabou were currently empty, and he didn't even mind that. He could sense Osomatsu's sudden protectiveness towards Jyushi, plus, Osomatsu was holding onto Jyushi's wrist as tight as he could.

Speaking of Jyushi, he was trying to act okay when he clearly wasn't. His smile was quivering and his eyes were trembling, darting in every direction possible. Osomatsu kept his eyes focused on Hatabou's movements, though Todo was busy looking around the restaurant. Probably for an exit, if that was possible. Or he was memorizing every spot all of Jyushi's bodyguards were walking on. Kara was obviously stressed out, but he was trying so hard to keep his cool, for himself and for Todo. Iyami and Chibita haven't said a word ever since they met up with the other four at the limo, and Osomatsu was planning on choking one of them if they didn't speak up soon.

Hatabou was relaxed, however. His legs were crossed underneath the table and his hands were on his lap, eyes calmly analyzing the people around the same table he was sitting at. "Why the serious mood, jo?" He asked calmly. Jyushi flinched at the sound of his voice, and Osomatsu's hold tightened, though it wasn't too painful. Todo's eyes seemed to become much more hostile, and Hatabou could see him gritting his teeth. "Calm down, jo. No one is going to get hurt by my orders, jo. At least, not physically, jo." The briefcase he had bought with him was underneath the table, though he decided to open it and show the contents to everyone else. Multiple files, similar to the ones Chibita and Iyami were skimming through earlier. "Let's play a game, jo. Which of the three of you will go first, jo? We're going to read your files aloud, which contains information gathered by Flag Corporation. And Jyushi over there." The yellow-eyed male looked down at his own lap as soon as his name was mentioned. "Will do something amazing, jo. A magic trick, maybe."

By three, he meant Osomatsu, Kara, and Todo. Osomatsu wasn't sure what Hatabou was planning which got Jyushi so scared, but before he could say something, Todo slammed his fists against the table, causing the glasses and silverware to rattle, the saltshaker popping open as it toppled over. Some of the other customers turned to them, but quickly turned away once Todo made a killer glare. "Me first."

"Alright, jo. Katsuna Todo." He plucked out a file from the briefcase. "Jyushi over there will state some.. information about you, jo. Whether it'd be something important or trivial, Jyushi will say anything, jo. And you say whether it's true or false, jo."

Everyone turned to Jyushi, who had taken a deep breath. "K-Katsuna Todo." He repeated Todo's name, nervously avoiding eye contact with the confused pink demon. He couldn't possibly be serious, was what Todo was thinking. Even though Jyushi was the president's little brother, there was no way Jyushi could know about the information. He was the same guy that forgot to bring a jacket after his brother told him to bring one exactly fourteen times! But much to Todo's horror, Jyushi started to talk. "Um, he's twenty-two years old. He excels at Physical Education, Arts, History, and English. His club back at high school tended to be the Martial Arts club. He was often at the same class as his childhood friend, Kyabarie Kara."

Todo's eyes widened. He was sure Jyushi wasn't a student at his or Kara's school back when he was a teen, and those were such trivial things! "How the fuck do you-"

Jyushi interrupted him, quickly thinking of something else to say. "Um, he has a sweet tooth and his favorite breakfast happens to be pancakes with strawberries. He also drinks alcohol. He doesn't smoke, though. Um, his favorite colors are pink and black. He doesn't like the color lime green, since it seemingly makes him nauseous. His hobbies include playing carnival games that involve throwing or darts, watching sports, or training himself. He has.. a lot of fears.. even though he tries to keep a tough facade." Jyushi was trying so hard to ignore Todo's shocked face, as every secret or anything about him was slowly being revealed. "He's.. afraid of making big decisions. He's afraid of letting other people know his fears and weaknesses. He's also afraid of losing-"

 _Oh fuck, NO!_

"Alright, that's enough!" Todo stopped him by yelling, no longer looking horrified, but panicked instead. Kara had listened to the entire thing and was looking at Todo worriedly. Kara was already feeling bad that Todo didn't share any of his secrets with him, but seeing Todo so distressed about having his secrets revealed was distressing him greatly.

Hatabou wasn't looking any guilty though. Jyushi, however, looked on the verge of tears. "So? Did Jyushi make a mistake or something, jo?"

"They're all true. Don't let him say anything else. Please. No one in this table needs to know anything else." Todo gasped out, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Kara noticed this and grasped his hand, suddenly realizing it was cold and sweaty. "But how..?"

"Jyushi is very special, jo." Hatabou simply remarked. "Jyushi may be childish and somewhat naive at times, but Jyushi's memory is quite amazing, jo. While he forgets the simplest things, such as bringing a jacket on such a cold day, Jyushi is able to memorize nearly every complex thing in the world, jo. You'd be impressed once he starts listing all elements of the periodic table, jo." He raised a finger. "But this little gift of his is limited, jo. Jyushi may not be bright enough to solve math problems despite his amazing memory, but everything in Flag Corporation's database is in his brain, jo. It's a little study session we go through every night, jo. It tires him out greatly, hence why we skipped it last night. He wanted to have a little 'fun' with you three today, and it seemed like he was scared to learn something bad about his new friends."

Osomatsu glanced at Jyushi, who was trembling. "Wait, are you serious?!"

"He just said the most trivial things from Katsuna Todo's profile, didn't he, jo? Those things aren't noteworthy, but since Flag Corporation gathers every single information, no matter how small, Jyushi knew, jo." Hatabou pointed out. "Jyushi knows about everyone jo. Katsuna's meeting with him two days ago wasn't the first time Jyushi saw his face." Upon seeing Todo's eyes widened, he smirked. Never in his entire life did Osomatsu think Hatabou could manage to look so sinister. And the fact that he just dropped his verbal tic wasn't making things any better for them.

Kara was trying to calm down Todo, and by the looks of it, Todo was trying so hard to not panic and suddenly start spouting nonsense. Was he about to have a panic attack? "Why are you.." Kara started. "Why are you doing this?"

"Who knows why." Hatabou shrugged. "It'd be a shame to end the game early, though. But let's make some rules and prizes, shall we? Some of Katsuna's information was revealed in the span of thirty seconds. If one of you three manages to let Jyushi spout all the information he gathered from all of you within two minutes, the game ends. Katsuna's out, since he only lasted for thirty seconds. You only get three shots, one for each of you. If one of you wins, the three of you automatically win and the game ends. You pick your prize at the end. However, if you all lose," Jyushi forcefully took his arm away from Osomatsu, which caused the eldest Matsuno to glance at him worriedly. It didn't take long for him to realize Jyushi seemed to be crying. "Let it be known that none of you can go near Jyushi ever again. Also, trying to escape is pointless. Guards are everywhere for a reason. If you even attempt to leave your seat, all of you automatically lose, and none of you are seeing Jyushi ever again."

"Jyushi, you're not going with this, aren't you?!" Kara cried. Todo wasn't looking hostile, but he was almost panicked and his breathing was ragged. Kara would ask Todo about his fears later, but for now, he wanted to know if Jyushi was being serious.

To confirm his fears, Jyushi didn't look at him. "I can't disobey orders, and Hatabou's currently in charge of the entirety of Flag Corporation. Because Ichi-niisan has worked so hard for my sake and has done everything to ensure I'd always be safe. And in return, I promised and volunteered to learn every single thing about anyone in Akatsuka City and the outside. I'm.. sorry. But I can't disobey Hatabou. He's in charge of Flag Corporation.. and me. Ichi-niisan left him to take care of me too."

"Next?"

Hatabou was being a bit sadistic, Osomatsu thought. Just before he could yell at him, Kara raised his hand. Todo meant a lot to him, sure, but he also cared for Jyushi. Jyushi didn't have to listen to Hatabou, especially if his older brother was the president. "I'll go next! There is little to hide about me, after all."

 _Don't underestimate him, jo._

"K-Kyabarie Kara." Jyushi started again. He honestly did not want to do this, but Hatabou was giving him a look. He had to listen, he kept telling himself. "He's twenty-three years old, unemployed, and got no education after graduating high school. He frequently volunteers with community service and manages to make a living by selling crafts online. He joined three different clubs at high school; Drama Club, Home Economics Club and Culinary Club." Not too bad, thought Kara. He didn't go to a university after graduating high school, similar to Todo. "He has been friends with Katsuna Todo for a long time. He has been told many times by his friend that he is really, really gullible. Um.. he also has.. a potted.. ficus. Outside his apartment. It has been there since it started snowing, and it has a blue hat and blue scarf. It's name is Rosa, and apparently, it's a she. He also had multiple houseplants before Rosa the ficus, and their names are Daisy, Violet, Flora, Dahlia, Holly, and Jasmine." Okay, Kara was honestly impressed that Jyushi memorized the names of every single houseplant he had named. But nothing too private, plus, the mention of the houseplants seemingly amused Todo and made him feel better, it seemed.

 _This is fine. He's just going with simple things. Nothing bad could happen._

Alas, lady luck wasn't on Kara's side, as always. He should have expected this. "He nearly got involved in a yakuza group. The same one that was being temporarily controlled by Okane Atsushi. Before his.. death. But he nearly got involved. He was fast enough, though. Todo was the one that had gotten involved, and besides using the information Atsushi got from Flag Corporation to blackmail Todo, that was how the yakuza group knew about Kara and how weak he is compared to Todo."

Todo blinked, turning to face Kara, who was now as white as a sheet and stiff as a board. "..what?"

"He put up a fight.." Jyushi added quietly, knowing the topic he picked to share was unheard of by Todo. "If.. if you were to check a spot in his stomach area, there's a bruise visible.."

A minute has passed, but Jyushi was sure he needed to stop for awhile and let Kara just process what he said. Hatabou was watching the scene play out with interest, and Osomatsu wanted nothing more than to punch him. No one hurts his brothers, not even Hatabou, but if he were to leave his seat, he'd never see Jyushi again. Chibita and Iyami, though quiet, were as shocked as Todo at the revelation. Todo was now staring in disbelief at Kara, trying to find words to spit out. Without a warning, he started to lightly jab at Kara's stomach. "Hey, what are you-" Todo's palm pressed against the area where a bruise was, and he yelped in pain. Todo stopped jabbing once he realized Jyushi wasn't lying. "Todo-"

Todo's left hand grasped a part of the table while his right hand had been the one to poke Kara, and after exerting enough effort, he managed to crush a large chunk of it out. Osomatsu's eyes widened as Todo flung the chunk of wood at another corner of the room, nearly hitting one of the bodyguards stationed at that area. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!" He shrieked. "THEY HURT YOU?! HOW COULD YOU KEEP THIS A SECRET FROM ME?! ESPECIALLY AFTER I JOINED THEM TO PREVENT THEM FROM HURTING YOU!" Everyone was looking at them again, and Todo didn't even bother to glare at them. "Why.." At least his voice was soft now. "Kara, why..?" Much to Kara's surprise and guilt, Todo's face was a mixture of hurt and anger.

"S-shall I continue..?" Jyushi meekly asked. He probably damaged a friendship, and Jyushi hated himself for it. Hatabou wasn't budging, and he looked amused at the turn of events.

"No! That's.. that's enough.. Jyushi, I'm sure I can't.. I can't let you say anything else. Todo, we.. we will discuss this matter later. Feel free to kick me in the crotch later if you want." Kara turned to Osomatsu. He had definitely underestimated Jyushi's ability to state anything he wanted and the entirety of Flag Corporation's skill at gathering information. "I'm sorry. And.. everything he said was true. There was nothing false about what Jyushi said."

It was an apology directed to both Osomatsu and Todo; Osomatsu, for failing as well, and Todo, for keeping his little secret. And now, Todo probably felt more like garbage. The main reason he joined that yakuza group was to protect Kara, and hearing how they had hurt him even before they got Todo was absolutely devastating to him. Todo had just associated himself with people who had hurt his best friend. It had been a long time since Kara saw Todo looked so betrayed and hurt, and Kara blamed only himself for it. Osomatsu couldn't blame Kara for surrendering, even though he only had a minute of his information being revealed. Todo wanted to keep his fears a secret because he didn't want anyone to think he was weak, and Kara had wanted to keep that little bruise a secret.

Hatabou was smirking. Chibita and Iyami looked worried. Todo was feeling everything he didn't want to feel. Kara was probably feeling terrified. Jyushi was feeling guilty and he looked like he wanted to die. Only Osomatsu was left in this sick game Hatabou wanted to play, and even though Osomatsu didn't want Todo or Kara's secrets be stated as part of this stupid game, Osomatsu wasn't going to let Hatabou prevent him from seeing Jyushi again.

"You're next, Osomatsu." Hatabou pointed a finger at him, before sliding a file to Jyushi. Jyushi shakily picked it up, trying to stop his sobbing by biting onto his sleeve. "But you're not the Osomatsu from this dimension. It'd be unfair to let Jyushi recite the stuff about Osomatsu. The Osomatsu that was my childhood friend." He clapped his hands together. "So, to make this fair, let's give Jyushi a minute or two to read your file. The information was gathered by none other than Ookina Dekapan."

 _Oh my god, he can't be serious._

"Information gathering from a different dimension was so new to us, but it was worth it." Hatabou rested his cheek on his palm. "Matsuno Osomatsu. You're the last shot to win at this game. If you lose, the five of you are being ushered out of this restaurant. Say anything you want to Jyushi before he starts reading the file."

Flag Corporation must really be dedicated to information gathering if they went as far as to contact another dimension just to gather information over there.


	37. Chapter 37: A Forbidden Name

Suuji Jyushi was a nineteen year old man, a three year difference between him and his older brother, Suuji Ichi.

His name, Jyushi, translates to the number fourteen; one, because Ichi wanted to make it clear that they were related to each other, and four, because that was the amount of people in the Suuji Family before.

Their family only consisted of a graceful and always smiling mother, a serious and somewhat stoic father, less serious but observant and intelligent Ichi, and their younger son, hyperactive and perpetual smiler Jyushi.

He was a happy boy, was what most people said whenever they saw the yellow-eyed male hold hands with his older brother and play with him until the sun had set. And even then, they'd always be together.

Jyushi, alongside his own mother, was the only one that was able to make Ichi smile. And with their mother gone, it was only Jyushi. Ichi, his older brother who constantly fussed between his disabled baby brother and the entirety of Flag Corporation, had little to no reason to smile anymore, unless it was for Jyushi. As Jyushi relied on his brother's happiness to be able to smile, Ichi relied on Jyushi's happiness to be able to do anything. It was basically his reason of living in such a rotten world.

The black queen, Jyushi himself, was slowly crumbling. The black queen was the piece that had unlimited potential, and now, Jyushi was using that to hurt others. The black king, definitely his older brother, was absent and was unable to assist him. Jyushi forced himself to not cry, reminding himself that Ichi wouldn't smile if he saw him crying. The rooks, Homura and Hana, and knights, Fuyu and Yuki, were nowhere in sight. Jyushi could understand if they were busy, but now, Jyushi wanted anyone but Hatabou or Dekapan to be here with him. The bishops, Hatabou and Dekapan, were the cause of this little game he was forced to play, and Jyushi wanted nothing more than to just see his brother again and await comfort.

The file he was holding contained every single thing Jyushi would have asked Osomatsu earlier. His name, his age, his family, his background. What he liked, and what he hated. What were his deepest, darkest secrets.

Every single question was slowly being answered as Jyushi continued to read the file, pretending that this wasn't causing such anxiety to build up within him. Unlike the other files he read, this one had no picture. He could clearly see Hatabou and Dekapan weren't going to go as far as to look for a picture of Osomatsu. Still, he'd at least like to know how Dekapan and Hatabou managed to get this much information.

Jyushi's face had no smile present, but instead, they fearful yellow eyes that used to be as bright as the sun, and his lip was quivering in fear. His cowlick was seemingly drooping in sadness. And his hands were cold and sweaty, wanting to hold Ichi's hand for warmth. Osomatsu was nice enough to do that earlier, but with the current situation, Jyushi was aware he couldn't reach out to him anymore. Not when he was reading Osomatsu's file in front of them, while the other employees of Flag Corporation chattered on without care, amazingly ignoring the fact that Todo tore off a large chunk of the table and hurled it at the other corner of the restaurant.

Todo's pink eyes eyes were switching between Jyushi and Kara in worry, and Jyushi had to admit he preferred Todo's face when the latter was pretending to be tough and serious. Kara was avoiding eye contact with Todo, but was glancing at him whenever Todo turned to Jyushi. Osomatsu's face look determined, to say the least. Despite the beads of sweat and his eyes were shaking in anxiety, Osomatsu had to stay brave. No way in hell was he letting Hatabou prevent him from seeing his little brother again.

Finally, Jyushi put down the file and slid it to Hatabou, who calmly picked it up and slid it inside his briefcase. Iyami and Chibita were still avoiding eye contact with all of them, but Jyushi didn't care. He shyly turned to Osomatsu. "Um, shall.. shall we start?" He asked timidly.

Osomatsu nodded, trying to make a grin to at least cheer Jyushi up. Much to Osomatsu's frustration, it didn't work, not this time. Jyushi remained scared, not looking at Osomatsu's face in a manner similar to Iyami's and Chibita's. "Whenever you're ready, buddy." Okay, Osomatsu decided to try again. "Muscle hustle, alright? Don't stress yourself."

It didn't work. Jyushi didn't even react to the little catchphrase he was taught by Osomatsu earlier.

 _First, Jyushimatsu's suffering from some sickness that's getting worse, and now, Jyushi's terrified.. fuck, no matter what version of Jyushimatsu he may be, Jyushi's still Jyushimatsu, and seeing him without a smile isn't right!_

"I understand, Osomatsu-san. And.. good luck. I will not hesitate to state touchy subjects, so it'd be best if you backed out now, or just prepare yourself." Jyushi softly replied, clearing his throat. "Matsuno Osomatsu. Of the other dimension, it seems." He said that part with a quieter voice, not wanting anyone from another table to hear. "He is twenty-one years old. His birthday is the twenty-fourth of May." Osomatsu also noted that he, Todo, and Kara had different ages. I guess things are much more different than our relationships, Osomatsu thought to himself. "He appears to like a lot of things. Alcoholic beverages and oden, for example." At that statement, Chibita instantly perked up. "His hobbies include playing pachinko and betting on horses." Iyami also lifted his head up. Osomatsu knew it was because of how similar Osomatsu was to their Osomatsu. "He is considered a NEET. He lives with his parents, Matsuno Matsuyo and Matsuno Matsuzo, and his five younger brothers.." Jyushi bit his lip. "Matsuno Karamatsu, Matsuno Todomatsu, Matsuno Jyushimatsu, Matsuno Ichimatsu, and Matsuno Choromatsu."

Osomatsu flinched. Wow. Hatabou and Dekapan were really good at their jobs, it seemed. Iyami and Chibita both looked surprised with the mention of the names, and Kara and Todo frowned, knowing who the people Jyushi stated were. But other than that, they were frowning because Jyushi was right and probably hasn't said anything wrong. Todo glanced at Hatabou, who somehow got a stopwatch from out of nowhere. Was it from the briefcase? He saw Hatabou put down the stopwatch a bit to adjust the briefcase, and he moved his head a little to check how long this had been going.

 _Ah. A minute has passed._

He prayed to the gods that Osomatsu could last for another minute. Then this stupid game would be over.

"His favorite food happens to be oden and his favorite drink, besides water of course, is beer. Though he also likes fried rice and yakisoba as.. side dishes. His least favorite food happens to be green peppers." Jyushi noticed Todo snort at that. Was he amused? A silent chuckle was made by Kara too. What a kid, they probably thought. "Um, he also has never gotten a girlfriend in his entire life before. Crushes, yes, but it appears no one has actually gotten a crush at Osomatsu-san.. he thinks groping people at mixers is okay too and some people refer to him as the legendary idiot of the Matsuno Sextuplets.. who all happen to be idiots. Or that's what the file says, at least." Jyushi murmured.

"What the fuck?" Everyone, including Hatabou, turned to Osomatsu, who had a slight blush on his cheeks. Todo seemed to stop being serious and raise an eyebrow, wondering why someone like Osomatsu existed in the first place. Iyami and Chibita looked deadpan, both thinking how similar Osomatsu and their Osomatsu really was. As for Kara, he looked like he was trying his best not to look too concerned. Damn Jyushi, Osomatsu thought.

"How the fuck did you think groping people at mixers is okay, idjit?" Chibita finally spoke up. Iyami looked like

he would have done his "Sheh!" pose, but no way in hell was he leaving the seat. He may not be part of the game, but he was rooting for Osomatsu and the other two.

 _Of all things, why that? Sheesh, just because your alternate self nearly got a girlfriend, hmph._

But so far, so good. Jyushi was just saying small, simple things, as embarrassing as it was. If this kept going, Osomatsu could last another minute without opening his mouth.

Jyushi suddenly bit his own sleeve harshly, a sign of anxiousness. "Nnn.." He brought out, almost as if he didn't want to continue. Osomatsu was glad that he barely gave a shit if people knew his secrets (unlike Choromatsu), since it was part of him being the eldest brother. But seeing Jyushi concerned over what to say next caught his attention a little bit. "There.. has been an incident that happened at the Matsuno household back when they were ten years old. Many people think that is the reason Osomatsu-san refuses to let the brothers separate.."

 _Wait a minute. Good fuck, he can't mean.. no, it can't be.. that's impossible, it couldn't have been found out.. could it..?_

"It happened when their parents needed money, since raising six children isn't really easy."

 _It can't. It just can't._

"Um, they let some of their rooms be for rent."

 _Oh my god, no._

"A thief, disguised as a lodger, stayed with them for the time being. He seemed to be really nice. Doing the homework of the sextuplets, buying them snacks, and giving their parents fine wine and other stuff."

 _This can't be real, this can't be fucking real._

"But Osomatsu-san later caught him doing something illegal."

Osomatsu didn't notice his breath hitching. Osomatsu's hands were cold and his eyes dilated, though he tried his best to remain calm. It wasn't helping that he was beside Jyushi, who was reluctantly speaking up. He can't stop him, because if he did, Osomatsu would never see Jyushi again, and he won't be able to go home. But if he didn't, he'd-

"Osomatsu-san was blackmailed into helping this lodger by helping him steal items from the neighborhood. It kept going on for awhile until his five little brothers found him getting beaten up by the lodger. With six of them knowing the true colors of the lodger, they alerted their parents."

 _Everything's fine, no need to panic like a baby over this. Only.. thirty seconds left? I can handle this. Yup. Definitely not freaking out._

"Their parents were also threatened by the lodger. The lodger demanded Osomatsu-san's mother to make him.. dinner. With Osomatsu-san's father assisting. His father suggested that Osomatsu-san's mother should put sleeping pills on the meal, but the lodger was smart. He made Osomatsu-san's father take a bite first."

 _Twenty. Nineteen. Eighteen. Seventeen. Sixteen. Fifteen. Fourteen. Thirteen. Twelve. Eleven. Easy now, Osomatsu. Deep breaths, try not to panic. Only ten more seconds._

"And after his father was knocked out cold, the lodger took Osomatsu-san, pressed a knife against his throat, and tried to bring him to the next town and make Osomatsu-san his supposed sidekick. His childhood friend unintentionally rescued him."

 _Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six._

"It seemed to have scarred Osomatsu-san to the point he always counts to make sure his brothers are in the house, all in one piece. It may also be the reason why Osomatsu-san prefers to have his brothers sleep next to him."

 _Five. Four. Three. Two._

"The lodger's name is-"

Before the final second could tick away, before Jyushi could say the forbidden name, and before Osomatsu could lose his shit, the lights of the restaurant suddenly went out. Women shrieked in fear, some drunken patrons stumbled and probably tripped due to the dark, and Jyushi stopped talking and Osomatsu heard him cry out in fear. Someone's seat screeched against the floor, and after hearing someone's fist collide against the table and hearing the sound of wood breaking, it was probably safe to assume it was Todo. Hatabou may be strong enough to break a glass of water, but Todo? They clearly knew how violent he was. Plus, he tore off a chunk of the table earlier. "What the hell?!" Todo screamed.

"Who turned off the lights, jo?!" Hatabou was back at it again with his verbal tic, and his intense rage that was as loud as Todo's outburst. Osomatsu couldn't see it due to the dark, but he was sure the other employees of Flag Corporation stopped fooling around in order to line up and salute Hatabou in the dark. "What's going on here, jo?! There are people discussing important matters, jo! Is this how you treat your customers nowadays?! Shutting off lights while they're talking?! How rude, jo! Also, it's been ages, jo! We still haven't gotten our orders! Do you want us to starve. jo?! I demand to see the manager of this establishment, jo! Clearly, this restaurant has a lot of problems!"

"Indeed, Mr. Flag!" The people chorused, probably bowing. Osomatsu knew, because he heard the chairs screech against the floor and someone yelp in pain. Though the thought was amusing, Osomatsu couldn't help but worry for the person who bowed in the dark and accidentally whacked his head against someone's seat. Or worse, a table.

Osomatsu could only imagine Hatabou's rage-filled look, though. He was surprised Hatabou still hadn't gotten a heart attack from his frequent outburst. Or "tantrums". "It's not 'Flag', jo! It's 'Shonosuke'! When are you guys going to get it right, jo?! And can someone fix the lights now?! How long does this have to go, jo?!"

"Sheeeeh! Lights! Does anyone here have a flashlight?! Me can't see!" Iyami screeched.

"The hell?! None of us can, ya idjit!" Chibita angrily replied. Osomatsu heard a piece of metal clank against a hard material, though Osomatsu guessed Chibita somehow summoned his ladle and used it to whack Iyami's overbite.

"Todo?! Jyushi?!" It was Kara, probably. He still had a natural big brother instinct, and Osomatsu was glad he did. "Ah! There you are, Todo!" Kara sighed in relief when he felt the sleeve of Todo's jacket. He grasped his wrist and used his free hand to grope around in the dark. "Osomatsu-niisan, you're beside Jyushi, correct? Can you hold him? He sounded scared earlier."

"Sure-"

"Huh? He's not here." Todo murmured, interrupting Osomatsu. Todo used his free hand to grope the area next to him. He couldn't feel Jyushi's clothes or the flesh of his skin, which was bullshit, since Todo and Jyushi weren't far apart from each other. "I can't feel him beside me. And I'm sure that this," He suddenly jabbed blindly, hitting Osomatsu in the stomach. Osomatsu spat something out of his mouth, coughing. Todo was ridiculously powerful. "Is not Jyushi. It's Osomatsu." He said casually, not caring that he supposedly jabbed Osomatsu in a way that was supposed to look like it was accidental.

"Thanks a fucking lot, Tater Tot." Osomatsu grunted in pain, before straightening up. Forcefully, of course, since Todo's jabbing was painful as hell. "Todo, did you bring your phone with you? Does it have a flashlight?"

"I can't even fucking see my hand, idiot. And I'm putting my hand on my fucking face and I still can't fucking see it. 'Sides, don't you have a phone? It can text through other dimensions, for god's sake."

"First off, it's not mine. Second, I don't."

"Wait, your phone can text through dimensions, jo?" Hatabou joined in, voice quiet. He didn't want the other employees to hear, of course.

"Can we discuss this later?" Chibita interrupted exasperatedly.

"Weren't we talking about where Jyushi went?" Kara added.

"Jyushi's not here, jo?!"

"Sheh! Calm down, Hatabou! Me thinks you're going to die if you keep freaking out!"

"I don't care! Where's Jyushi?!"

"Hold on, I think I found my phone-" The screen of Todo's phone lit up once he pressed the button. "Found it." He said, looking through the applications for a flashlight to light up the darkness. When he did, the light blared directly at Iyami's face, who cried in pain and turned away. "Whoops, uh.. sorry?" He moved the phone to where Jyushi's seat was.

To everyone's horror, it was empty.


	38. Chapter 38: Loneliness and Sweets

It all happened so fast. Jyushi could remember he was about to let a certain name roll of his tongue when suddenly, the lights went out. He shrieked in fear, but before he could grab anyone's hand, something was covering his mouth that caused him to feel dizzy, and he suddenly blacked out. Jyushi didn't really know what was going on or where he was, the last thing he heard was Todo screaming and Hatabou being enraged at something. But other than that, Jyushi didn't know what just happened. Heck, even his clothes felt different. They were much more loose now, as well as softer.

Jyushi groggily stirred awake, rubbing his eyes with the long sleeves of the loose pajama shirt he was wearing. It was kind of cute, Jyushi thought. It was just a simple white color with lime green buttons. He noticed there were blankets covering him, and when he pushed them off, he realized he was wearing blue shorts and white ankle socks. He shook his arms to let the sleeves fall for awhile and checked his hands. The ring wasn't present and nor were his mittens, exposing his hands and his fingernails painted with yellow nail polish. He wiggled his toes to see if he was paralyzed or anything, but since he was able to move his arms and toes, he was fine.

 _Oh wait. I can't move my legs. Oh well! I'm still fine, aren't I? Don't be too shaken up now!_

Jyushi looked around the room, realizing he had slept on a worn-out sofa that was covered with more blankets and had a bunch of pillows to make it soft. The room was dark compared to his, which was as childish as it could get with toys and crayons scattered all over the place. This one had no windows, which was already a large difference from Jyushi's room, which was basically the highest floor of Flag Corporation's building that gave him the view of Akatsuka City in it's entirety. Though Jyushi noticed why there were no windows; they have been covered up by wooden boards to block out anything from the outside world, so Jyushi didn't know if it was day or night.

Though he felt as if he had a nice, long rest, so it was probably morning already. Who knew anyway? Where was he?

The room had papers and pens scattered all over the place, similar to Jyushi's ripped out papers from his sketchbooks and a bunch of colorful crayons and markers. But this one looked different. The papers on the floor resembled the files Hatabou and Ichi often let him read, but there were papers on the walls too. Newspapers, to be exact. Red markers were used to circle certain things in the newspaper that were deemed important, though in a disturbing manner, kitchen knives were stabbed against the paper. Another thing Jyushi noted was a map of Japan, with pins and post-it-notes on the bulletin board at the corner of the room.

The room was a mess, basically. But Jyushi didn't mind, in all honesty. His room was the same!

There was no clock in the room, or any sort of technology. Besides the air conditioner, that is. The wallpaper was peeling off in the areas newspapers weren't covering, and the carpet-covered floor were covered in liquids that were dark in color and reeked of something.. metallic? Iron? Jyushi didn't really know, and it was a bit unpleasant, so he covered his nose and mouth with the long sleeves of the shirt he was wearing to block out the smell.

But something about this room was so.. familiar. Jyushi didn't know what it was, but despite the fact that he just awoke in an odd-looking room with his previous clothes nowhere in sight, and a questionable liquid was spilled on the floor, Jyushi couldn't panic entirely. There was something in this room that didn't scare him, even with the knives pressed against the papers and probably piercing through the walls of the room.

 _Wait a minute._

He was kidnapped earlier, wasn't he? The lights went off all of a sudden at the restaurant, something caused him to knock out upon smelling it, and he was in an unknown place with equally questionable liquid spilled on the carpet floor. He had been kidnapped, and this was the location his kidnapper brought him into, so should he be terrified now? Should he start screaming? Because if so, Jyushi was sure he was the worst hostage in history.

Before he could think further into it, the door suddenly creaked open, causing Jyushi's cowlick to stand upright out of surprise. He hesitantly turned to the door and watched as a person entered the room casually, as if Jyushi wasn't there.

With his amazing memory, Jyushi was sure he could memorize the appearance of this man; black hair slicked backwards, though a few strands that were out of place were dyed green, reminding Jyushi of Todo's dyed hair. He was wearing a black suit similar to Hatabou's, though this man was clearly taller than Hatabou, Chibita, or Hana. He looked as refined and sophisticated as Jyushi's older brother, though he noticed that this man was wearing a white mask that was covering his eyes, but not his nose or mouth, which was curled into a frown.

Jyushi tilted his head at the sight of the mask. It reminded him of that one thing his mother showed him and Ichi a long time ago. "Phantom of the Opera", was it? That mask looked like it came from the musical.

He was also wearing white gloves, and his tie was a dark green color. When he entered the room, on hand was a tray that contained a teacup, a kettle, a bowl, a small porcelain container, and a tablespoon. He entered the room with grace in a manner that reminded Jyushi of his own mother and father, in which Ichi inherited. And Jyushi? Well, he couldn't walk, but he used to be a great dancer. Maybe he lacked the grace his brother had, but Ichi and his mother always told him it was alright. His father? Not so much.

But that wasn't the point right now. The man that waltzed in had walked towards the sofa Jyushi was lying on, the heels of his slick black shoes clicking against the wooden floor. His face remained as calm as it was, even after he had lay his eyes upon Jyushi. Or that was what Jyushi thought. He couldn't tell, due to the mask blocking the eyes of the other man. "Ah." He gasped out once he was close enough to pull a chair over next to the sofa and sit on it, tray on his lap. "You are awake, yes? How are you?"

"Don't talk to strangers" was what Ichi, Hatabou, Dekapan, Fuyu, and Yuki constantly needed to remind Jyushi of. Ichi was never trusting of anyone unless they were part of Flag Corporation, and he was too protective of his brother to ignore his gut's instincts that frequently gave him the idea that anyone and everyone could pose as a threat to his dear younger brother. Hatabou and Dekapan, as Ichi's trusted assistants, had to remind him of this as well. Especially Dekapan, who was pretty much the official babysitter of Jyushi. As for Fuyu and Yuki, they were a young couple that Jyushi loved to think of as alternative parents due to him not having any anymore, and Yuki was a good father-figure for Jyushi.

Still, he went against this little rule, silently apologizing to Ichi-niisan and Ookina-san and anyone else who would freak at the thought of Suuji Jyushi, Flag Corporation's president's little brother, interacting with someone from the outside world. He just prayed to the gods that Hatabou wouldn't faint upon hearing it. "Sluggish." He replied with honesty, seeing no point in lying. "A bit dizzy. And I'm confused! Where am I?"

"I honestly expected you to freak out and cry." The man admitted. "Though you're not. Amazing, I should take note of this. You just had a long night and needed to kick back and relax, and I do apologize if the sofa wasn't soft enough. I haven't prepared your temporary bedroom yet, so you'll have to stay in my study for awhile." He sighed. "Are you hungry? I have some food prepared, thankfully. I heard you were really fond of sweets, so," He opened the lid of the small porcelain container, revealing small, circular candies that were colorful. "I had candied chocolates prepared for you. And if you want something else to eat, I have a bowl of soup here. Oh, and green tea too. Which one would you prefer?"

"Um. Thanks for the offer, but no thank you." Jyushi wasn't really sure how to respond, but he at least had to turn him down politely. "I'm not hungry. Kinda nauseous, really!"

"Is that so?" The man frowned, putting the tray on a nearby table and pushing away everything that had been occupying it; staplers, more papers, markers, calculators, and paperweights. "How about the room then? Is it too hot or too cold?" He asked, clasping his gloved hands together.

"Chilly. It's fine as it is. Thank you so much for your concern." If it gets any colder, Jyushi was sure he'd cry immediately. He had a tendency to do that, and he didn't know why. Oh well. At least he didn't get any violent outbursts when the temperature was too low.

"I see." The man placed his fingers on his chin and nodded in understanding. "Are you afraid? Of me? Of what is going on?" The man asked, leaning a bit more so his face was focused on Jyushi's. Jyushi could smell something on the man, which was the same scent of the dark liquid that was spilled on the floor. Jyushi backed up a bit until his back was pressed against the sofa, wanting the man to at least appreciate his little comfort zone, especially since Jyushi was in a place that was unfamiliar and familiar to him at the same time. "Is there anything you'd like to ask of me?"

"Um, I hope it won't be too rude for me to ask you to back up a bit? Please?" He meekly suggested, yellow eyes frantically darting anywhere but the man in front of him.

Thankfully, the man was polite enough to back off. "Deepest apologies." He cleared his throat, before adjusting his mask. "Oh, before you do ask my anything, I would like to know what you would want for me to call you besides Suuji or Jyushi." He raised a finger. "I have my reasons, so if you ask me, I'm afraid that's classified information."

 _Ah. He knows who I am?_

"Oh! Um.." A nickname? Ichi was the only person who gave him a nickname, since his name wasn't really long like Dekapan, who had been called "Kapan-san" by a lot of people. "How about 'Jyu'?"

"Something less obvious?"

Okay, he had no answers to that. Jyushi shook his head.

The man sighed, leaning back against his chair. "Alright. Cats or dogs?"

"Huh?"

"Cats or dogs? Do you like demonic, yet graceful creatures that the world somehow considers a liquid? Or do you prefer slobbery mutts that are deeply loyal to their masters?" Asked the man. "Pick one. Otherwise, I'm nicknaming you something."

"Are you going to nickname me something relating to cats or dogs if-"

"I'm calling you Sweets."

Jyushi blinked. "What..?"

"Sweets." The man shrugged. "Anyone could be nicknamed Sweets. Including the pink-haired friend of yours who absolutely adores pancakes. If you pick cat, we're going with Kitty or Kitten. If you pick dog, Puppy's a cute one. So." He clapped his hands together. "Pick one of the four choices; Puppy, Kitty, Kitten, or Sweets? You adore sweets, don't you? It's quite fitting."

This guy was making Jyushi feel very uncomfortable, but Jyushi just decided to go along with it. Kitty or Kitten sounded feminine, as cute as it was, and Puppy.. that was a weird name to call someone, right? Cute, but.. nicknaming someone like that is just awkward. "Um, alright. Sweets is.. a decent name, I guess." Not necessarily the best nickname, but much more normal than Puppy, if he had to admit. "A-alright then. Are you going to refer to me by that name?"

"Yes." The man nodded. "I do know how much you prefer your own name, but as I said, I have reasons on why I prefer to nickname you or refer to you as something else. I apologize, but it would have to do for now." He sat properly again. "Now, is there anything you would like? I promise to fulfill any request you might have."

Jyushi sat up. "Oh, um.. who are you? I mean, if you're not going to tell me your actual name, then at least give me a nickname to work with."

The man cocked his head to the side. "But of course. I do apologize again if I cannot tell you anything else, but please refer to me as.. Lonely."

 _What?_

"Lonely..? As in.. as your nickname?"

"Well, I called you Sweets, didn't I? And odd choice for a name. I think an equally odd name fits me as it fits you, do you not think so, Sweets?"

So, Jyushi was going to be called that name for as long as he stayed here? "Well, Sweets is.. a rather bright-sounding name. Something that sounds so cheerful and bubbly. But Lonely? Lonely doesn't sound like-"

"Sweets is such a sweet name." The man interrupted again. "So bright and bubbly, it fits you so much, does it not? You, the beloved little brother of the president of such a dark company, have such a bright personality. You are the apple of your brother's eye, and you are extremely special to him. He thinks of you as his sweet little brother, who smiles and smiles until the entire company is seemingly less dark than it actually is. As for me, I do have my reasons on why I prefer to be called as such. Same reasons why I prefer to call you Sweets. Though, it has a nice ring to it, does it not? I do live my life in loneliness, without the presence or the company of friends and whatnot."

"You.. live here all alone?" Jyushi asked.

"Me? Yes." He replied. "You can't possibly know how this feels.. do you?"

Loneliness was something that Jyushi was used to feeling. He would have been called spoiled or anything similar, and most people he had tried to befriend always thought that Jyushi was never grateful for his supposed luck. Were they talking about the money? Jyushi was never fond of it. The toys were cute and all, but they were material objects, weren't they? They would break eventually. Jyushi loved talking to people, and his bubbly personality was formed by him and him alone in order to make it seem that he was approachable, despite his statue of being Flag Corporation's president's little brother.

 _But in the end, it's just a mask, isn't it? I never truly had friends, no matter how hard I tried at always smiling. Even the guests from the business meetings Ichi-niisan usually had.. they all claimed to be my friends.. but they would end up hurting me and only seeking something from Flag Corporation, right? Is.. is Todo-san my friend?_

Jyushi read files as his job of being Flag Corporation's supposed hope that just in case their database gets hacked, he'd have all files within his head. He had always been interested in people who had connections to others for as long as they could remember. When he had read Todo's file and Kara's, he was amazed at their friendship. And when he saw it in person, he admired it.

He never had a friend before. A true friend.

 _Is Todo-san my friend, though..? I mean, Osomatsu-niisan just.. went to Flag Corporation, because he needs me to get back to his brothers.. and Chibita-san and Iyami-san.. they just want their Osomatsu back. Todo-san and Kara-niisan.. because of the syringe, they feel the urge to help Osomatsu-niisan.. so they have the same goal. Does.. does this mean that.. Todo-san had lied about visiting me..?_

"Sweets?"

 _Of course he did.. I listened to Hatabou and potentially destroyed his friendship with Kara-san.. a long friendship.. destroyed by a lonely person like me. How.. how fitting._

"Sweets? Are you alright?"

 _Who would want me to be their friend anyway? And Ichi-niisan.. he probably feels like I'm a burden to him. Mama must have felt really bad for me. Papa was being truthful when he said he hated me. Fuyu-san and Yuki-san are just doing their jobs because they need the money. Homura-san and Hana-san are doing the same. Hatabou and Ookina-san are Ichi-niisan's most trusted people.. and they probably feel burdened by me too._

"Sweets? Are you.. crying?"

Huh? Oh. So he was.

"Loneliness? I.. I know how it feels." Jyushi sobbed out, realizing that tears were streaming down his face. "I never had someone besides Ichi-niisan to stick by my side for so long without getting tired of me. Ichi-niisan is my big brother, but I think that he only does what he does is because he feels like he has to. Because I'm his little brother." His lip was quivering. "Why is it like this..? Why can't.."

 _Why can't I make any friends?_

The man across him wasn't having any of this. "Sweets. You're a perpetual smiler, are you not?" He stated seriously, grabbing Jyushi's face with his gloved hands. "It is not your fault. You are a unique person with a gift to be able to memorize anything within seconds of reading it. You are special." He used his fingers to wipe away the tears, thin linen fabric getting soaked by hot tears. Not that he cared. "Sweets is such a sweet name, correct? Then do not let negativity get the best of you. Let it out, I will not judge."

"You.. you won't?" But he had to keep smiling, didn't he?

"You believe that you're supposed to be the shining sun of Flag Corporation? True, but the sun needs to take a break too, correct? Especially since it's such a cold season." He said. "So if you cry, I will be here to comfort you. If it makes you feel any better," The masked man made a small smile. "I will be your first friend."

Anyone would automatically be considered insane the moment they considered being friends with their kidnapper, but Jyushi didn't know that. He had questions of where he was, how he got here, but for now, it didn't matter. "Will you really?" He asked.

 _How desperate am I to actually befriend someone who is possibly my kidnapper? I truly am trash.. papa was right._

"Of course. I said I'll do any request of yours, correct? As friends, it's our duties to make each other happy! Ah, but you do it with zero effort! I do promise to do the same to you, my dear friend. Here, let's do introductions." He outstretched a hand to Jyushi. "My name is Lonely. My name will truly have meaning once my dear friend, you, leaves me in this home of mine all alone. What is yours?"

Jyushi took the gloved hand and lightly shook it, now giggling and his bright smile once again appearing in his face. "Hehe! My name is Jyu- ah, sorry. Sweets. My name is Sweets! Umm, my name is bright and bubbly! Just like me! But it won't have any meaning once my friend, you, leaves me too!" He decided to mirror Lonely's words, seeing as how it fit.

"What a rather nice name for such a nice fellow such as you." Lonely replied. "I thank you for being my first ever friend."

"As do I!"

Call it odd, call it crazy, call it insane even, but Jyushi could care less at the moment as he giggled in happiness. His worries and anxieties of a lifetime had faded for the time being as he seemingly got along with the masked man known as Lonely. He wouldn't mind keeping the name Sweets if it meant having a friend around.


	39. Chapter 39: The Lost One's Weeping

Osomatsu's eyes snapped open, greeting the ceiling of a familiar room upon opening them. His head throbbed, probably from exhaustion due to the hectic and lack of normality (even more so than usual) the previous night, and he enjoyed a moment of peace before he remembered the events from the dinner.

Jyushi, Osomatsu, Kara, and Todo were all forced to play a game with Hatabou. During Osomatsu's turn, the second before he won, the entire room was suddenly enveloped in darkness, probably as dark as Ichimatsu's view of the world. After the lights had went out for a reason the police were still trying to figure out (he did remember police officers arriving at the place), Todo had fished out his phone from his pocket and used the flashlight to at least see something to make everyone stop panicking, but when he shone the light directed at Jyushi's seat and found the sunny boy missing, everyone instantly panicked even more, no exceptions.

Not even Kara, who was usually in charge of calming everyone down.

Todo's crushing grip on his phone caused the poor thing to crack, and Osomatsu was sure it was broken by now, since the flashlight was flickering the last time he saw the small phone. Iyami, Todo, and Hatabou were all hysterical, with Todo repeating curses that his mind seemingly told him to spout out, Hatabou joining him in as Iyami ran around in the dark. Kara started panicking in a less violent way compared to Todo and Hatabou, who were pretty much breaking chairs at that point. Osomatsu remained standing in shock, still wondering how the boy beside him suddenly disappeared without a trace.

It had all happened in one night. Osomatsu didn't know if he passed out from shock or anything similar, but he awoke at the hotel room at five in the morning, by the sound of knocking. His phone was on the top of Kara's drawer, and Osomatsu could only assume that Kara had explained the situation to Choro. Speaking of Kara, he was sleeping on his bed, snoring softly. Both Iyami and Chibita, whose beds were across his and the alternate versions of his brothers', were snoring louder than Kara. Todo was nowhere to be seen. Not sleeping nor sitting on the bed, his bed was empty.

He wondered where Todo was. The sheets were on the floor, so it probably meant Todo struggled to get them off. Knowing how reckless he could be at times, Osomatsu thought it would make sense for someone like Todo to be messy when they woke up before Kara. Especially if he had to take a piss. Though judging by the sound of water running, he'd guess that Todo was in the bathroom, probably taking a bath and too busy listening to the sound of the shower to hear the door.

Osomatsu also noticed he wasn't wearing his pajamas, but he was wearing a white shirt with his family symbol and jeans. Not the most comfortable outfit to sleep in, but he wasn't complaining. He sat up and turned his head on all directions, looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Still, as much as Osomatsu would like to recall the events of the previous night before doing anything else, the knocking became much more aggressive.

Osomatsu found himself walking over to the door and opening it before it could wake anyone else. He sighed and clicked the door open, turning the knob.

Hatabou was waiting for him, with someone waiting at the back. He was bigger than Hatabou and was also wearing a suit with a cute little bowtie, but his appearance caught Osomatsu off guard. "Hatabou." He murmured, before looking at the man accompanying him. Both of them had serious looks plastered across their faces. Who wouldn't? A very important person in their company just got kidnapped. And Osomatsu couldn't even remember how he ended up in the hotel room. "And.. Ookina Dekapan, I assume? Jyushi's guardian?"

 _He actually wears something else besides large pants and a lab coat in this dimension? Neat._

"Yes, jo. It's about Jyushi, jo." Hatabou replied, letting himself inside the room with Dekapan following behind, struggling to fit inside such a tiny door. Osomatsu wanted to snort in amusement, but seeing Hatabou's face made him rethink. This was the same guy that nearly killed him two days ago, he reasoned. But not just that. His rage when angered wasn't as amusing as Choromatsu's or Todo's. It was incredibly dangerous. "If you don't mind, we'd like to make this quick, jo. You wake up your friends and meet us at the lobby, jo. Dress formally, jo. Iyami can wear what he usually does, since it looks so formal and fancy, jo."

"Oh, um, I don't.. I don't think Chibita has a suit?" Osomatsu was taken aback by how impatient Hatabou was being. Besides that, he knew he brought his blazer for a reason. He didn't know if Kara packed anything similar, but since Osomatsu had helped Todo pack his stuff days ago, he knew he brought it with him.

"Is that so?" Hatabou frowned, clicking his tongue. "I'll have a suit in Chibita's size brought here in a few minutes, jo. Get dressed. We're discussing something really important, jo. A lot of people will be joining us. This is about Jyushi, jo. We.. we have a very special guest joining us today. So don't keep us waiting." He turned to leave the room, but stopped. "Oh, and bring your phone, jo. And wear the ring." He said without even glancing back. He left the room, leaving Dekapan with Osomatsu, who was still processing what Hatabou just ordered him to do.

 _How does he know about the ring? And if he knew about it last night, he would have stopped Jyushi from giving it to me, right? Jyushi did say it was important.._

Dekapan was staring straight into his soul, however. "Oh, uh.. nice to meet you? My name is Matsuno Osomatsu."

The bigger man nodded in understanding. "Ookina Dekapan. Guardian of Suuji Jyushi." He said with a low voice, before walking out of the room. Or attempted to. He got stuck on the doorway again. Osomatsu would have helped him if he didn't hear Hatabou sigh from the outside and pull Dekapan's hand to help him out.

Osomatsu closed the door and yawned, taking off his hoodie and went to the table where four sofas were surrounding it. Iyami had been fixing their clothes yesterday, and they were all neatly aligned on the table. Osomatsu picked up his suit once he saw it and proceeded to get dressed; slipping on a white polo, taking off his pants, putting the other pair of pants on, grabbing clean socks from the folded laundry, slipping the socks on, buttoning the polo, slipping on his blazer, and grabbing a pair of shoes and a tie.

His thought suddenly went to the ring. Spotting his sling bag at the edge of his bed, he zipped it open and started wiggling his fingers inside, looking for a small, metallic object with a smooth and cool surface. He eventually found the ring and he took it out of the bag, resting the piece of jewelry on his palm. It didn't have any gems or anything else, but according to Jyushi, it was a very expensive ring. He must trust Osomatsu a lot if he didn't mind letting an idiot like him hold it for him.

Sighing, he slipped it on his index finger. It meant "affiliation", right? He was Jyushi's brother in an alternate dimension, so it counts.

It didn't take much to get dressed, which made Osomatsu laugh at the memory of Todomatsu trying to make himself look pretty, and Karamatsu doing exactly the same when the six of them were trying to nail their job interviews. They were sextuplets who shared the same damn face, why the hell were those two taking so long to get dressed? Either that, or one of them had no idea how to button their own polos and took their sweet time doing so.

 _Those two are absolute drama queens, I swear. Karamatsu probably wears a painful-ass tank top underneath his polo and Todomatsu probably tries to pry it off before leaving the house._

Ah. He had no idea how to tie a tie. That sucked. Usually, Choromatsu or Todomatsu helped him with that. He thought of getting dressed and then waking everyone else up, since he didn't want Chibita to fuss over his outfit for the day again. Though he was guilty, he lightly shook Kara awake, the blue-eyed cavalier trying to swat his hand away in order to get more sleep, mumbling words. "Kara. Wake up. Nii-chan's orders."

Immediately, Kara opened his eyes. "You're awake, Osomatsu-niisan? And what's with the outfit?"

"Hatabou told me to wake you guys up and get dressed formally. He's meeting us at the lobby. He says it's something important, regarding Jyushi. Also, I don't know how to tie a tie." He said, sitting down beside Kara, who had sat up and was rubbing his eyes tiredly. While it was good that he was up and everything, he was wearing his painful tank top with his own face.

 _Ugh._

Kara yawned, grabbing the tie and coaxing Osomatsu to lean forward. "Figures. They probably found something. Last night caused such an uproar, remember? Reporters were everywhere, and the police were having a hard time keeping them out of the scene. If you don't remember, I wouldn't be surprised." He frowned, continuing to do knots. "You passed out. You had a panic attack, and we were trying to calm you down. We didn't know what you were yelling about, but you eventually passed out from the lack of air and from the stress. You and Todo were worrying me so much last night, we had to head back to the hotel before something else could happen. Hatabou excused us, thank goodness."

"Todo? What happened to Todo? Panic attack? Me?" Osomatsu could still hear the sound of running water at the bathroom. Was he still taking a shower? But wasn't he supposed to not take one at all, especially since he might rinse his hair dye off again? "I'm sorry, the last thing I remember was seeing Jyushi's seat empty. Care to explain?"

Kara sighed. "The lights went out, remember? And a minute after we realized Jyushi went missing, you started screaming. Freaking out about something none of us could understand. I couldn't see where I was headed, but I got to you and tried to calm you down, along with Chibita and some of the waiters and police officers. You passed out, and that's when we were all ushered out the restaurant." He finished tying Osomatsu's neck tie, and he started fixing his blazer instead. "Hatabou thought it'd be a good idea to let you rest on the limo for the time being. But then, I realized Todo wasn't with us when we went out. I carried you to the limo and left Iyami to take care of you, since Chibita and Hatabou were discussing some things with the police. So, I sneaked inside the restaurant again, since no one was allowed back in."

Ah. Kara wasn't that much of a goody-goody at all. He was willing to enter a crime scene again in order to look for his best friend. Kara, someone that probably never broke a single rule in his entire life, did so for the sake of his best friend. How nice.

"The lights were back on by the time we got out, but I needed to hide from the people who were investigating inside for any sort of secret entrance or exit that Jyushi's kidnapper may have taken. Then I heard sniffling and sobbing inside the men's bathroom." He stopped fiddling with the collar of Osomatsu's blazer. "I was curious. So I went inside. And then I entered one of the stalls, right next to the one where the source of the sniffling was and used the toilet to give myself a boost. I.. I found Todo. He was leaning against the door. He was crying, holding onto his own chest, it looked like as if he had trouble breathing."

 _..Todo? Tough, intimidating, Todo?! The guy who looks like he's always angry?!_

"Hard to believe, but it's true. I've known Todo for years now, and he never likes it when he cries. I don't know why he was crying either, but it didn't matter. He had to hide in the bathroom of a crime scene just because he didn't want anyone to see him cry." Kara took Osomatsu's arm and forced him to stand up. He was seemingly straightening out the jacket by now. "I had to coax him out gently. He was resisting of course, but just when I thought he was going to pry the sink off and throw it at me.. he collapsed. I caught him before he hit the floor, and I had to carry him outside too. Of course, the police were not happy about the fact I sneaked in, but when they saw me carrying Todo, they backed off. I asked Hatabou to let us off the hook for the day, since you both needed rest." With one final tug, he finished fixing Osomatsu's suit. "Viola. Perfection, if I do say so myself." He chuckled weakly. "Now, if you excuse me, I need to wash my face before I get dressed. Can you wake up Iyami and Chibita?"

"No prob. It won't take much to wake these two, just some averagely loud noise. Heh, but that'd be rude, right? No worries, I got this."

Kara walked towards the bathroom just as Osomatsu was about to lightly shake Iyami up the same way he did to Kara. But just as Kara turned the knob of the bathroom door and entered the room, Osomatsu had just realized and remembered that the sound of water was heard earlier, meaning..

 _Wait. Isn't there.. isn't there someone inside the bathroom?_

"Kara, wait-"

But it was too late. Kara had swung the door open.

And then Kara shrieked. Loud. Not like a girl, but his scream was similar to ones you would hear in a badly acted horror film. Osomatsu was startled that he lost his balance and fell directly at Iyami's stomach, causing Iyami to screech out in pain. "SHEEEEEEEEEH?!" His screech awoke Chibita, who instantly summoned his ladle from out of nowhere and jumped from his bed to Iyami's, accidentally hitting Iyami's head with his ladle again. "YOWCH! WHY ME?!"

"What's goin' on?!" Growled Chibita, realizing he had just fallen on top of Osomatsu, whose face was planted against Iyami's stomach. "And why's he on top of ya? Wait, who shrieked first?! It wasn't Iyami!"

As Osomatsu had stated; loud noises instantly awoke his two friends, as rude as it was.

"Kara?!" Osomatsu pushed Chibita off him, causing the smaller man to stumble on the ground with a yelp, leaving Iyami to regain his breath. Why would Kara screech?! He didn't suddenly walk in a pretty girl taking a shower now, did he?! They were all men, as far as Osomatsu was concerned! He ran to Kara's side and grasped his wrist, squeezing it and asking him what's wrong. Osomatsu noticed Kara's blue eyes had shrunk in shock, causing Osomatsu to look for the thing that had caused Kara such fear. He turned his head to the inside of the bathroom.

It wasn't steaming, so the water on the tub must be cold. But what he caught on a stool right next to the tub was Todo, his pink hair slicked backwards with his black headband, seemingly to prevent it from getting wet. Todo still had his clothes on, a white sweater and black sweatpants, so Kara had no reason to shriek if he did walk in on Todo naked. Besides, they were childhood friends, weren't they? They probably saw each other naked before, and it wouldn't be awkward, since they're both guys.

But Osomatsu noticed something staining Todo's white sweater. Red. The sleeves of his sweaters were rolled upwards too, exposing his arms, but still covering his shoulders. Todo's pants seemed to be wet with water and drops of darker liquid that was the same shade of red as the spilled liquid on Todo's sweater. Osomatsu was extremely confused on why the pink demon was wearing clothes inside the damn shower, but that was until he saw Todo gripping something with his right hand which was pointed to his left arm.

Even if Osomatsu was a few inches away, he could clearly see the marks on Todo's left arm and the blood trickling from the open wounds. He could clearly see something trailing down on Todo's cheeks, as clear and as transparent as they were. And as an older brother, he could clearly sense the fear in the area. Not his, not even Kara's. No, it was Todo's.

Pink-haired Todo who had broken so many tables and chairs before, was scared of being caught on doing something he knew he shouldn't have been caught doing.

Todo looked like a deer caught in the headlights, his pink eyes wide and trembling as he dropped whatever he was holding, standing up as quick as he could, and pulling down the sleeve of his left arm to cover whatever was in there. However, it was a reckless move. He flinched from the sudden contact of fabric against the bruised skin, and since the sweater was white in color, it didn't take long for the blood on his arm to stain the sleeve of the white sweater.

The three of them stared at each other, and even after Chibita and Iyami had ran over to see what was the problem, the two of them only gasped as Todo continued to tremble in place, his breathing becoming ragged.

"Get away from me!"


	40. Chapter 40: Two-Faced Brother

Kara remembered the day he met Todo. It was the first day of grade school for both of them. While Todo had wanted to go home as soon as he stepped foot inside the classroom, Kara had been waiting for that day ever since his parents told him the date. Kara was instantly popular among his classmates, both girls and boys, because of the fact he was polite and didn't push others away when they wanted someone to talk to.

So during recess, even with the entire class fighting over who gets to sit next to Kara and who gets to share their snacks with him, he quietly left the crowd of people to follow one particular boy that refused to associate himself with the likes of him, someone so nice and approachable. That boy who had left the classroom in order to seek tranquility and solitude for the sake of his own sanity and his temper. That boy no one wanted to approach, because he had destroyed a desk the moment someone tried to tease him for having pink eyes, as pink as the sakura trees that were outside their school, the ones everyone loved to talk about.

The boy who shared the same face as him, but the boy had a completely different name. Katsuna Todo was his name.

A cunning little devil, they thought he was, just because of his name. In all actuality, he was a softie who had a sweet tooth, with his main problem being anger issues and his incapability to just trust anyone out of the blue.

It was impossible to befriend him, his classmates would tell him constantly. Nothing could get through Todo no matter how hard they tried to crack his angry little shell. But somehow, Kara did. Through sheer determination and his patience that could rival a saint's, he was able to earn Todo's trust that would last for a long, long time. Even after graduating high school and with Todo getting abandoned by his parents and the death of Kara's own parents, that trust Todo had given him never faltered.

And seeing his best friend, who was normally strong and never let anything through him, look at him with such a scared expression and covering his bloodied arm while trying to keep everyone away from him, Kara didn't hesitate to run towards him, though he did so after telling Osomatsu, Iyami, and Chibita not to do the same and let him handle it. "Osomatsu-niisan, you'll get your suit wet, so please stay there. Iyami, please go get dressed. Chibita, wait for Hatabou to bring you your suit. I'll handle this."

Osomatsu look baffled. "But-!"

"I know Todo better than anyone!" Kara raised the volume of his voice, startling everyone. Including Todo. "You know your five little brothers, inside-out, yes? In this dimension, Todo doesn't have any family to rely on. I'm the only one that's left. So please." His voice softened. "I won't take too long. And I'll be fine." He turned to him to give a weak smile. "But thank you for caring for Todo as much as I, Osomatsu-niisan. You truly are a great big brother."

 _That's not it, idiot. But.. y'know what? You're right. If there's anyone that Todo will let his guard down around, it's gotta be you. I trust you, Kara. And.. help Todo. Please._

"Alright.. I'll.. we'll give you both some privacy, if it helps you two." Murmured Osomatsu. Todo was too focused on Kara, who was giving him a soothing smile, that he didn't see Chibita slowly sneak in a first aid kit, with Osomatsu and Iyami helping him slide it in. It was the same one from Osomatsu's bag, but he knew Todo would need it. He just needed to stop being so hostile.

"Well, uh.. we'll be doin' our thing, then. See ya later, idjits." Chibita cleared his throat, scurrying away. Iyami was the one that reached out to the doorknob and pulled it as the door shut. The footsteps of the three men left the front of the bathroom, giving Kara the signal it was time to talk. He silently thanked them for understanding. It wasn't everyday you'd walk into someone hurting themselves in such a messy way.

"Todo." He finally called out to his best friend. "Did you hear me?"

 _Step one; do not agitate him further. Otherwise, you'll end up having a pipe stuck up your ass for the next few weeks. And I am not looking forward to it._

"No I didn't.." Todo refused to look at him.

"But you replied. That means you're ignoring me. Why? I'm your best friend. Come here. Let me check your wounds." Like I always do, Kara mentally added. Every single time Todo got a scratch or bruise, no matter how big or small it may be, Kara would always make sure it would heal properly. "Are they that bad? Cut too deep? No worries. You broke an arm in the past, remember? I'm sure I can handle it." Kara knew simple healing procedures besides basic recipes and basic repairs, and he was glad he did. Todo was such a reckless guy after all. He'd need all the help he could get.

Todo inched away, shaking his head frantically. Kara could see him squeezing his arm, causing more of the blood to come out. Was Todo crying because of the pain from the wounds? Or was it something else entirely? Thank god, Todo had dropped the little item he had used to cut his skin. Though he hoped it wasn't too deep. "I said get away, didn't I?!" He growled, baring his fangs. Todo himself knew it was idiotic to try doing this kind of stuff with people around, but last night was the last straw; because of him, Jyushi had been kidnapped. "Why the hell are you still here?!"

 _Step two; you have the patience of a saint Kara, so make sure you don't become too strict with him if you scold him. Discipline is a must, yes, but what Todo needs right now is support. Not someone criticizing him. He probably did this because of self-loathing after all._

"Take a seat and relax a bit more. And roll up your sleeve, squeezing it isn't going to make it feel any better." He carefully approached Todo, almost like his best friend was an animal. Todo had scurried to the bathtub, the cold water soaking his legs and his feet. But Todo wanted to get away from Kara. "Are you depressed, my dear friend? Why did you do that to yourself? This is the first time I've seen you do such a thing to yourself. Sure, you get into fights a lot, but I never would have thought you-"

"It's because I was scared to do it at first, alright?!" Todo hissed angrily. "Those bruises are nothing! They're either caused by other people or by fucking accidents! I'm a fucking cursed child, I'm used to those! But this?!" He tore off his own sleeve, gritting his teeth as the bloodied wound was exposed to the cool air of the bathroom. He threw the bloody fabric to the side, but it landed on the water. The blood and the cold water started to mix together in one area, the clear liquid turning into a sickening red. "I did this to myself! It hurts because I made sure it hurts! Why?! Because I'm a fucking coward! Okay?! Why would you help someone who keeps hurting themselves over and over?! Don't you see?! It's always been this way! I was abandoned by my parents for a reason, Kara! I'd end up being a delinquent! I hurt people because of my short temper!" He stared at the hand he used to tear off the sleeve. It was bloody. He curled it into a fist. "They only see me as a troublemaker! Don't waste your effort on trying to prove I'm not! There's no point in trying to be anything else!"

"Todo, that is not true!" Kara cried out, watching as more blood come out from the wound. Dear god, Kara had dealt with a fracture and broken bones as his father taught him how just in case he'd hurt himself, but bloody wounds from cuts caused by a razor and someone's self-loathing? Never. Shit, if he didn't manage to calm Todo, those wounds of his could only get worse.

Who the fuck was he kidding; droplets of blood were dripping on the same bathtub Todo was standing in, the water slowly turning into a brown color. Give it a few more minutes, it'd turn red completely. But that would kill Todo, if he was going to lose anymore blood.

 _Step three; he will probably go hysterical, and only by some miracle he won't. 99% of the time, he does. If he's hurt himself, he won't try anything else to hurt you because you're Kara and he will never hurt you. But still, be gentle in persuading him. You don't want to hurt him further._

"Yes, it fucking is! Why the hell do you think Hatabou is so wary of us?! My file states it, doesn't it?! I'm dangerous as hell!" The blood dripping from his left arm had made his hand all bloody now. Heh. Almost like he committed a murder, he thought bitterly. "Look at Jyushi! Jyushi is protected! He stated it himself, didn't he?! Assassination attempts! He was 'used' to it and he's not even scared of it anymore! He knows one day, someone's gonna murder him in front of the people who do everything they can to protect him! It doesn't stop Flag Corporation from trying to defend him, which I give them kudos for." He clicked his tongue. "People like me are the reasons nice people like you and Jyushi often get hurt. The nice ones always have the short end of the stick, right? So," He picked up the bloodied razor from the floor with an equally bloody hand.

Oh my god, he's not-!

"Todo, what are you doing?! Put that down!"

"Why should I?! Why are you even so nice to me?!" He growled as Kara had now grabbed his right arm, the one that wasn't injured. "Let go of me! Kara, just let me do this! You don't need me in your fucking life anymore, you never did! What, you want me to do it at the local cemetery to make things easier for you?! Then let's go then! No need to concern yourself with garbage like me!"

"I'm not letting you hurt yourself, nor am I letting you plan your own death!" Kara cried in desperation. Never had he went this far as to pry a weapon off Todo's hands, especially since his hands were bloody and kinda gross. He closed his eyes, some of the water from the tub sloshing on his feet and drops of sweat causing him to blink rapidly. Closing them would be a better option. "Todo, please! You never tell me what's wrong with you, so how can you expect me to help! Was it something Jyushi nearly said last night?! I kept a secret from you too! If you're trash from keeping secrets, then so is everyone else in the world!"

"You don't understand!" Kara's eyes snapped open. Todo didn't say that with rage or hostility in his voice. He said it with a choked sob. Now that Kara was close to Todo, he could see the tears spilling from Todo's eyes. They were similar to last night's, if Kara could recall. Without finding any strength within him anymore, Todo's hands let go of the razor and it dropped to the bathtub. As it was also dripping in blood, once it fell, it tainted the clear water. "You don't understand.. you can't understand! I can't understand it either, so how can you?!" He sobbed, arms now hanging on his sides. "It hurts so much. It hurts so fucking much, Kara. I don't expect you to help." More tears were coming out now. "But I want you to! I'm selfish trash, Kara! I want you to help me, but I keep hurting myself over and over! I'm selfish, Kara! Why are you so nice to me?!"

 _Step four; comfort him. Going past step three means he's breaking down._

Making sure not to touch his bleeding hand, Kara hugged Todo's head the same way he did to Osomatsu when he thought he had murdered Atsushi. Todo started sobbing, his hot tears causing Kara to slightly twitch. He was exposed to the cold water thanks to his tank top, so his cold skin was surprised at the sudden warm liquid. "Sssssh. It's alright." He soothed, ruffling Todo's hair. He decided to remove the headband and drop it to the bathtub for the time being. They'd have to explain this to the hotel's staff just in case they were to freak about blood everywhere. It was just a few drops, but still.

Nonetheless, as Kara continued to ruffle his hair as a comforting gesture, he still listened to what Todo had to say. Or at least tried to. When Todo cried, he had difficulty speaking. It was one of the main reasons Todo didn't cry as much. "I can't understand.. why are you so nice to me?! I'm fucking trash, Kara! You, Dayon, Osomatsu, Jyushi.. hell, even Chibita and Iyami! Why the hell are you all so nice to me?! I don't deserve kindness!"

"Yes you do, because you're a human. Just like us. Every person in the world has done some sort of sin in their life, no matter how perfect they might think they are. And they deserve kindness. Unless they cause genocide for no reason." Kara said, letting out a relieved sigh. This had to be the most intense episode Todo ever had in his entire life. Kara was glad he managed to calm him down, though. "You're afraid. And that's okay. You think Osomatsu will tease you for being scared of something? Please. If anything, he'd protect you from it, wouldn't he? And you know Osomatsu has his fears too. He's scared of losing us the same way he lost his brothers. That's why we have to take care of ourselves, y'know? Because if Osomatsu protects us from the things that scare us, we need to protect him from the things that scare him too. We protect each other." He hugged his head tighter, so Todo's head was now buried on his shoulder. "Because that's what brothers do. Even if we're not related in this dimension, at least in some dimension, we are. We're brothers from where Osomatsu comes from. Now, do you want me to patch that up for you?"

"Is it alright, though? I mean, I did this myself.."

"Who cares if you did? I'm patching it up anyway. Drain the tub, sit on the stool, pick up the headband and place it on the sink. I'll wash it later. Leave the razor on the tub, and do not touch it, okay? Good. Remove your sweater. We're throwing that away now, seeing as how bloody it is. As for the sleeve you tore off.. yeah, leave it there. I'm sure someone will clean it. I would, but not right now." Kara said with a calming smile, grabbing a tissue box from the sink's counter and handing it to Todo. "Wipe your tears. I'm wrapping those in thick bandages. We're going to have to dress formal today, unfortunately. But Osomatsu-niisan

Todo did everything he was told, before sitting on the stool, shirtless. His pink hair was an absolute mess at the moment, but he saw Kara grab a comb from the shelf and place it on the counter. Kara knelt down to his level, a first aid kit in hand. "Can.. can I tell you something?"

"Of course! Todo, we're childhood friends! Are you afraid you'll be judged as a weirdo? Who cares if you're a weirdo? If you decide to polish your nails like Jyushi, I won't judge. He had no problem showing us, right?" He tried to lighten up the mood in order to bring back Todo's snarky side. He smiled as wide as he could when Todo snorted at the statement. Is Katsuna Todo a jerk with a heart of gold? Probably, Kara had to admit. But it was just Todo's personality.

"Not that, idiot." He said, his usual rough and sarcastic voice coming back. Kara actually preferred it if Todo just kept doing what made him feel much more comfortable, and if Todo felt safer having a punk persona, then Kara would let him. Todo probably needed a shield of some sort, because even as strong as Todo was, one needed to remember that he had limits too. "But.. it has something to do with what Jyushi nearly said last night."

"Which is?" Kara raised an eyebrow, taking some ointment and cotton from the first aid kit. Todo's wounds weren't too deep, but because of the squeezing he kept doing earlier, his arm was seemingly bloody. Thankfully, there was a bucket full of water, a washcloth, and an extra bar of soap just beside the bathtub. He dipped his own hand into it and flicked water drops on Todo's injured skin. He needed to get it wet first and let out any blood that was spilling.

Todo flinched form the cold water, but decided to keep talking anyway. Something to distract him from the pain would be talking. "What I'm afraid of." He answered, as Kara started cleaning the wound with a wet washcloth and soap. Dear god, the hotel staff was going to kill them. Aside from the bathtub having questionable blood drops, one of the washcloths was now red in color. They had to dispose of it later.

 _Fucking hell. If I'm gonna fucking cut myself, I could have at least done it in a cleaner manner. Should'a thought this through before deciding to do it in a hotel room with four other fucking people occupying it. And there's only one bathroom._

"Ah. Are you gonna tell me?" Kara asked, though he was distracted. Todo had to admit that the cuts stung, but they looked cleaner now. Plus, his arm wasn't bloody anymore. Kara now took thick bandages from the first aid kit and wrapped his arm with it. He just had to make sure it was clean so there would be no infections.

"Oh noooo. I'm definitely not gonna tell you, which is why I decided to talk about it." He said sarcastically. Kara snorted. At least Todo was slowly reverting back to normal. "Yes I'm going to tell you, what else does it sound like? It's.. well.. I'm afraid of losing people care about with my stupid decisions."

Kara had to stop wrapping his arm to look up to him. "Come again?"

"What I meant to say was.. people I'll grow to care about.. you'd realize I'm nicer to them than I am to acquaintances and whatnot. But you know I care about you. And Dayon. And maybe.. maybe for Osomatsu too. And Jyushi, Iyami, and Chibita. N-not much for Hatabou or the couple yet, Hatabou freaks me out in more ways than one, and the couple is just disgustingly cute." He murmured with his face red. "Anyway, back to the topic at hand! I make tons of stupid decisions! Joining the yakuza group, for example. I thought.. I thought that if I joined them, you wouldn't have to get taken advantage of, because of your kindness and stuff, but.. well, we saw how that ended up, didn't we?"

A few seconds passed. Todo immediately looked down, taking a deep breath and exhaling. "We all make stupid decisions, Todo. But some take it harder than the rest." He continued to wrap the bandages around his best friend's arm, making sure that even if someone bumped into it, it wouldn't suddenly sting. "You're one of them. And as I said, that's fine. I know you won't make the same mistake twice."

"You.. believe in me that much?" Todo looked up to him again.

"Yes I do. You're my friend, aren't you? I trust that you won't once again blindly assume that by joining some sort of intimidating group, you can protect me. Trust me, Todo. I can protect myself." He grinned. "And I trust you won't do this again?"

And by this, he meant the cuts on his arm. "I'm sorry for that. I.. I thought that if I did this.. death'd hurt a lot less when I try to.. ya know.."

"Death makes you feel numb. Hence why the term 'dead inside' exists." Kara told him. " And no worries. Anyway, I was just about to take a bath. Why don't you chat with Osomatsu for awhile? I know he won't be teasing you, seeing as how terrified he was when he saw those marks on your arm earlier. I'll help you get dressed later too." He patted Todo on the shoulder. "But if you ever have any problem at all, don't hesitate to tell me or Osomatsu. But if it makes you more comfortable, you can tell me and I'll see what I can do. Alright?"

Todo really didn't know what he did to deserve such kindness from people such as Kara or Osomatsu. But he smiled back, despite the fact that he had showed way too much emotions earlier. Oh well. He had to let it out someday. "..Okay. Ah, Kara?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."


	41. Chapter 41: The Black King

The five of them hoped that Hatabou wouldn't kill them just for being late, especially with what Kara and Todo had to go through earlier that day. Iyami was the fastest to get dressed, since he was used to wearing his usual outfit that didn't have buttons and ties that were as annoying as Osomatsu's. As soon as Kara was finished taking a shower, he helped Todo get dressed while Chibita waited for Hatabou to knock and bring the suit. And he did, as soon as the door was opened by Iyami, Hatabou just handed him the suit and told them to hurry up. Their supposed "special guest" shouldn't wait for too long, he says. Chibita didn't waste any time, though he did glare at Iyami for commenting that the suit was "really tiny".

Kara's and Todo's were similar to Osomatsu's and his brothers' formal attire, except the blazers and pants were black. Chibita's suit looked exactly like Hatabou's, but if it was even possible, it was smaller. As for Iyami, he was wearing his usual attire. As Hatabou said, Iyami's normal clothes looked fancy and all, so they didn't need to worry much about that. What they needed to worry about, however, was Hatabou himself. Chibita and Iyami had explained things to Kara last night, right after Osomatsu and Todo had passed out and they were on their way back to the hotel.

Hatabou had destroyed a glass of water. Hatabou crushed so much chess pieces. Who was to say he couldn't twist Iyami's hand at a completely opposite direction? Hatabou was scary, yes, but with the current situation, he was sure to be much more deadly. Because Jyushi had been kidnapped. Jyushi was an important figure to Flag Copration. He was the president's little brother, possibly his only family left, and hell would probably be unleashed upon everyone if Ichi had been notified of such a thing.

Osomatsu hoped that Ichimatsu was at least a bit more calm in this dimension, and wouldn't try to kill anyone out of sheer anger. Todo was violent compared to Todomatsu, while Kara and Jyushi were much more tame and had lacked the amount of happiness, energy, and confidence Karamatsu and Jyushimatsu had. Ichi could be as deadly as Ichimatsu, or worse.

But they didn't need to worry about that! Ichi was still at France! Even if Ichi had been notified about the kidnapping of his little brother, he still had to remain at France for a week!

 _..Right?_

The elevator doors opened and the five of them stepped out. Osomatsu was in the lead, since he was somehow the leader of their group. Todo usually walked beside him, but for now, both Chibita and Iyami were at both of his sides. Todo and Kara followed behind at the back, but Osomatsu didn't mind. He knew the events from earlier wasn't forgotten and Todo probably needed a bit of space. He was thankful Kara was there to watch over him, though. As long as Kara was around, Todo couldn't possibly hurt himself even more. Osomatsu could see the bandages peeking out of Todo's sleeve, and he hoped no one else but them noticed it. Todo probably wouldn't like it if someone were to point it out.

Osomatsu walked through the crowded area with his hands stuffed in his pockets, trying hard not to look anxious as the heels of his shoes clicked against the marble floor. Damn, where the hell was Hatabou? There were too many people here! He didn't honestly think that having a meeting in a place full of people was a smart idea, right?! Plus, Hatabou and Dekapan knew Osomatsu wasn't from this dimension! Were they literally going to have this discussion in a place like this?! "Uh, if anyone can see Hatabou, take my place as the leader. I literally can't see shit."

"You're the leader of this group?" Iyami cocked his head. Osomatsu pouted while Todo snorted from behind them, quietly snickering. He heard Kara lightly chide him from that. "All jokes aside, me thinks that there are way too many people here! More so than usual! Sheh, how does Hatabou expect us to find him in this crowd? He's not even as tall as most people here." He could feel Chibita's eyes glare at him. "Me's not saying you're puny, Chibita, but let's be real here. None of us can hope to spot Hatabou with a crowd like this."

"Don't highschoolers usually have school dances at hotel lobbies?" Todo added in. Osomatsu noticed his voice was a bit more quiet now too. Was it hoarse from the yelling earlier? It was hard to ignore when the bathroom was literally inside the same room where Osomatsu was trying to relax at. "Do you think they're having one right now? It could explain the large amount of people."

"..It's winter, Todo." Kara told him. "It's winter break for the young adults. They don't have school dances until the end of the school year, do they not? They usually do it in the beginning of summer. Plus, don't they look too old to be teenagers? No offense, but they don't really look like they go to high school anymore."

"Eh. Who knows. We never attended those kinda things, did we? And I guess you're right. They do look a bit old to be high schoolers. Maybe in their twenties or something. They look like they're as old as my old co-workers at Sutabaa." Todo shrugged. "Anyway, they're all wearing the same outfit, right? I'm surprised girls aren't at each other's throats for having the same brand of shoes." Girls were scary, though he had to say Aida and Sachiko were exceptions to that. Those girls didn't bother him at all. Maybe Fuyu too, she seemed kinda nice, even though Todo felt something odd when around her or her husband.

"Wait a minute." Chibita nudged Osomatsu on the side. "The hell? No wonder the clothes looked so familiar. That's the uniform of Flag Corporation employees. Remember? Fuyu and Yuki were wearing similar ones two days ago, and Iyami, Hana was wearing one yesterday too. Hatabou doesn't wear one because he's supposedly in a higher position, that idjit." Chibita concluded. "So if we're gonna look for Hatabou, might as well ask them! I mean, they're all employees, right? Then they better know where the boss is."

The other four looked at each other, deciding what to do. Chibita looked at them with an eyebrow raised, tapping his foot impatiently. "Do we have to ask them? I mean, I'm pretty sure half of them is gonna choke us to death." Osomatsu meekly suggested, raising a finger. Chibita scowled and slapped his own forehead. Cowardice wasn't an option! Chibita honestly couldn't believe they were scared to approach someone and ask for directions. Osomatsu had a gun directed at his forehead, for god's sake!

"I mean, we did enter a building by hacking all systems with a fucking phone." Todo added, crossing his arms. It was a bit hard to do with the left arm, since it was wrapped too tight in bandages. "And we're gonna get labeled as something as soon as we try to say anything. Jyushi's friends or something, I don't fucking know. Point is, Jyushi got kidnapped and he was at our table last night. I'm pretty sure it's safe to assume that people think it's our fault Jyushi's not with us at the moment."

"And we do look alike with no relations to each other. Isn't that quite scary?" Kara chuckled nervously.

"Me has to agree with that. These three, along with the silly runt and his older brother, all look alike. Isn't the silly runt's older brother the president? This is even more weird." Iyami mumbled.

"You're all idjits! You could at least admit that you're all terrified of being straight-up murdered!" Chibita snapped. "Fine! I'm gonna ask 'em myself! C'mon, let's look for someone that's willin' to give us the time of the day, damn it. Hatabou wouldn't let them kill us if he wanted to talk to us, damn it. Than again, he could have asked us to look for him and lookin' all nice, so when he has us killed, we're all ready to be thrown to our coffins."

"D-do you have to put it that way..?" Kara sweat dropped at Chibita's realism, who only shrugged. It was logical, after all.

If Osomatsu had one thing to say about Flag Corporation's employees, not counting Hatabou, Dekapan, Fuyu, Yuki, or even Jyushi himself, they all looked nothing more than pawns. Now, while that statement seemed utterly rude, Osomatsu was sure all of them were wearing oval glasses, a frown, and had their hair styled the same way. Women with short hair had exactly two hair clips, while women with longer hair had their hair tied into a bun. However, if their hair was a bright color, it was tied into a ponytail. As for men, their hair was slicked upwards. There was absolutely nothing wrong with their uniforms either. They all looked exactly the same. Even as they chatted, their voice seemed to be monotone.

If Osomatsu, Kara, and Todo were all worried about having the same face, these people should be worried that they dressed and acted like each other. Mindless puppets. These were the same people Hatabou often got angry at, correct? So, when not at Flag Corporation's building, doing work and whatnot, and when not at the restaurant, happily eating together and sharing stories, they were just.. discussing work matters with no emotion on their voices, looks all serious and everything.

 _How could Jyushi live in such a black and white world where everyone's stoic, while he's a ball of energy?_

"Chibita-san! Iyami-san! There you are!"

A somewhat high-pitched and childish voice cut off Osomatsu from his thoughts. His eyes widened upon seeing someone run over to them and grab Chibita by his small hands, shaking them furiously. It was.. a really small girl. As tall as Hatabou, meaning she was taller than Chibita himself. However, she wasn't wearing a uniform of Flag Corporation. It was a simple white dress with a black jacket layering over it, and black slippers with heels. On her hair was a blue flower. "Shonosuke-san was getting impatient, so I decided to look for you all! Oh!" She noticed Osomatsu, Kara, and Todo. "Deepest apologies! I am Chiisana Hana! I am Shonouske-san's personal assistant! It's a pleasure to meet the friends of Jyushi-san! Oooh, I do hope he's alright! But are you three fine, though? Especially you two! I heard you two collapsed!"

By two, she probably meant Osomatsu and Todo. "Ah, we're.. we're fine. Thanks for the concern." He grinned. "I'm Matsuno Osomatsu."

"I am Kyabarie Kara. Pleasure to meet you!"

"Katsuna Todo. Nice to meet you too, I guess.."

"Well nice to meet you all! If you're wondering why a lot of people from Flag Corporation are here, it's more or less a meeting! You five are invited because of the fact Jyushi-san seemed to be so happy with you!" Her smile faltered a bit. "Eh, but I guess it's a sugar-coated way to say Ookina-san definitely suspects you five for something! But I don't!" She puffed her chess in pride. "I don't really think you guys had something to do with the kidnapping of Jyushi-san! I know my gut's right! We just have to prove it to Shonosuke-san and the rest!"

She also didn't seem to notice she was still holding both of Chibita's hands. Chibita was as red as a tomato, and only Iyami seemed to notice. "Um." Chibita was sweating furiously. Why was Iyami the only one noticing this? "C-care to lead us the way, missy?"

"Oh! Of course!" And she still didn't let go of Chibita's hands. Well, maybe one, but she was still holding onto one of them as she lead them to the area where Hatabou and the others were probably waiting in impatience. While the three look-a-likes followed and listened to her chatter on, Iyami noticed Chibita getting redder the longer Hana held his hand.

 _Poor guy, red as a tomato. Me should save him, but.. he seems to be liking it? Sheh. Me shouldn't interrupt. He's probably having the time of his life._

"We would have done this at the building, but it's currently going through.. changes! Security measures and all! Plus, Shonosuke-san had made sure to put loads of cameras on Jyushi-san's room, so once he's back, we don't have to worry about him getting kidnapped again. This is the first time Jyushi-san has ever gotten kidnapped, y'know? I mean, assassination attempts usually happen and fail, but wow, this is the first time Jyushi-san has gotten kidnapped! The entire Flag Corporation is going crazy over this! It's better not to get the media involved and all, since they're such gossips and chatter-boxes!"

 _As if you aren't one.._

"So, uh, Chiisana-san? Or Hana? Which one do you prefer?" Osomatsu asked.

Hana turned to him. "Oh, Hana's just fine, Osomatsu-san! And questions?"

"Yeah. It's.. it's about Jyushi. Last night, we heard that he's able to memorize information. And a lot of them too. Is there a reason for that?" Osomatsu asked. It was one of the many things he would question .

They still continued to walk, and Hana didn't seem bothered that the people were taller than her. She walked just fine, as if there weren't any titans bothering her at all. "Oh! That? Yes! Jyushi-san is a bit on the odd side, but he's sweet as candy, isn't he? He was the one that volunteered to memorize the files of people at Flag Corporation, and even when he learns things that are.. dark.. such as crime, murder, and whatnot, he's always reading the files at night as some sort of study session. It's actually pretty nice of him, because computers are hackable, and he himself says that just in case something were to happen to Flag Corporation's database, he'd have them all in his head! And that's not just information, but also passwords too!" Like earlier, her smile faltered. "It's.. it's because Jyushi-san has some sort of inferiority complex."

Todo seemed interested now. "Inferiority complex?" He frowned. "Isn't that the little condition in which you feel-"

"That you're in a lower position than everyone else?" Kara sighed. "Yes. That's exactly it."

"But.. Jyushi?" Todo and Osomatsu were even more confused. Jyushi was so bubbly! Even though he was incapable of walking, he was full of energy and he seemed to be nice to the people of Flag Corporation. He didn't look like the kind to lock himself up in a bathroom and cry, Todo thought. It was impossible, but it made sense, both Todo and Osomatsu thought.

"There's always something behind a smile after all. Jyushi's always wearing a mask, it seems." Kara added. "Like with Todo, for example. He pretends to be tough and uncaring, but he's a nice person, isn't he? For Jyushi, it's probably the same; he pretends to be happy, but in reality, he has inner demons haunting him. He's probably upset."

Hana nodded frantically, stopping to turn at the three of them. She finally pulled her hand away from Chibita to ball them into fists, her twin tails bouncing as she spoke. "That's exactly it! Jyushi-san feels as if.. he's not useful to Flag Corporation. But it's alright if he doesn't work, because he's basically stress-relief to us! He's kind, funny, and he constantly reminds us that we're all part of a puzzle, and even if we don't fit with the others, we'll find puzzles that our pieces might fit in! He's positive, and I couldn't believe my ears when I heard how Jyushi-san truly felt. The saddest ones smile the brightest, it seems." She sighed. "Jyushi-san never went to school. He attended elementary for four years, until he dropped out completely. His father wasn't happy to hear that, it seems."

"Father?" All five of them asked.

"I only heard about this from Shonouske-san, who heard this from Ichi-san himself. Their father.. never liked Jyushi-san. He always pushed Ichi-san to be perfect, I heard. Their mother was a really nice person, and according to Ichi-san, Jyushi-san got his sweet personality from her. She was always smiling. A bit silly, I heard, but she was still graceful and such a kind person. Their father was stoic, silent, and the epitome of mysterious. Ichi-san has those qualities. But there was a trait of his father that neither Ichi-san or Jyushi-san got. And that was the inability to feel guilt for what they've done."

 _The inability to feel guilt? If you have that trait, you can be as much of an asshole as you want and not regret a thing.. if I have that trait, I swear to god, I'll be a bigger piece of shit than I already am, 'cept I won't regret being an asshole._

"His father.. was he a nice person?" Todo asked. "I mean, if he pushed his sons too far and pressured them into becoming something they didn't want to be, that'd make him a jackass, sure, but.. did he even show a little amount of affection for his sons?" Someone couldn't possibly hate their own child for so long to the point they didn't even acknowledge their son.

"Head pats, I guess." Hana recalled. "And hair ruffling. He only did that to Ichi-san though, and even when he did, Ichi-san said he never liked his dad. The moment he was born, Ichi-san's mom told him that he was constantly fussing over Ichi-san's future as heir to the Suuji Family. And when his dad found out that his wife was pregnant again, he.. didn't know what to feel. He was probably expecting one child to control and all, and Jyushi was a surprise."

"But.. isn't that.. the dad's fault?" Kara meekly added. "I mean.. uh, if he didn't want another child, they shouldn't have had.. um, they could have done it too, but, uh.. they should have been.. careful."

"I know!" Hana exclaimed. "And the dad has the nerve to get angry? He shouldn't have done the deed again though!" She huffed. "Mm.. as much as I'd love to tell you more, it's a story for another time. I can see Homura-chan from over there."

"Homura-chan?" Osomatsu swore he heard that name before.

"Yup! Homura-chan's my bestie and my housemate! She just got promoted to boss of the Individual's Information Department today! She's so cool! She was supposed to be promoted next week, since Jyushi-san suggested a party to go with it, but with Jyushi-san getting kidnapped.. she just got promoted earlier. At, like, five in the morning. Via phone call. Poor girl, she got so excited that she fainted and I had to dump water on her after I heard her excited shrieking. Look, I'll introduce you to her, since we're here anyway!"

Hana lead the five of them to the supposed center of the lobby. Since the other employees were all over the lobby and chatting, this area didn't seem to have much people. Osomatsu noticed that they weren't wearing Flag Corporation uniforms, similar to Hana. They must be in a higher position, he thought.

He also noticed Fuyu and Yuki, hands clasped together, as the couple talked to a younger-looking girl. Fuyu was wearing a white dress with a brown belt around it and dark blue high-heels, while Yuki was wearing a white suit. As white as snow, Osomatsu thought with amusement. It fits him perfectly, at least. As for the young girl they were talking to, she was wearing a white blouse with a red tie, a red checkered skirt that covered her kneecaps, and brown flats. Her brown hair was also tied into braids and a red flower rested on her hair.

Osomatsu blinked. Wasn't that the girl who Jyushimatsu had a crush on back at his dimension? It was nice to see her again, Osomatsu thought. She must have been Homura, then! No wonder the name sounded familiar; he had heard Jyushimatsu mutter that name a few times the night he came back from running after a bullet train!

He then noticed Hatabou on one of the sofas, sitting next to Dekapan and chatting with someone across them. When Osomatsu squinted to have a better look, he could feel the temperature in the room drop as he continued to analyze the person Hatabou was talking to.

One, he had messy black hair with two cowlicks popping out. Second, he was the only one not wearing a suit or some sort of formal outfit, similar to Homura's outfit. He was wearing a black jacket layered over a purple sweater vest, which was layered over a dark purple polo. Besides that, he also had black pants, black shoes, purple-framed glasses resting on his face which nearly covered his purple eyes due to the light gleaming on them, and a familiar-looking ring on his left index finger. Beside him seemed to be a travelling bag with clothes popping out, signifying that he was on a rush to get to the hotel as soon as possible.

Hana cupped her hands around her mouth to yell, so she could catch everyone's attention. "Everyone!" In an instant, every single Flag Corporation employee turned to their direction. Hatabou, Dekapan, Fuyu, Yuki, Homura, and the purple-eyed man also turned to her. "Matsuno Osomatsu and his friends have arrived!" She straightened up and glanced at Osomatsu. "Osomatsu-san and everyone, that man over there is none other than Flag Corporation's president and Jyushi-san's older brother, Suuji Ichi-san!"

 _..Doesn't Ichimatsu take a dump on a table whenever he's nervous? Can I do that too? Would that be considered weird right now..?_


	42. Chapter 42: Destructive Rage

If there was anything Todo hated more than himself and more than Rosa the Ficus, it had to be having everyone stare at him for a solid five minutes, as if he wasn't there. He stood behind Osomatsu and beside Kara in order to feel safer and less intimidated, but it wasn't working well. Iyami and Chibita also seemed to be uncomfortable from the attention the Flag Corporation employees were giving them, though Hana was beside Chibita, which somehow made the smaller man feel at ease. Todo's hands were cold and sweaty, and he was sure his foot was tapping on the marble floor impatiently, wanting someone to break the awkward silence.

Kara was an incredible person for noticing Todo's discomfort, because he grabbed his right wrist and squeezed it as a sign of comfort. If he did that to the left one, Todo would have thrown another major tantrum which could destroy another poor table, except instead of rage, it would be out of pain from the cuts on Todo's wrist, which was still stinging. Todo glanced at him questioningly, and Kara only made a painful grin at that reaction. Todo could feel the cringe crawling up his spine and he felt the need to vomit, but he was thankful for Kara's kind gesture anyway.

Suuji Ichi didn't look intimidating compared to everyone else from Flag Corporation, with the exception of Fuyu, Yuki, Hana, and Homura, who all looked harmless in Osomatsu's opinion. He looked like Ichimatsu who put effort into dressing nicely, except he had glasses. While Hatabou and Dekapan stood up from the sofa upon seeing Osomatsu and the other four, Ichi remained on the sofa, legs crossed with both his hands on his lap. He was surprisingly calm-looking for someone who just had their little brother kidnapped the previous night, but with his fingers tapping against his lap, it seemed to be out of impatience. Ichi looked like he had no plan on breaking the silence either.

Hana was more bold than Chibita, though, who usually broke the awkward silence for Osomatsu and the rest. Before Chibita could say a thing, she huffed and put her balled hands on her fists. She looked like a pouting child with her short stature. "Hey! I didn't look for them just for all of you to stare at each other! It's a meeting about Jyushi-san, right? Why're you all so quiet?" Bless this girl, thought Osomatsu. Bless this girl for being so brave to say such a thing while Hatabou and Ichi were present. "C'mon! We have no time to waste! Hey, Homura-chan!" She called out to her best friend. "Didn't you have something to say? Shouldn't you, uh, come here?"

"A-agreed!" Homura squeaked out. She adjusted her necktie furiously and walked over to Osomatsu, though she was having a hard time doing so without nearly tripping over.. something. There wasn't anything she could trip on! Is she just clumsy? Is she an anime schoolgirl? Osomatsu was worried she'd fall through the floor if she nearly tripped again. "Uh, my name is Warai Homura! I'm the new boss- I mean, I'm the boss of the Individual's Information Department! I'm gonna need for you to spill out everything that happened last night, prior to Jyushi-san's kidnapping! Um, or else! Flag Corporation's not letting you go lightly!"

 _..was that an actual threat? She makes Todo look so scary.._

"You mean.. during the picnic we had with Jyushi and when we were at the mall?" Osomatsu suggested calmly, feeling second-hand embarrassment from being near Homura, who was being really nervous and awkward. Couldn't she have been more specific with her question, though? Did she mean the picnic or the dinner? Holy fuck, she was a mess. Did she read a script for this or anything? Because if she did, she just forgot every single one of her lines. Osomatsu really felt bad for her.

"Yes!" Homura suddenly sputtered out, sweating nervously. Oh god, was she nervous? It was her first day of being a boss of a certain department for Flag Corporation.. she probably had to deal with this burden since five in the morning, if what Hana said was true. "Um, but first, there is something that needs to be done! Ahhh, what I meant to say was, Ichi-san has something to discuss with you and your friends regarding his little brother!" She said the last part with the pitch of her voice rising. "Ah, um.. good day!" She did a heel turn and speed-walked to Fuyu, and then hid behind her in shame, her face turning red as she covered her blushing face with her hands.

 _Poor girl. She should have just written her dialogue on her palm to make things easier for her._

Someone cleared their throat awkwardly, and Osomatsu realized it was Hatabou. "Well." Hatabou spoke up, gesturing to the sofa. "Take a seat, jo. President Ichi here has had his trip cut short when he found out his little brother just got kidnapped, jo. So he decided to have the meeting here at the hotel instead, so he wouldn't have to deal with work immediately, jo." He closed his eyes. "Truly Jyushi is an important person to President Ichi, jo. Please cooperate with him so we'll all be able to find Jyushi faster, jo."

"..We'll keep standing. Thanks for the offer though." Both Iyami and Chibita said in unison. The sofa couldn't fit all five of them, but it was probably because of the dark look Ichi was giving them. Osomatsu decided to sit on the middle with both Kara and Todo by his sides, and Iyami and Chibita just stood up as they said they would, with Hana standing next to Chibita.

Now that Osomatsu had a closer look, he could now say with confidence that Suuji Ichi was creepy as fuck. He had bags underneath his eyes, which were half-lidded like Ichimatsu's, but thanks to the glasses he was wearing, it was less obvious when afar. Osomatsu also noticed him gritting his teeth in anger, and like Todo, he had fangs. The difference was, Todo had four fangs while Ichi probably had a row of sharp teeth, which he could use to bite Osomatsu's arm off if Osomatsu said anything wrong. There was also something behind Ichi, but Osomatsu couldn't tell what it was. It looked like some sort of.. rod? He honestly couldn't tell.

Ichi's purple eyes blinked, a frown on his face. "Matsuno Osomatsu." He pointed a finger at Osomatsu, who quickly turned to him. His voice sounded similar to Ichimatsu's when he got angry from being scammed by Chibita and Iyami. It wasn't a quiet voice. It was more like he was trying to keep his rage bottled up inside him so he didn't have to expose his angry nature in front of so many people. "Kyabarie Kara." He then pointed to Kara, before moving his finger at Todo's direction. "Katsuna Todo." He then pointed to Chibita. "Tsuyoi Chibita." Finally, he pointed at Iyami. "Shiirudo Iyami." He let his arm drop as he slouched, his position looking like he was waiting impatiently for something. And still, Osomatsu couldn't see what was hidden behind Ichi's back. Was it a rod, or a fishing pole?

 _Wait. Chibita and Iyami have last names? Cool._

The three look-a-likes nodded in sync. "Uh, yes. I'm Osomatsu. These guys are my friends. Kara, Todo, Chibita, and Iyami. Uh, it's.. very nice to meet you, Suuji Ichi-"

It went by too fast, but before Osomatsu could end his sentence, there was suddenly something pointing at his throat. Something really sharp and cold, almost like metal. Before Osomatsu could react, Ichi had somehow grabbed the rob from behind him, and in a swift motion, unsheathed it, and pointed it to his throat. No doubt about it. Ichi was pointing a fucking katana at him. "Stop talking, Matsuno." He growled lowly, his teeth grinding, and his glasses nearly falling out of his face by how fast he jumped from the sofa to the table.

Todo and Kara didn't stand up, since Ichi was standing on the table with the katana on hand, and since it was a rather long weapon, he just stood still as he pointed it to Osomatsu's throat. The eldest Matsuno's eyes widened, and he found his hands suddenly clutching the hands of Kara and Todo out of shock. Kara and Todo were also shocked, but if they tried to move, they might accidentally push Osomatsu to another dimension, which might result to the weapon grazing his skin. And if he ended up having a wound on his throat, he might as well be dead. "W-what the fuck?! What-"

"I said stop talking!" Ichi roared. "Or I'll push this katana straight at your fucking throat and end your miserable life." Chibita, Iyami, and Hana were watching the scene play out with fear as they let out gasps, while Homura, Fuyu, and Yuki were looking away. However, Hatabou, Dekapan, and everyone else had stoic faces as Ichi pointed his weapon at Osomatsu's throat. Were they expecting this, Chibita and Iyami thought in fear as their friend was pushing himself to the sofa in order to get away from the blade.

Osomatsu bit his lip, choking on his own breath. Ichi opened his mouth to say something, but then something collided with his stomach, causing him to drop the katana and fall on the floor. Unlike the reactions of everyone when Ichi had pointed a weapon at Osomatsu, they all panicked upon seeing their president fall on the floor, groaning as he tried to regain his senses.

Osomatsu was immediately pulled up by Kara worriedly, and Osomatsu realized Todo was in a somewhat crouched position, one leg extended towards where Ichi was standing immediately jumped up. "Osomatsu-niisan, are you okay?!" Todo asked Osomatsu, though he didn't wait for a reply. He turned angrily towards Ichi. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! Who the hell aims a katana at someone when they try to fucking talk?!"

"As if you have the nerve to talk." Hissed Ichi, who coughed. Todo had kicked his stomach real good, he had to admit. "Weren't you the same person who threw a plate at him the moment he entered your house? You also tried to kick him at the face when it missed." He was fast enough to grab the katana on the floor and point it at Todo, who was standing in front of Osomatsu and Kara protectively. "Stay out of this!" Ichi yelled at the employees of Flag Corporation, who were seemingly going to jump in the scene and assist him in killing Todo. "This is my fight. Heh. You're really strong, aren't you? Katsuna." He clicked his tongue. "But can you survive though? If you don't, who knows what happens to Matsuno."

 _Oh, this is such an unfair fight! I'm unarmed, you fucking moron! This is cheating, I swear to god._

"Todo-" Kara cried out to his friend, but was interrupted when Todo glanced at him seriously.

"Get me anything that's harder than wood. Metal, steel, I don't give a fuck." He ordered. "Anything to block his sword with. Some sort of pole or rod. Anything long, really." He really wished he wasn't wearing a suit right now. It was a bit stuffy, and somehow, wearing a leather jacket was easier. "And Kara. You and Osomatsu hide somewhere until I manage to grab his katana. Stay safe!"

Kara's hold on Osomatsu tightened. He noticed the black-eyed male was once again breathing harshly, his eyes trembling. Oh fuck. "Osomatsu?! Are you-" Fuck, Osomatsu was having a hard time breathing. He was extremely terrified. Plus, he was sure that the self-defense mechanism wouldn't work on swords. Who the hell uses a sword at this era anyway?! Of course Choromatsu and Dekapan would make the self-defense mechanism about blocking bullets! It wasn't a shield! Nearly everyone uses a gun to kill people! If it wasn't a gun, it was either a knife or a bottle of poisonous liquid!

Chibita caught on to what Todo had said. Because for some reason and from somewhere Kara didn't want to ask where, he had pulled out his ladle. "Todo!" He yelled to the pink-haired male. "Catch!" He threw the ladle to Todo, who caught it just as Ichi lunged towards him.

To everyone's surprise, Todo was able to block a katana with a ladle. Ichi's eyes widened, and Todo took advantage of the older Suuji's confusion to send another kick at his stomach. Again, Ichi lunged straight at the information desk, and the woman who had been there had scurried away once she saw what was going on. Todo rolled his sleeves upwards to make it easier for him to move his arms. Still, he was armed with only a ladle. "Can anyone get me anything else?!"

Everyone was now at one side of the lobby, including Kara and Osomatsu, as Ichi and Todo used the free area to fight against each other. The Flag Corporation employees made no move to go near Ichi, listening to his order of not getting involved. Osomatsu was having a hard time breathing, so Kara had let him lean against him as he tried to regain his balance. Hana and Homura looked at each other, before crying out in unison. "Wasn't this supposed to be a meeting?!" Wasn't Flag Corporation bad enough?! Were they really going to have their president murder someone who had done nothing wrong?!

"President Ichi will not let someone like Katsuna off the hook so easily, jo." Hatabou simply stated, hands behind his back. Dekapan nodded in agreement.

"Me thinks this is a crime! How could you all just stand there and let your president press a katana against our friend?!" Iyami cried. Chibita gritted his teeth, clenching his fists as hard as he could. They were both interrupted by Kara moving Osomatsu to Iyami's side, so Iyami was now the one Osomatsu was leaning against. They could see Osomatsu's eyes were empty as he tried to breathe, and he suddenly clenched Iyami's sleeve out of instinct. "Hey, Kara?! What are you-"

"I'm gonna look for something Todo could use. He can't use a ladle to protect himself forever." He said frantically, running off to another side of the lobby. "Watch over Osomatsu-niisan for me!"

Unfortunately, Ichi was very fast. As fast as Todo, the latter had noted. Every single time Todo managed to kick him, he would regain his balance and lunge at him again. It was getting harder now, since Ichi was aiming for Todo's chest or stomach with his katana. Todo himself was having a hard time, since his only weapon seemed to be a ladle to block the attacks with, and his legs were getting sore from the constant jumping. "Fuck." He cursed under his breath as Ichi nearly stabbed him in the eye. A few strands of his pink hair were cut off though.

"You're a good fighter, aren't you, Katsuna?" Ichi hissed, raising his sword and swinging it at Todo, who barely dodged it. Todo's cheek was now scratched, blood seeping out of it the same way it seeped out of his left arm earlier. "But I know about you from your files. I know about the little leather jacket you gave to my little brother." He gritted his teeth. "With that strength of yours, couldn't you have protected my brother?! Now he's somewhere all alone, probably terrified, and there's not a single clue that could indicate where he is! Where is he?! Where is Jyushi?!"

"How should I know?! The lights went out!" Todo was surprised he was still able to reply. He wiped off the blood from his cheek and he scowled when his fingers were now bloody again. "Look, we're worried for him too! If you'd let us, we'd look for him too-"

"Stop talking!" What a bloody hypocrite, thought Todo. Ichi had just roared at him and grabbed Todo's wrist once he caught him off guard. Ichi grasped the katana tightly, pointing the blade at Todo's face the same way he was aiming it at Osomatsu's earlier. "Do you have any idea how this feels like?! I have nothing left! Not this damn company, not my parents, nothing! Only Jyushi. I only have my little brother left!" His grip was so tight that Todo feared it could crush the handle. "And now?! He's not here! My only family left is not here! And it's all your fault! Now," He smirked sadistically. "Any last words, Katsuna Todo?"

Todo found it hard to move now. Ichi's grip on his arm was harsh, and the fact that he was gripping on the left one wasn't helping at all. Todo gritted his teeth in pain as he felt the stinging sensation of the cuts on his arm, and Ichi was smart enough to use his foot to step on Todo's, which made it impossible for him to lift his leg. He heard Chibita and Iyami cry out his name in fear, and Todo could swear he heard Osomatsu too. He thought it was just his imagination though, since Osomatsu's ragged breathing could be heard from where he was.

 _So this is how I go? Fuck._

Before Todo could say something else, or even spit at Ichi's face and hoped that the saliva would aim for his eye, a wooden object had slipped through Ichi's arm, pressing against his neck. Before Ichi could react, the wooden object was suddenly yanked backwards, causing Ichi to choke on it as the person holding the wooden object struggled to keep Ichi locked. It was Kara, holding a wooden baton, which he used to keep Ichi's neck locked. The purple-eyed male struggled like a wild animal, growling and shouting curses. But thanks to Ichi's sudden reaction to being choked, he had dropped his katana. Kara was also moving backwards to keep Ichi as far away from Todo as possible. "Todo, the katana!"

"Right!"

Ichi's eyes flashed dangerously. "Oh no you don't!" He grasped both of Kara's arms, and in a swift motion, he managed to swing him to the floor. Kara screamed in pain as his back collided against the floor, and he slid against the floor to grab his katana before Todo could run to his direction and grab it from him.

Todo gasped, watching as his best friend groan in pain and attempt to get up. "Kara!" He cried.

Ichi was snickering, Todo could hear even with the horrified gasps from the spectators. Ichi was walking towards him from behind Todo, since he could hear his shoes clicking against the floor. "Tch. What a pest. Kyabarie Kara, was it? Such a weakling, compared to you. And yet, you waste your strength on protecting someone like him. Such a waste, really."

Todo's grip on the ladle was getting harder now. It was a sturdy ladle, sturdy enough to block out the attacks of a sword, but fueled by rage upon seeing his best friend hurt, Todo's grip had been so hard that he managed to snap it in half. Chibita and Iyami watched in fear as Ichi continued to walk towards Todo, the blade of his katana being dragged against the floor. Hana and Homura kept yelling for Todo to turn around, but he supposedly didn't hear them as Ichi was close enough to now stab him from the back.

As Ichi raised his sword with a sadistic smile on his face and as he prepared to end Todo's life with a single stab from his katana that would pierce through Todo's back and chest, Todo instantly turned around, faster than Ichi could anticipate. He grabbed Ichi's wrist and his pink eyes seemed to be burning with rage. "DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HIM!" In a swift motion, he kicked Ichi straight at the stomach, once again causing Ichi to drop his katana on the floor. But Todo didn't stop to pick it up. He used his foot to turn Ichi to his stomach, pull his arm, and use his foot to keep Ichi on the ground, similar to how Osomatsu pinned him to the ground days ago.

"What the-" Ichi tried to speak, but Todo only pressed his foot against his back harder, causing Ichi to cry out in pain.

"Stop fucking talking." He hissed. "I fucking won, you piece of shit. Now surrender before I break your back and your arm."

Everyone watched as Kara managed to stand and stumble towards Iyami and Chibita, though Yuki rushed to Kara's side before he could collapse. "Are you alright, Kara-san?!" Yuki asked frantically.

Kara nodded. "Argh. Yeah, but.." He weakly turned to where Todo was, and his childhood friend was seething with anger. "I think.. it'd be best to get your president's weapon before Todo does."


	43. Chapter 43: Masks

Osomatsu only regained his senses when he heard Hana's continuous chattering on how to snap him out of his state, with Homura awkwardly agreeing to anything she said, but kept reminding the small girl that she needed to pick only one option. He realized Chibita had been rubbing his back comfortingly, and when he asked where Iyami was, Chibita told him that he was in charge of making sure Todo didn't lunge himself at Ichi, and both of them were currently at another part of the hotel, being patched up by Dekapan and Fuyu.

Yuki had arrived a few minutes later with Kara in tow, and the blue-eyed male had several ice packs strapped on to his stomach area and his back. But other than that, he was stupidly and painfully grinning, trying his best to assure his older brother he was okay. It didn't go well, since Osomatsu stood up from his seat and started shaking Kara furiously. "What were you thinking?!" He roared. Kara's eyes were literally swirling right now, mouth agape, and drooling as he mumbled words. Yuki looked concern from the side, but Chibita gave him a sigh as if to state "Just leave the idjit be". "You got hurt, you stupid idiot! Why do you even think facing Ichi like that was a good idea? Good fuck."

 _Stupid little brothers. Always making me worry._

"But I'm fine now. See? Ice packs make muscle pain feel less agonizing." Kara gave him a light pat on the shoulder after he pointed to the things strapped onto his body. It wasn't spilling water from being shaken by Osomatsu, thankfully. Kara didn't want dealing with a soaked suit. "And even though I'm not as strong as Todo, I'm not that fragile. I'm more of a so-so." He waved his hand dismissively and gestured to the sofa. "It's you we're worried about. You got really scared there."

"Doesn't matter. I'm fine now." Osomatsu started to poke at Kara's sides. He sighed in relief when Kara didn't react to anything with pain. "Thank god you're alright though. I don't know what I'd do if you actually went through the floor. Anyways, how's Todo holding up? And Ichi?"

"President Ichi doesn't seem angry if that's what you're worried about. Todo-san, however.. well, I am thankful for Iyami-san being there to hold him back." Yuki informed him, calling attention to himself by holding up a finger. "Though I offer my sincerest apologies for not stepping in when things started to get violent. President Ichi has a tendency to do that to people he feels like is a large threat that must be eliminated immediately. This was the first time someone managed to beat him at a fight, and without a weapon! Katsuna Todo is truly impressive. Back to our topic, we cannot interfere with any of President Ichi's problems unless he tells us so. The same goes for Jyushi's, except we need President Ichi's permission to butt in his personal problems."

Homura fidgeted on her spot beside Hana, rubbing her arm nervously. "But still.."

"That's just how things are. I know you two only got here months ago, but.. that's how Flag Corporation works. Our president is really like that. I do suggest staying near a large group just in case he does something like that again." Yuki turned his back on the five of them. "Now if you excuse me, I'll go check how my wife is doing. If she needs assistance, I'll gladly help her. Kara-san, do tell me if something hurts. Osomatsu-san, if you require something, you can either tell me, Hana-chan, or Homura-chan. Have a nice day. The meeting will probably begin shortly. We're sorry for making you all wait." Yuki left the area with a final bow and a hand over his chest.

Hana huffed, though she made sure Yuki was nowhere in sight before she spoke. "Haven't they heard of things called 'morals'?! Who does that?! I know our prez is a little weird and creepy, but what he did was too far! I mean, I thought the sword was a prop when he brought it in!" She stomped on the floor repeatedly, her twin tails bouncing in sync. "Can you believe this, Homura-chan?! I can't, not in a million years! Hmph, next thing ya know, they'd let him drive a truck and run people over."

"I doubt that's going to happen. Trucks aren't really President Ichi's sort of vehicle. I think he prefers motorcycles or something else entirely, he doesn't like trucks since they're loud and all." Homura said meekly, before awkwardly waving her hand around, sweating nervously. "N-not like I'm saying it's completely impossible for him to do something like that, nope! Ahaha.. um, Hana-chan, uh.. wanna grab a latte first? I don't think I'm gonna do anything else, since I, uh.. messed up the introductions and stuff. Something warm to drink sounds absolutely pleasant right now, yes?"

Hana instantly switched from being angry to being bubbly within seconds, clapping her hands together. "Ooh! Yes! Sounds good, Homura-chan! Let's go out at that cute café, hotel coffee tastes like utter garbage! Hey, Osomatsu-san! If they look for us, tell 'em we just went to get some coffee! Don't worry about them getting angry, I'm pretty sure Ichi-san won't lash out for something like that, I mean, with Todo-san around, I doubt he'd make the same mistake of using his katana against someone!" She chattered on before grabbing her best friend's arm and stumbling to the entrance of the hotel. "Cafés of Akatsuka, you better be ready for me to eat everything on the menu!" She loudly cheered.

Kara noticed that Hana's absence must have upset Chibita, because he had let out a sigh and walked out of the lobby area, presumably to join and assist Iyami in stopping Todo from going on a murderous rampage. When they had finally left, Kara continued to stare at Osomatsu. The eldest Matsuno didn't seem to notice, but if he did, he just ignored Kara's stare at him. There were less people at the lobby now, with half of them fussing over their dear president and half of them excusing themselves to a bathroom or the dining area to grab a quick snack. Kara didn't mind, since less people meant less attention when it comes to someone breaking down or having a panic attack.

And he knew Osomatsu was no different from Todo when it came to things like that. "Hey, Osomatsu-niisan." He told his older brother.

Osomatsu turned to him. "Hm? What is it, Kara? Something hurts?"

"Ah, no. I'm perfectly fine. As for you.. why did you panic?"

He blinked in confusion. "..Eh?" He cocked his head to the side, stuffing his hands on the pockets of his pants.

"Apologies for not saying it correctly. What I meant to say was why did you react in such a way. It could just be a natural reaction to having a really sharp object directed at your throat, or it's something else entirely." He clapped his hands together, frowning. "I really worry for you, Osomatsu-niisan. I mean, you did it too last night, and you passed out. I'm used to Todo doing such things, seeing as how he has lots of problems he prefers to shove away, and I know you have a lot of them too. So, if it helps, let me talk to you and let me know about anything that bothers you. I may not be your brother in this dimension.. but I'm pretty sure I care about you as much as they do."

As long as Osomatsu was fine, Kara could bear hearing another heartbreaking story about someone he cared about suffering in silence. He expected Osomatsu to nervously deny such a thing or break down like Todo. But instead, Osomatsu made a chuckle, which escalated into straight-out laughing out loud, as loud as he could be. Few employees who were still at the lobby all scowled or started whispering, and Kara would usually feel a little scared at the display.

But this was Matsuno Osomatsu. He had been a goofy and immature individual since day one, the moment he introduced himself as a person from an alternate dimension seeking a way back home. It was obvious something was wrong with his older brother, but unlike his situation with Todo, Kara barely knew anything about Osomatsu. He hadn't befriended him as a child, lived with him, and dealt with his problems as if they were their own. No, he only met this man days ago.

"M'fine! Hell, don't you act like that when someone whips a katana from outta nowhere?"

 _We may be different in terms of personality, but then again, everyone is. And you had a gun directed at you once, and you didn't act like that. Sure, you passed out, but you were perfectly fine the next day. And I know for a fact that it wasn't from the shock of having a katana directed at you._

"You're overthinking, y'know? You should worry more about Tater Tot. He's one hell of a train wreck."

 _And now, so are you. Except this train wreck was apparently unheard of by the people who are in the same area as the train wreck._

"But I'm all good! No scars, bruises, or blemishes at all! See that? Onii-chan's fine, nothin' to fuss about!"

 _Physically? Yes. Mentally? You are not the pinnacle of "not fine"._

"And I think you're just stressed out from Todo's outburst earlier. But it's alright! I can see why you're paranoid! You care a lot about us, and I honestly thank you for that! You're a really swell guy, Kara!"

 _Unusually chipper than usual.. I've only been with you for.. five days? Yes, and I already know your mannerisms well, Osomatsu-niisan. You're not the chipper type, that's Jyushi's character, isn't it?_

"But really, I'm perfectly fine. If I'm not, I can always tell Chorofappyski and the other four losers how I'm doing, right?" He grinned, giving a light pat on Kara's shoulder. "And if I'm not, don't worry. I'll tell you too, okay? So don't be too worried. Overthinking hurts the brain, and we need you as the mom of the team, ya get me? You're the one that stops our bickering and calms us down! The Calming Cavalier!" He chuckled at the title. "So don't fuss over your good ol' Onii-chan, he's perfectly normal and in tip-top shape! Say, isn't that our good friend Todo over there- oh fuck, he has a plaster on his cheek! Is he okay?!"

Osomatsu left his side and ran over to Todo on the other side of the lobby, and pounced on him the moment he was an arm away. The pink haired punk screeched and barked at him to get off, but Osomatsu kept ruffling his hair and asking him if he was alright, which Todo responded by prying Osomatsu off him and growling at him that he only got a cut on his cheek. The damage done to Ichi was worse, Todo said with a proud huff. But he didn't care of the bruises he caused, since Ichi had hurt Kara, and hurting Kara was a sin punishable by death in Todo's mindset.

"Are you sure you're okay?!"

"Yes, and get off me! The meeting's going to start once Captain Katana decides he's pretty enough to go back here and fight me!"

"But are you really?! Good god, Tater Tot! You're making your poor ol' nii-san worry! Do you want him to die?!"

"Can you just get off me?! And stop calling me that, it's embarrassing!"


	44. Chapter 44: Lonely's Letter

"The meeting will now begin just as it should have an hour ago, so everyone, please settle down in your places or stand still if there aren't any sofas to sit on anymore. Once again, my name is Suuji Ichi, the president of Flag Corporation, and for the last time, I'm fine. Nothing too serious, even though Katsuna just broke my spectacles with how strong he is. Such an impressive individual."

 _How much of a pompous ass do you have to be to call glasses "spectacles"? What era are we living in, Captain Katana?_

It was unsafe to be far from Osomatsu when the sofa he was sitting on was across Ichi's, even though Fuyu and Yuki were on the other side of the room, holding Ichi's katana to ensure it was far away from them as possible. Kara and Todo still sat beside Osomatsu, except Todo had a really tight grip on Osomatsu's arm this time and the ice packs strapped on Kara were removed minutes earlier. Iyami and Chibita were back at the lobby, and they were at opposite sides of the sofa, meaning Osomatsu was basically at the middle at this point. Ichi still sat by himself, with Hatabou on one side, and Dekapan on the other. Hana and Homura were still probably at the café, wanting to avoid the mess Ichi made.

Todo's blazer was tied around his waist, since it had felt a little too stuffy for him earlier and his arms felt sweaty. The sleeves of his polo were rolled up, and Kara was glad he didn't seem to be uncomfortable with displaying the bandages on his left arm. And since Todo's hair was an absolute mess with strands popping out everywhere, Kara thought it would be better to attempt to tie into a small ponytail. Fuyu was a woman, so she naturally had a few hair ties with her and didn't mind giving Kara one.

Todo had a really, really shiny forehead, Osomatsu had pointed out when Kara combed back Todo's hair and Todo nearly bit off his finger with a growl. He really was such a wild animal, but Osomatsu couldn't help it; because of the sweat, Todo's forehead was pretty shiny and he just had the urge to poke fun at it. But losing a finger wasn't worth it. Todo's teeth were sharp after all.

As for Ichi, his glasses were now absent, though he did order a random employee to get him a new pair similar to his old one. While Todo had a plaster on the area he was cut by the sword, Ichi looked fine, despite the black eye. It didn't seem to bother him, since he just kept doing what he was supposed to do without screaming for someone to get him an eye patch. He wasn't a stereotypical bratty rich guy, so Osomatsu was thankful that Ichi didn't even care that he had a black eye and was basically doing nothing to cover it. It was more tame compared to a sword piercing through him, which was what Todo would have done if Yuki didn't grab the sword earlier.

Though Todo punched Ichi at the face the moment he walked back in and said something Todo considered highly offensive. Thankfully, Ichi didn't retaliate and Todo got a scolding from Kara.

 _Still, Todo shouldn't have punched Ichi straight at the eye for pointing out he looked like a mess. Honesty's the best policy!_

"You may speak now, any of you." Ichi prompted. "I only want to know what happened to my little brother at the restaurant before the lights went out. You were all having a nice dinner, yes?"

It wasn't really pleasant having to wait for someone to tell you they needed to talk, and if they did try to say something else, another fight could break out between Todo and Ichi. Osomatsu glanced at both of his brothers and both of his friends, who had nodded in agreement. Osomatsu should talk first, since he was the self-proclaimed leader and they all agreed on this at the last minute. "Alright. Uh, first thing's first; we weren't having dinner, Ichi. I should know, since we weren't eating or drinking anything when Hatabou made us play that stupid game. Hell, Hatabou himself yelled out something like that, didn't he guys? Something along the lines.. 'We still haven't gotten our orders! Do you want us to starve, jo?!', if I remember correctly.."

The moment he said that, Hatabou paled and started sweating nervously. No one seemed to notice except for him and Dekapan.

 _Ah. He hasn't told Ichi about the game he made us play?_

"A game?" Ichi glanced at Hatabou, who stiffened. He turned away from Hatabou to give a curious look to Osomatsu. "Hm. I didn't know Hatabou liked games. He doesn't participate much when it comes to things like that. Such a boring workaholic, he is. My brother and I do love to play games, either with each other, or by ourselves. He's particularly fond of hide-and-seek, and he hides in any floor of Flag Corporation with Yuki's assistance. I am more fond of chess, if anything else. But I'm sure you know that already." He brought a leg up so he could place one of his arms there, then proceeded to rest his face on his palm. "What game did Hatabou make you play, Matsuno?"

"I think it's a game he made up himself." This was getting interesting, thought Osomatsu. Hatabou was having trouble standing still and pretending to be stoic, but he wasn't saying a thing. "Uh.. if I remember it correctly, it involved Jyushi reciting as much information as he could about us within two minutes. If we interrupt him, we're automatically out of the game. Jyushi didn't seem to be happy with playing the game, but he kept saying he had to listen to Hatabou because-"

"Jyushi wasn't happy?" Interrupted Ichi, his eyes looking darker now. "What made you say that, Matsuno?"

"Dude, you weren't there to see it, but he was sobbing. I'm sure even his antenna was drooping." Osomatsu pointed out. If it was even possible to get whiter than a sheet, Hatabou did the impossible. He bowed to Dekapan, who had been watching him from the other side, and silently excused himself, scurrying out of the lobby. The employees who were blocking the way instantly parted in order to avoid having Hatabou crash into them. "Didn't.. didn't Hatabou tell you anything about that?" He asked.

It would have been weird for him to ask such a thing when Hatabou was around, and considering Hatabou acted like that, there was no doubt that he did something wrong. And even though Hatabou forced him to play a stupid game which would have lead to either him having a panic attack or having to be separated from Jyushi, Hatabou.. Hatabou was still his friend. No way he'd let Hatabou face Ichi's rage.

"No he didn't say such a thing. He simply said he was having dinner with the five of you before it was interrupted with the blackout. And you and Katsuna passed out from exhaustion or something like that. He never said anything about a game or Jyushi getting upset." Ichi clicked his tongue. "And judging by Hatabou's reaction.." He was now curling his hand into a fist. "He lied to me?"

Sensing something was going to happen, Dekapan slowly moved from his spot to behind Ichi, giving him a light tap on his shoulder. Osomatsu also bit his lip in pain when Todo's grip suddenly became much more crushing, though the pink demon remained his supposedly blank look while distractedly breaking Osomatsu's wrist. "Ichi." Dekapan spoke up. "You may vent your anger out later in any way you wish, just as long as you don't commit a murder. For now, we have a meeting and finding Jyushi is our priority."

Ichi took a deep breath. "Alright, alright. I'm fine, yes. Now," He clapped his hands together. In an instant, two employees were by his side, both of them carrying different items. There was a plastic bag that had some sort of white fabric inside and an evelope. "The police who investigated the restaurant last night found these items. Where, you might ask? Underneath the same table you seven were occupying. The envelope contains a letter, which I have read already, but I think you three," He pointed to Osomatsu, Kara, and Todo. "Will find the contents of the letter really interesting. And rather creepy." He took the evidence from the two employees, who both bowed and went back to the crowd of people as they left.

Before Ichi could recite the letter, he was interrupted again. "Okay, now hold the damn phone!" Todo suddenly stood up and slammed his fists against the table. "I know that's important evidence and clues we need to know right now, but I just heard utter bullshit!"

Ichi scowled at him. Osomatsu was honestly freaked out by Ichi's sharp row of teeth. He knew Ichimatsu had them too, but still. It was a bit unnerving. "Eh? Another interruption? Katsuna, I haven't given you permission to talk yet-"

"I don't really give a fuck, in case you haven't noticed. You can't tell me if I have the right to talk or not, you pompous piece of shit." Todo growled, leaning forward. "If you actually thought we'd find whatever's in that envelope 'interesting', why'd you try to kill Osomatsu?! You certainly can't see our 'interested' faces once we're dead!"

The purple-eyed man thought for awhile. "Ah, that? I wasn't really trying to kill him. I just wanted him to let me speak. Interruptions are quite rude and so bothersome." He waved his hand dismissively.

"So is pointing a fucking katana at someone's throat! Besides, he was simply being nice to you and tried to greet you! And how'd you react?! Like a fucking maniac, that's how!" Todo barked. Kara immediately jolted from his seat and held his friend by both of his arms to prevent Todo from ripping Ichi's face off. "Lemme go! He deserves another beating! The guy has no common sense left! Maybe if I punch him in his fucking face again, he'd remember what morals are!"

"Eh? Morals?" Ichi sat back, snickering in amusement as Todo tried to struggle against Kara. Osomatsu eventually stood up and tried to pull Todo down, with Chibita pushing him from his stomach area. "You're really cracking me up, Katsuna. As if you have the right to say that after you failed to 'protect' your best friend from the same yakuza group you joined. But I don't blame you. It's hard, isn't it, Katsuna? Pretending to be the nice guy. Pretending to have morals. Why, don't you wish to cut my limbs off right now? Then why don't you do it, then? More likely, why didn't you do it when you had the chance." Ichi had a shit-eating grin on his face, and Todo wanted nothing more than to break all of his sharp teeth.

Ichi felt another tap on his shoulder. "We have a meeting to continue, Ichi." Dekapan intervened with a sigh, giving an understanding look to Osomatsu. He knew how it felt like to have such a violent brat to take care of, apparently. "So please pick a fight later. We still have to discuss about the evidence the police found for us, right? For Jyushi's sake, please don't mess with his friends. We cannot waste anymore time, especially since we don't know Jyushi's whereabouts yet."

Ichi clicked his tongue in annoyance, his grin faltering and being replaced with a scowl. "Hmph. Fine."

"You too, Todo. We need you to remain as calm as possible so we can continue with the meeting and possibly find Jyushi faster. Calm down. Please." Kara murmured. He mentally thanked the gods when he felt Todo stopped struggling.

"Fine, but I'll kick his ass later.." Todo murmured, turning back on Ichi and sitting back on his spot next to Osomatsu, looking down at his own lap in shame.

"Can we all please cooperate? Just this once?" Asked Dekapan. Osomatsu noticed he sounded a bit more like the Dekapan in his dimension when sincere. "You can all go back to hating each other later, but for now, we all need to work together to find Jyushi. Whether we like each other or not. So let's all put aside our differences for now and just continue on with the meeting."

Ichi let out a sigh, running his fingers through his own hair. "Whatever." He grumbled. "I assume you all know what this is, yes?" Ichi raised up the plastic bag, before opening it and taking the white fabric out and placing it on the table. "Whoever kidnapped my brother was careless enough to leave such a thing lying about. But if they wanted to kidnap my brother without him screaming, he needed to pass out, since my brother is absolutely loud when he's terrified. And that's when the cloth comes in, correct? It's valuable evidence, as small as it is. I hate to think of the image of someone using the same cloth to knock out my dear little brother."

Osomatsu frowned. So there was a drug involved with the kidnapping. But it made sense, since Jyushi passing out was logical enough for him to not make any sort of sound, with how loud Jyushi naturally was. "We didn't even hear Jyushi make any noise, like his chair moving, or him struggling, or anything at all. Whoever kidnapped him was really stealthy too, since Todo and I couldn't even feel him beside us until I realized I didn't know where he was sitting, since Jyushi can't even stand. But still.. we don't have much clues to work with, Ichi. This is just a piece of cloth."

"True." He raised a finger. "But we still have the envelope, which could probably be our only key to finding my little brother and apprehending the vermin that dared to take him away from me." He opened the envelope and pulled out the folded paper inside. "I have read it earlier and I read it more than once, and the letter absolutely disgusts me to no end. Now, Matsuno Osomatsu." He handed the paper to Osomatsu, who was staring at it in confusion. "Do take your time to read it and let your friends skim through it's contents as well. I'm sure we'll all find the letter equally revolting no matter how hard we try to sugar-coat it. His kidnapper is quite a creep and I do hope he hasn't laid a finger on my little brother."

Osomatsu really hoped it wasn't as bad as he thought it was. With slight hesitation, he took the letter from Ichi, unfolded it, and started reading it in his mind.

 **"Dear friends of this sweet angel the demonic president calls his little brother..**

 **You may call me Lonely. Not the feeling, not the adjective. It is a name that fits me perfectly.**

 **I am the one that has captured the sunshine of Flag Corporation. And I have written this not to gloat on my success of doing so, but to say something very, very important. I am sure you are all thinking of the same thing right now; I want ransom, do I not? I want a lot of money in exchange for the safety of Suuji Jyushi, because I am a selfish human being that intends to harm a soul as innocent as Jyushi for money.**

 **But that is so, so unlike me. I have no use for money, you see. I need something else entirely. Besides, if I did want ransom, I would have kidnapped someone else in the restaurant instead. Shonouske Hatabou, probably. He is a rather important figure in the company, is he not?**

 **Enough with the chitter-chatter and beating around the bush, you are probably thinking, dear reader and listeners, if there are any. And you are all itching in your seats, frantically thinking about what is it I desire in exchange for Suuji Jyushi. I assure you, I have no need for money or materialistic objects. What I'm doing only requires your cooperation.**

 **For you see, I am a terribly lonely soul. I could keep the small bird with injured wings and yellow feathers locked inside this cage as it hopelessly sings until it no longer has a voice. He would make a lovely companion, everyone must be thinking. Because I am living a life of loneliness, correct? And people assume that I would keep Suuji Jyushi here until I manage to make companions and feel less lonely.**

 **You are all idiots if you think like that. Only a maniac would do such a thing. But I am a maniac too, people are thinking again! Because I kidnapped Suuji Jyushi, correct?**

 **Non, non. Wrong again!**

 **I have kidnapped Suuji Jyushi for a reason, but I am not as cruel as to keep him in here for all eternity. What I am doing is for the sake of the entirety of Flag Corporation, but mostly, Suuji Jyushi himself. In other words, I intend to keep him here in order to protect him. I don't know how long, but I guarantee it will be a rather long time.**

 **Just kidding. Who knows how long? Definitely not more than a month. Fate will decide for us, and I intend to go with this for as long as I need.**

 **You may think what I'm doing is a way to justify my actions, and that I am a hypocrite. There is an enemy that you are not aware of because this enemy of mine comes from outside Akatsuka City and has trespassed in this city of ours. He didn't even come from the little town outside the lovely city. And despite what any of you say, despite the amount of body guards you had given to Jyushi, they cannot protect him. I should know. I faced this enemy myself and let me tell you, he is a strong opponent.**

 **He had plotted on murdering Suuji Jyushi in the most gruesome way as possible. He would torture him until the light in Suuji Jyushi's eyes disappear and his innocent demeanor has been completely tarnished. None of us want that.**

 **What do I require, you may ask? Simple. Your assistance.**

 **But why would I assist a kidnapper, some of you are thinking! But do be a dear and hear me out.**

 **I will be holding a Masquerade ball two days from now, and I have invited different guests from all over the city, though their invitations are much more sweet compared to this one. I require Ichi Suuji being there, as well as the three look-a-likes of Suuji Jyushi I saw him being friends with. Suuji Ichi is the big brother of Suuji Jyushi, and I know he has the biggest will to protect his little brother. As for the other three, I'm sure the pink-haired one is strong enough to protect us all if something were to happen, if he's able to chase down a car without breaking a sweat.**

 **Other than that, I also require at least three strong companions that shall assist us. Aside from that, I also require at least four of you to be the "brains" in the team. Ones that are good with looking for secret entrances and good with computers.**

 **The masquerade ball shall take place outside the city, deep within Akatsuka Forest, where there is a rather nice mansion you would only see in a dream. But there are bears in the forest, you are thinking! No there aren't, those are just lies to scare people away from the forest because of a certain incident years ago that took place in there. I shall give you more details about how the masquerade ball shall protect Suuji Jyushi, but only if I know you are cooperating with me completely.**

 **But how will we be able to contact you, you may ask. Simple.**

 **Set up twelve green candles at the rooftop of the hotel at midnight, and put them in a circle. Also put a strawberry shortcake in the middle of the circle, as well as Suuji Jyushi's favorite toy. If you can't find a shortcake, anything sweet will suffice.**

 **That is all I require. I will be there to check if there are candles or not. If there aren't, that basically means you are declining my offer in protecting Suuji Jyushi. If there are twelve, I thank all of you.**

 **My enemy is a complete maniac and will stop at nothing to rid of his victims. Do not underestimate him. But even he is smart enough to not attack me directly, for I am the only one that is capable into bringing that man to justice and punish him for what he has done. I promise I will never hurt Suuji Jyushi. So please. Set up twelve candles later. I need help from the people that care about Suuji Jyushi in order to protect him and defeat my archenemy once and for all. I cannot have that maniac kill another innocent person.**

 **Especially not Suuji Jyushi. I will protect him with my life.**

 **I will keep Suuji Jyushi with me for the time being.**

 **Sincerely yours, Lonely."**

When Osomatsu had put down the paper to blink after just processing what he just read, Todo and Kara were looking at him, with Chibita and Iyami looking concerned. However, across him was Ichi and Dekapan, who both looked like they understood Osomatsu's feelings completely.

"Alright, first off." Osomatsu took a deep breath. "What even the fuck was this letter?!"


	45. Chapter 45: Lonely Nightingale

After the meeting and an entire hectic day which also consisted of Ichi demanding unlimited chicken wings for both lunch and dinner and getting in an argument with Todo who said that seafood was better, everyone had decided to do just as Lonely asked in the letter. Hana and Homura were informed by Iyami and Chibita as soon as they came back, but much to Ichi's frustration, Hatabou still hadn't come back. Still, that didn't stop them. Fuyu, Yuki, and a few employees set up the green candles in a large circle and lit them up. Dekapan, Hana, and Homura had been instructed to go buy a shortcake and go back to Flag Corporation's building and grab "Kiiro-kun" from Jyushi's bed.

"Who is Kiiro-kun?" Osomatsu had asked earlier. Ichi only replied with a "you'll see", before barking out orders about setting everything up. It was odd to think how Ichi was against this idea at first, with him arguing with Osomatsu that it could be a trap. Yuki had suggested that if that were the case, they'd still manage to outnumber Lonely, if he truly was coming alone. Besides, with people like Ichi and Todo, they had nothing to worry about.

Ichi had sent the other employees home, though Hana had refused stubbornly and had accidentally brought a tired Homura with her. Fuyu and Yuki both claimed they wanted to see Lonely in person but had to go home due to Fuyu not feeling so good for some unknown reason, and Dekapan naturally needed to stay with them, as Hatabou was currently absent. Chibita had volunteered to make coffee for everyone in case they were tired or sleepy, seeing as how he dragged a tired Iyami with him the same way Hana did with , the smaller individuals had teamed up and made coffee at the hotel's kitchen, and they were both chattering happily while Chibita leaned against a sleeping Iyami's back.

As for Homura, she decided to occupy herself with listening to her phone's music player along with a pair of headphones that were shaped like yellow sunflowers, though she was smiling brightly at Hana's happiness with Chibita to talk to. So cute, she had thought. Maybe Hana could get herself a boyfriend now? Hana always had high standards, but an equally chatty male must have been what she needed. She took a sip out from her paper cup of coffee as she watched Hana point out stars with Chibita correcting her that she was wrong. Their conversation had consisted of "idjit" and "damn it", as far as Homura was concerned. She couldn't really hear, with their distance and with the music she was playing.

Osomatsu had "met" who Kiiro-kun was as soon as Dekapan came back with Homura and Hana, with the smaller girl carrying something in her arms. Kiiro-kun was a handmade stuffed cat plush, with the insides of it's ears being purple, orange spots on the yellow fabric, and purple button eyes. There were a few stitches, but besides that, it looked rather cute.

But with the green candles in a circle and all lit, with Kiiro-kun being in the center of everything with a shortcake on a small platter beside the stuffed animal, Osomatsu honestly thought it looked like a satanic ritual. Though that was an odd statement to make, Todo had given him a look and probably prayed to the gods not to punish them if they thought they were doing something unholy.

"We're gonna summon something demonic? Looks like it. Make sure it looks like Captain Katana to scare the living shit out of this Lonely person." Todo yawned beside him, rubbing his pink eyes tiredly. "How many more minutes until midnight? I wanna sleep now, fucking hell."

The three look-a-likes had decided to change out of their formal attire into casual attire, but still thick enough to withstand the cold, since they were all out at the rooftop during a winter night. Osomatsu just wore his casual red hoodie, pants, shoes, his rainbow scarf, and the brown beanie, since it didn't seem to be too cold to the point Osomatsu would end up like a cold Jyushimatsu. As for Todo, he just wore the black sweater Kara had picked out for him yesterday; the black one with pink stripes, white sweatpants, and he was just in socks and pink slippers. Kara just wore a cotton blue jacket over a plain white sweater, pants, socks, and shoes. Everyone else was still in their formal attire.

Even Ichi, who was standing dangerously close to the edge, was still in his attire from earlier and with a serious expression plastered across his face. Except Ichi now had a rather long purple scarf wrapped around his neck that was flowing through the air due to the breeze, giving everyone the impression he was some sort of mysterious anime character with a really long scarf. Especially since he now had a new pair of glasses that were probably fogged out by now and with the katana Ichi was still holding just in case Lonely was as hostile as he suspected. Osomatsu would call him cool if he knew he wouldn't get stabbed.

The blue-eyed male checked out Chibita's phone, which had been on the floor. Todo had borrowed it earlier and had been playing with it earlier to stay awake, but he got bored easily. "Three more minutes, my dear friend. You can last for three minutes longer, I know you can." Kara assured him, ruffling his hair, which was messier than earlier. Todo's apparent recklessness had caused the hair tie to snap, and Kara was too shy to ask Fuyu for another one, not wanting to bother her. He then handed him his own cup of coffee, which was half-empty. "Do you still want some to stay awake? You can have mine if you like."

Todo stuck out his tongue in a disgusted fashion, pushing the cup away. Osomatsu started chuckling when Kara had suggested Todo to drink the remaining amount in his coffee. "Ick. No thank you. I drank mine, Osomatsu's, and Iyami's already. I don't wanna die from coffee overdose. Not yet. Gimme a few more months to live." He mumbled, tiredly and unconsciously leaning against Osomatsu's shoulder. "Fuck, I'm so fucking tired. I literally wanna marry my bed right now, like you have absolutely no idea."

Kara looked absolutely concerned. "Oh my god. Tell me you drank a lot of water today." Todo replied with a long groan. Kara sighed. "That's it. No coffee for you tomorrow, or anything alcoholic as well. You had a mug this morning, another one during our snack time, and you just had three in an hour. Incredible." He murmured, but he ended up making a soft smile as Todo sleepily continued to curse words at the sky for making him feel so tired. Especially since Todo was leaning against Osomatsu now, which was something he usually did to Kara.

 _Todo's slowly getting used to Osomatsu.. I'm so proud that you decided to lower your defenses around him, my dear friend._

Osomatsu gave light pats on Todo's head, though it wasn't long before Todo started snoring. "Whoops. Five mugs of coffee on one day and he still fell asleep. I applaud him. He deserves it though. I mean, after breaking down in the bathroom and having to fight against Ichi.. he's tired emotionally and physically, probably." Osomatsu grinned cheekily. Kara chuckled in reply and sat next to Osomatsu, so Osomatsu was in the middle again. Sitting on the rooftop of a tall building at night was rather nice, especially since he could see the lights of the other buildings and the stars shining above. He straightened out his legs a bit and carefully laid Todo's head on his lap, though continued to pat his head. "Who do you think Lonely is, Kara? A rather weird name, don't ya think?"

"Definitely odd. I'm sure that's the main reason he's so suspicious." And by he, Kara meant Ichi, who was now practicing how to slash his sword through someone's throat. He shuddered as he thought of today's events, and he was glad Todo hadn't gotten hurt from the fight he had with Ichi, even with the small cut on his cheek. Kara had removed the plaster earlier, and it was just a small cut that would probably fade away soon. He really hoped it wasn't a permanent scar on Todo's face. "Though I would be lying if I said I'm not as anxious as he is. I do wonder how Lonely is treating Jyushi. He.. he was really upset last night."

"And Hatabou still hasn't come back. I hope he didn't get run over or something like that." Osomatsu clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tch. Wonder if I said anythin' wrong? Still, he just walked out like that after he went as pale as a sheet. I'm pretty sure this is what Dekapan meant by Ichi venting out his anger." He pointed to Ichi, who was still practicing his swinging with his katana. "He's not just practicing how to attack Lonely if he ever gets hostile. He's probably letting his anger out by pretending to fight someone. Ichi must trust Hatabou a lot if he didn't expect Hatabou to lie to him. Then again, Ichi's pretty freaky when angered, isn't he? Dude has a katana."

Kara rubbed his head with his left hand, using his right hand to grab Chibita's phone, mentally reminding himself to get Todo a new one someday. Todo just destroyed his phone last night by gripping onto it too tightly. "Agreed." He murmured, checking the phone for the time. Eleven fifty-nine. "A masquerade ball, huh? Sounds mysterious. A ball with countless people, faces hidden by brittle masks. Though their masks are just a cover-up for much stronger masks, the facades they try to put up. Their true face is only seen when they let their guard down around the people they care about." Kara said with a painful grin. "Truly romantic!"

 _And painful as hell. Owwww._

"Masquerade ball, huh? This Lonely guy must have a lot of free time. And rich, if he's able to do something like that." He continued to pat Todo's head, though Todo was groaning about something for Osomatsu to shut up. "It'd be cool, though. I never attended one of those before. It sounds kinda cool- what the fuck is that?"

Kara blinked. "What is it, Osomatsu-niisan?"

Osomatsu brought up a finger to point at the sky. "Over there. There's something flying towards us..? Is it flying towards us?"

Todo groggily stirred awake, rubbing his eyes with his hands again. "Argh, fuck. Are you sure it's not a fucking plane?"

"A plane wouldn't fly towards people. It's also too small to be a plane if it was at the distance." The three of them noticed Ichi standing beside them, katana gripped on one hand. He then brought it up to point at the direction Osomatsu was pointing at with his finger seconds ago. The thing on the distance was a dark green color with black accents, and it looked like a really big kite. "It looks more of a hang glider, doesn't it? Dekapan!" He suddenly raised his voice. The three of them Dekapan's startled cry at the far back. "What do you think it is?!"

"Definitely a hang glider, Ichi. I suggest trying to stay back so you don't get hit!" Dekapan yelled.

"WHAT?!"

Immediately, Todo jumped up to stand and grabbed Osomatsu's and Kara's arms as he tried to pull them into a safer direction. Ichi had ran like a ninja towards Dekapan, before standing beside him and making a defensive stance. Homura squeaked once she realized something was heading towards them, and clumsily pulled Iyami from behind Chibita, causing Iyami's face to kiss the floor and Chibita to land on his back with a shrill yell. Hana giggled at that, but helped him up and helped Homura pull Iyami over to where everyone else was.

"Sheh.." Iyami groaned, as Homura kept apologizing for dragging him on the floor. "What's going on- SHEEEEH!"

The person on the hang glider seemed to notice the lit candles, because he immediately zoomed in without a second thought, and as soon as his feet touched the rooftop, he let go of the hang glider and slid down on the floor, barely hitting a green candle. The hang glider simply landed behind him, almost as if he could control it. Once he stood up and dusted his clothes off, Osomatsu realized that this man was wearing a black suit with his black hair slicked backwards, a few strands were green. Half his face had been covered by a white mask.

"What a magnificent entrance, if I do say so myself. I hope the audience agrees with me." The masked man smirked and put a gloved hand on his chest, bowing as polite as he could. "Though it would have been more extravagant with flower petals, I'm afraid I hadn't prepared such a thing. Woe is me, I do hope you enjoy the show. My name is something I should not reveal to such innocent people who are possible victims of my arch-enemy, but!" He now raised a finger. "You may call me Lonely. Pleasure to meet my audience."

Immediately, something in Osomatsu's pocket started vibrating. His phone was vibrating, since it was still on silent mode. Osomatsu took out the phone from his pocket frantically, looking at the screen and wondering if Choromatsu had found out something about Lonely, which was apparently this rather flamboyant prick. He read the text as quick as he could.

 **Osomatsu-niisan, there's a life sign that's zooming in your direction! I suggest staying as far as you could from it!**

Too late for that now, Osomatsu thought. A second later, another text came in.

 **Never mind. It's there already, isn't it? Sorry. Panicked there for a second.**

"How rude to stare at a phone at a show where someone is putting effort into amusing their audience. If you be as kind as to put it away for now." Lonely pointed out. Osomatsu hid his phone from Lonely's sight. "But I am glad to see you are all fully cooperating with me in my plan. If you are all frantically looking for Suuji Jyushi, don't worry. He is somewhere safe. I could not bring him with me on the hang glider, deepest apologies." He bowed again. "Once again, I am Lonely. The one who had wrote that message from earlier and the one who had planned all of this."

"And my brother's kidnapper." Ichi growled under his breath, itching to stab Lonely already. "Alright, you flamboyant twat! What have you done to my little brother?! What pain have you made him go through?!" Ichi demanded answers as he pointed his katana at Lonely's direction, who didn't seem fazed at all. Instead, Lonely picked up Kiiro-kun and the plate of cake from the floor. "And what the hell are those for?!"

"Hm? I did say I intend on keeping Suuji Jyushi with me until my enemy has been eradicated from the face of the earth, so of course he hasn't gone through any pain. As for your other questions, your little brother is doing fine. I'm doing my utmost best to take care of him, and he was really happy when I told him about a thing called a bath bomb. If you're worried about his health, do not fret. I fed him and helped him take a bath." He smiled a bit at the plate of cake and the stuffed animal. "As for these.. well, since he's staying with me, I thought that it would be better for him to have such a cute companion around. And the cake? Well.. he absolutely adores sweets, doesn't he? I'm pretty sure he wants a cake. He didn't each much today, and it was good that I thought ahead. He will definitely eat this."

 _Is he serious?!_

"Okay, who the hell are you?! Really?!" Todo was now wide awake, and he now felt the rush of five coffee mugs flowing through his veins. Osomatsu was worried for a second that his blood had been replaced by the large amount of coffee he drank earlier. "Don't make me punch the shit outta ya! First of all, what are you wearing?! Why did you decide wearing a suit and a mask was fucking safe while hang gliding?! That's dangerous, and with your gloves on, you could have slipped, you idiot!" Todo kept yelling.

Lonely tilted his head to the side. There must have been confusion in his eyes, but they couldn't see due to Lonely's mask. "Thank you for the concern-"

"I wasn't concerned!"

"..I know how to handle a hang glider, and as for your other questions, this is what I usually wear. Regardless of season. I intend to keep my fashion like this, thank you very much. Now," He clapped his hands together. "Let's see if I have everyone's names right, yes? Suuji Ichi." He pointed to Ichi. "Ookina Dekapan." He pointed to Dekapan, before moving his finger towards Homura, Hana, Chibita, and Iyami. "Warai Homura, Chiisana Hana, Tsuyoi Chibita, and Shiirudo Iyami." He then pointed to the last three. "Katsuna Todo. Kyabarie Kara. And Matsuno Osomatsu. Did I get the names right?"

Everyone looked at each other, all giving the same confused looks but having different thoughts. Osomatsu had his hands stuffed in his pockets with an eyebrow raised, Kara seemed to be sweating nervously and fiddling with the hem of his hoodie, Todo's eyes looked like they were looking for something, Homura and Hana were both fidgeting in their spots, Chibita and Iyami were mumbling something that no one near them could understand, Ichi's grip on his katana tightened even more, and Dekapan looked absolutely stoic.

"Silence means yes. I am happy to know I hadn't refer to any of you with the wrong name. Research is important, is it not?" Lonely broke the silence with his monotone voice. He didn't sound as happy as he said he was. "Unfortunately, I have no use for your real names, because I won't be referring to you by your real names at all. I very much prefer nicknames for classified reasons. I will decide what to call you as, but for now, we still have a masquerade ball to plan." He took out something from his coat pocket, and it looked like it was a zip plastic bag. Much to Ichi's and Kara's disgust, Lonely nonchalantly shook the cake out of the plate and put the pastry in there. "As I said, I need everyone's cooperation. Understood?"

"Yes." They all chorused, with the exception of Dekapan, who remained silent.

Not that Lonely cared at all. "Wonderful. Now, if you wonder how I got everything I required, it is best to not ask. I will not dare say anything else I know about you as long as you don't question too much. Let's make things quick, I only have an hour before I have to get back to where I currently reside, and I promised Suuji Jyushi I wouldn't stay out so late. He could get nightmares and I won't be there to comfort him if that happens. And that won't be a nice thing, would it?"

Ichi's free fist clenched and Osomatsu was the only one that noticed. But Ichi had every right to feel angry or very wary of Lonely, especially since this man was rather odd and he was the same one who knew the whereabouts of Ichi's little brother. "Ah, Lonely. I have a question." Osomatsu raised a hand to get his attention.

"What is it, Pine?"

 _Okay, what the fuck?_

"Uh.. Pine-?"

"I have decided to call you Pine, Matsuno Osomatsu. I do not know much about you, and plus, that's what your name means, doesn't it? Now please, carry on with your question."

Alrighty. Lonely was really creepy. Nicknaming people out of the blue and stuff. Besides, Osomatsu expected a meaner nickname like "idiot", not something as simple as "pine". "Alright. I know you said we shouldn't ask much questions-"

"You shouldn't."

"Stop interrupting me, please?"

"Affirmative."

"..What? You know what, never mind. I'll ask questions later."

"Very good. Let us begin."


	46. Chapter 46: A Child's Crime

"A masquerade is the best way to make sure that enemy of mine doesn't carelessly attempt murder. He tends to do things in private and keep a facade when in front of a large group of people, and I think he'd do the same in such a situation. Besides. If he hears that Suuji Jyushi is present, no doubt would he arrive. But, he still would not get a chance to just kill him on the spot, seeing as how he tends to do things in private, as I've discussed. So even if he does manage to get his hands on Sweets, he can't do anything to him as long as he's in my manor. And my manor is quite spacious and a bit maze-like, so he'd have trouble just leaving. Jumping out of a window is a bad idea too, since guests would probably wander outside as well. Now," He clapped his hands together. "Are there any questions?"

Homura's hand was raised, even faster than Ichi's or Todo's. Homura may be a shy girl, but Lonely's presence was just so weird, that she didn't feel any awkwardness when mustering up the courage to ask questions. Of course, Hana was proud of her normally timid best friend doing something without needing a five-minute pep-talk, that she was practically bouncing from where she was standing. "Uh.. I have a question, Lonely-san. I hope you don't mind answering it."

She was polite, so Lonely didn't mind. Plus, he was the one to ask them if they had any concerns, wasn't he? "I do not mind answering any of your questions before we proceed with much more complex things, Fall. Then you may ask questions later as well."

Everyone turned to her. And then to Lonely. He addressed Osomatsu as "Pine" earlier, sure, and it did make sense with his name. But "Fall"? There was absolutely nothing about that nickname that was connected to Homura's name. Like, at all. "Wait.. why am I fall?" Homura asked, eyebrow raised. She wondered anxiously if it wasn't the season he was talking about; what if he nicknamed her that due to the fact that Homura kept tripping? As in, falling? That would be so embarrassing!

"You seem to dress for the season. Red and brown are common colors for fall. Or Autumn, if you prefer to call it that. I do very much prefer to call you Fall, my dear." Lonely shrugged. Ah. So he really was talking about the season. Homura was relieved. Now she didn't have to blush as red as the flower resting on her hair. "Though I doubt that is your real question, madam."

"You're right it isn't." She took a deep breath. Lonely was indeed an eccentric man. She could understand Jyushi, with his lack of childhood and still being younger than everyone else in the area. But Lonely? Lonely seemed lick an actual adult. Plus, he was probably mature if he dressed classy and learned how to use a hang glider whilst wearing cotton gloves. "Who is Sweets?"

 _Oops. A slip of the tongue._

"Dear me. It appears I've made a mistake. Oh well. You see, Sweets is the name I call Suuji Jyushi by, similar to how I nickname all of you. Similar to Pine's, Tater Tot's, Captain Katana's, and Fall's, I nicknamed him that due to the fact it is associated with him. He adores Sweets, so I named him Sweets. And I am called Lonely due to the fact I live in solitude."

"Couldn't you have just called him by his actual name? I mean, god, it's not that hard to pronounce. Jyu-shi. There is no reason to call him with a nickname like that, nor is there any reason to nickname anyone in this group at all." Todo crossed his arms. He wanted sleep, fell asleep on Osomatsu's shoulder, and now, he had to deal with this man. His day was only going to get worse, and it was already midnight for god's sake. "And did you just.. did you just call me Tater Tot?"

"Who in fuck's name is Captain Katana." It wasn't a question, since Ichi seemingly muttered it under his breath.

Lonely didn't seem bothered. "As I've said before, I have reasons. Calling someone in nickname is also a faster way to remember them. And Tater Tot and Captain Katana are the nicknames Pine has given you, correct? I don't seem to recall you two denying the nickname, so I assumed it was okay to call you that."

"It's not like we approve of them anyway!" Both males suddenly shrieked, their faces a red hue. "Osomatsu, you prick!"

"Hey! I got a weird-ass nickname too!" Osomatsu whined.

"At least your's is normal!" Ichi grabbed him by the collar and started shaking him. "I point a katana at someone, then everyone starts referring to me as some sort of badly-drawn superhero that kids watch on Saturday mornings with a bowl of cereal!" Oddly specific, but Jyushi used to do the same when they were children.

"Pointing a katana at someone isn't normal to begin with.." Kara murmured from beside Dekapan, who nodded in agreement. How Dekapan managed to survive with someone like Ichi was unknown.

"Can we just cut to the chase now?" Chibita grumbled. "I'm sure everyone's worried for Jyushi and want to just get this over with, damn it. Nicknames don't matter, you idjits."

"Me agrees."

"Tall and Small have a point." Lonely blurted out.

 _..Okay, we can all kill him now._

In the end, Hana had to restrain Chibita from tearing off the mask covering Lonely's eyes and scratching his face off. Everyone once again settled down as Lonely began to discuss their plan, though he had a habit of walking around. He hadn't knocked off a single candle, thankfully, and with his voice, it was hard to fall asleep out of boredom. Osomatsu couldn't bring out his phone to check the texts either, so he just took out his notepad and started taking notes about Lonely.

Surprisingly, he didn't make any remarks on that.

While Osomatsu jotted down notes, Dekapan nodded at each word that came out of Lonely's mouth, a now-calm Chibita and Hana were seemingly gossiping from behind Iyami and taking advantage of their short statures so Lonely wouldn't see them, Iyami was fighting the urge to fall asleep, Todo and Kara both blankly stared at the man who kept pacing around, and Homura was polite enough to pretend she cared about Lonely's sudden dramatic spasms. All while the others were doing their own thing, Ichi was staring at the stuffed cat on Lonely's arms.

It was just Kiiro-kun, the plush that Ichi had made long ago as a project and gave to Jyushi as a present, and it had became the toy Jyushi was always fond of. Ichi remembered excelling so many things just so he could leave high school and have more time for his company and little brother, that he became the object of jealousy to everyone. He was said to be lucky, as he was the eldest son of a rich family, and everything he could ever want would be handed to him in a silver platter.

He frowned, though since he always looked so serious, it didn't seem new to the people around him, who were all listening to Lonely as he spoke.

 _Lucky? In which part of my childhood was I lucky? Was it when dad started pressuring me as soon as I knew how to speak? Was it when dad refused to acknowledge Jyushi's existence? Was it when dad killed mom and when he broke Jyushi's legs and didn't feel a single ounce of regret?_

He clenched his fists as he gritted his teeth, remembering how much he had to go through just to end up in such a position.

 _And how I had to take away someone's life to save mine and my brother's._

Suuji Ichi was the eldest son of the Suuji Family, and was supposed to be the only child of the family. That was, until a certain mistake which was certainly made by the father had lead to the existence of his little brother, Suuji Jyushi. He and his mother had been ecstatic, because not only was three-year old Ichi going to have a baby brother to take care of, but because his mother had never seen Ichi smile so bright before. Even as a toddler, Ichi was always scowling and was so serious, a trait which he got from his father. But at the news of a baby, Ichi had smiled so bright, his mother would have sworn he looked like a completely different boy, and not her serious little prince.

Everyone was happy with the news when they heard about it. The Shonouske Family, a family friend of the Suuji Family, had been as excited as Ichi and his mother, and even a few-months old Hatabou, who was still in a stroller at that time, seemed happy about the news about someone being younger than him at long last.

The only one who had been bitter about the news was Ichi's father; it had been common for the Suuji Family to have only one child, which was supposed to be a boy in order to keep the name when they married, and sadly, when the first child was a girl, they'd give her away to another family, and try again until they got a boy.

They mostly had one child to prevent the future heir of the Suuji Family from focusing on small things such as baby siblings and to ensure they kept their focus on the success of family business.

Their father was another example of how cold the family could be, and Ichi was sure he heard his father praying to the gods that the child would be a girl, so he could justify his actions if he were to give away the child as soon as it was born. But luck had been on Ichi's side, and the child had turned out to be a boy, in which the mother had sighed in relief upon the family doctor (as well as scientist and inventor) Dekapan had told her with a relived smile that the baby would be a boy.

And when Jyushi was finally born, it had been the first time Ichi was so loud and talkative, holding the baby as careful as he could and talking about the amount of fun they'd have together, and that Ichi would be a good big brother; he would play games with Jyushi, teach him things he couldn't understand, and tell him bedtime stories. It wouldn't be a problem for an intelligent boy like Ichi, who had learned how to read once he heard about his upcoming baby brother. It was cute, since he wanted to be a very responsible brother and did not take being a big brother lightly.

He knew it would be just as hard as managing a company. Or even harder. Hence why he prepared himself for it, and when Jyushi was finally born, none of his efforts went to waste. Jyushi absolutely adored him and clung to him whenever social gatherings happened, and unless it was his own mother, Dekapan, or a slightly older Hatabou, Jyushi absolutely refused to talk to them, shyly hiding behind his older brother by three years and shaking his head repeatedly, gripping onto Ichi's clothes and mumbling something about not talking to strangers.

Growing up with a father that pretended Jyushi didn't exist meant a bad childhood for both Ichi and Jyushi, even though it was only Jyushi whose presence was disregarded whenever they went out together. His mother was so kind, often giving her children pep-talks and jokes, which was the main reason Jyushi was so optimistic. And while Ichi enjoyed it as well, he was always called by his father whenever he was having fun playing with his little brother, often disrupting their time together. It had been obvious from the start that Ichi's father was trying to pry the two apart and force Ichi to focus on his studies and his future as the future president of Flag Corporation.

As Ichi grew, he could say with confidence that he only had two friends; Shonouske Hatabou and his own little brother, Suuji Jyushi, who he considered his best friend, the one that truly understood who he was. Hatabou was equally serious, but like Ichi, he would at least loosen up whenever Jyushi was trying his best to spread happiness. So when the Shonouske Family had to move to a small neighborhood outside the city, it had hurt the brothers to see their childhood friend go. Now they were each others' only friends.

A year after the Shonouske Family had went far, far away, the kind mother of the Suuji Brothers, who had smiled as bright as the sun in her daily life, had died. And it wasn't out of sickness or an accident. It had been a murder.

A katana, which was apparently a heirloom of the Suuji Family, had been pierced through her throat, and her eyes were wide in an expression of horror, her mouth agape and drooling blood. She had been wearing her favorite sunflower dress for the day, and a yellow flower crown was around her flowing black hair, the same one a seven-year old Jyushi had made for her the previous day. She was leaning against the wall with her fingers wrapped tightly around a certain object. It was her own ring.

Not the ring that signified she was part of the Suuji Family, but her own wedding ring. It was bloody when the brothers had last seen it, and it was now nothing more than a metallic piece of jewelry with dried blood. She seemed to have used the last of her strength to remove the damned ring from her finger, almost as if she didn't want to die as the wife of the president of Flag Corporation.

The one that had discovered her dead body was a maid, and the poor woman couldn't take it and fainted on the spot as soon as she saw her kind and usually silly mistress lying dead on the floor, yellow eyes lifeless. And when a big funeral had been held for the woman, Ichi had prevented himself from crying or letting out a single sob as a terrified and gravely upset brother of his cried onto his shoulder, gripping tight onto his shirt and continuously begging for his brother to not leave him.

Because as the big brother, he had to remain strong for both himself and his little brother. A seven-year old had been the second to discover his dead mother's corpse soaked in blood as soon as he heard the shriek of a terrified maid, and it had traumatized him, leaving a mark on his mind. It was the first thing a forgetful and very young Jyushi would remember for years to come.

The light in his eyes had disappeared for years, and no matter what Ichi did, his brother couldn't genuinely smile anymore. And now, without a mother, no one would play with Jyushi whenever their father purposely disrupted them whenever they played together. It became worst when Jyushi had dropped out of school because he couldn't focus on his subjects and kept failing every single activity the school had to offer. Ichi had always defended his brother whenever the principal had questioned it, stating that Jyushi was traumatized because of his mother's death, in which the principal had always countered with a stupid argument.

"But you're not the same as him, Ichi-kun, and you both have the same mother. Surely, if you're able to handle it, Jyushi-kun should be able to handle it too."

People handled things differently, for one. And compared to him, Jyushi was naive. Their father had informed Ichi about everything bad in the world as soon as he was born, so he would be able to disregard such things as imagination and fun. But Jyushi was the one who was more pure, in terms of mental condition. And now, that purity had been tainted in the worst way possible.

Second; comparing Jyushi to Ichi was similar to comparing an angel and a devil, Ichi always thought whenever the principal recycled the same argument over and over. Ichi was affected, of course. But he had to be strong. Because if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to protect Jyushi.

And he failed. In protecting Jyushi, that is. Because three years after his mother's death and after Jyushi had dropped out of school completely, Ichi came home one day to find Jyushi lying on their shared bed, crying loudly. When Ichi had dropped his bags to the floor and ran to his brother's side, frantically asking what was wrong, he had removed the blankets covering his little brother in the process and stared in shock at the sight of his brother's legs, normally clean and always shaking because of Jyushi's high amount of energy.

It was bruised, bloodied, and twisted in directions that made Ichi want to vomit when he remembered the sight. He held his brother's face to his chest, shushing him and trying to calm his brother down from the pain, and quietly asked him who had dared to hurt him.

A single name was uttered. And that was more than enough for Ichi.

With a soft kiss on the forehead and a promise to come back as soon as possible, Ichi left their shared room, but not before putting a lot of stuffed toys beside his little brother, putting the blanket over him, and making sure the door was locked with only him having the key to open it, he walked over to where Dekapan usually resided and barged in, barking orders like a king would do to his subjects. A thirteen-year old wouldn't have been so threatening to Dekapan, but Ichi's purple eyes were radiating hatred and anger, and he looked almost murderous with his sharp row of teeth that god knows where he got them. So Dekapan scrambled to his feet and asked Ichi what he came for, especially since Ichi had half of the household with him.

From the maids to the butlers, to the chefs to the gardeners. They were all there, listening to their young master as their master was out for the day, stating that he went out for Flag Corporation's duties. With a snap of his fingers, Ichi had every single person in the household assisting him.

Dinner went by as normal that evening, except Jyushi was absent from the table and his seat, besides Ichi, was empty. Ichi planned to skip dinner in favor of helping the maids and butlers take care of Jyushi after Dekapan had done his best to make sure his legs were back to where they were supposed to be facing, but his father had demanded Ichi to join him for dinner. After screaming curses into a pillow and having to be given a glass of water to hurl at the wall with a painting of his supposedly courageous father, Ichi was escorted to the dinner table by a few maids, butlers and Dekapan himself.

It was a quiet dinner. When his mother was alive, she would usually lighten up the mood of her two sons and even the staff by pulling this one trick that involved her gulping down water and squirting some from her ears and nostrils, and no one knew how she did it. But after his mother's death, most of the noises that could be heard were Ichi's quiet murmurs to his little brother. Now, without Jyushi to talk to, Ichi remained quiet as he bit into his dinner and glared daggers into his father, who had a pleased smile on his face.

It wasn't as nice as seeing the smile of his brother and mother, and Ichi wanted nothing more than to wipe it off that smug bastard's face. That bastard had hurt his brother, and prior to dinner, Ichi had finally realized that he wasn't going to regret the plan he came up with when he found his brother in pain. Jyushi had told him some things interesting while Dekapan was bandaging Jyushi's frail legs, making Ichi more sure he was going to be fine committing a grave sin at the age of thirteen.

His father not only hurt his little brother, but he had been the one to murder Ichi's and Jyushi's mother as well. Because his wife couldn't keep on smiling with how her husband was pressuring Ichi to be perfect all the while neglecting Jyushi was his son as well, she had planned on leaving him and taking her sons with her. But the rage of a maniac was to be feared, and their mother hadn't been so lucky as to run away, but the least she could do to preserve the last of her dignity is to die without that stupid wedding ring around her finger. She was the mother of two lovely boys, but if she was going to be remembered, she wanted history to remember her as a woman who loved her two sons very much. She didn't want anything to signify she was married, because her own husband was nothing more than a monster.

Murdered his beloved mother and had physically abused his little brother. Not only that, but he was pretty sure ignoring your own child for ten years straight was considered neglect. Compared to the crime Ichi was about to commit, his father was a monster. And with the entirety of the staff rooting for him and getting ready to risk their lives for their young master if their plan failed, he knew Jyushi would be safe regardless if Ichi succeeded or not. He originally planned to end this man's horrible existence with the same katana his father had used to murder his own wife, but after Ichi thought about it, he realized the man did not deserve to have his blood stained with his wife's.

So he settled for something else. When his father suggested Ichi to pour him tea like he always did (with great reluctance though), Ichi decided to add a special something. Because his father deserved the best, didn't he? Isn't that how his father thought of himself? He wanted absolute perfection in every way, and he was willing to kill his own wife and hurt his own son just to carry on with traditions and all that shit?

His father dropped the teacup. And started coughing. And then choking. It kept on like that until he was writhing on the marble floor on his back, trying to reach out for anyone who would help him. The last thing he saw was his own son hovering above him with a sinister smile on his face, his purple eyes seemingly glowing. Surrounding the dying man and his demon of a son were the other staff and Dekapan himself, all watching blankly as their master slowly died.

And when he did, it wasn't long before Flag Corporation got a new president, which happened to be Japan's youngest president who had only been thirteen years of age when he was given the position, as well as committed his first crime. But if it would make those people who associated him with that man he refused to call a father just shut up and abandon such a thought of him doing the same to his employees, he didn't really care what they labeled him as; a demon? Go ahead. Evil? Not even an insult? A monster? Now, that was just disrespecting monsters everywhere, including that bastard who had killed his mother and had hurt his brother.

As long as they didn't hurt Jyushi the same way his father did, Ichi wouldn't have to kill them then.

"Ichi." Ichi blinked, snapping out of his trance. He turned to Dekapan, who had been looking at him worriedly, ever since he started clenching his fist and reminiscing about the past. "Are you okay?"

He had killed before. He was also sure he was the main reason why many of the people in Akatsuka got murdered. "Perfectly fine." Lying was the most tame thing he'd ever done in his entire life. "Don't worry about me, Dekapan. I trust you listened to Lonely as he talked?" He lowered his voice. God knows what Lonely would do when he found out someone wasn't listening to him.

"It's alright. I'll explain everything to you later."

"Good."

Osomatsu never felt this much cringe and pain in an entire week, and he was terrified to say he kind of missed Karamatsu's painfulness and his narcissism. While Lonely didn't have such a big head and pride for himself, he certainly had the painful vocabulary and was a bit on the odd side, to say the least. As promised, he made up a plan for the masquerade ball he had planned two days from now.

 _Lonely must be confident in himself if he thinks he's able to take on some psycho at a party, while trying to protect someone who can't even run._

While Lonely was still pacing around the circle of candles as if he was the demon that had been summoned, Osomatsu was now leaning against both Kara and Todo, who were both in a slumped position similar to Osomatsu's. They had now made it obvious they were tired and wanted nothing more than to leave the cold breeze of the winter night and just fall asleep on their soft and warm beds.

They only had a few minutes left for god's sake, because Lonely had used the majority of the time to explain his plan. Not that it was bad, but Osomatsu swore they could have only used twenty minutes of their time if Lonely just went straight to the point and stopped stalling. "So, I do hope you understood the plan! You agreed to inform some of your friends about this tomorrow, yes? I do hope you all take a well-deserved rest tomorrow! Masquerade balls are tiresome, and I should know. I'll be the one to send your costumes too, same time tomorrow night."

Osomatsu took a look at Jyushimatsu's notepad, which he bought with him earlier. He was allowed to take notes, but if Lonely caught him trying to reply to Choromatsu's text, he would only become more and more painful as he talked about how rude Osomatsu was being, and Osomatsu certainly did not want to die yet. Plus, Todo had practically begged him to not do anything but takes notes, since Todo needed sleep and he didn't want to push Lonely off the roof and claim it was an accident.

 ***wear costumes lonely will provide (and pray that they're not painful pls)**

 ***the masks are essential, since everyone's wearing one**

 ***lonely is so fucking painful ugggghhh**

 ***lonely's enemy will most likely wear one to sneak in and attempt to assassinate anyone at the ball, including jyushi**

 ***tater tot's costume will probably be thinner/lighter because tater tot can't move in a suit smh**

 ***SAVE ME AKATSUKA-SENSEI HE'S EVEN MORE PAINFUL THAN KARAMATSU LMAOOOOO**

 ***ichi's katana will be disguised as a prop (it doesn't need one tho)**

 ***dekapan, hatabou, homura, and fuyu will all be in charge of handling the cameras around lonely's mansion (he's rich af too? give me ur money lonely)**

 ***they'll be staying within another part of the forest, not too far from the mansion, but not too close either (friendly reminder; tell homura ghost stories about the forest before going there just becos lol)**

 ***todo, ichi, chibita, yuki, and hana will act as spies and roam around the mansion (aka they get to ambush people who look weird)**

 ***if they accidentally punch an innocent person, they get to know them out and shove them in a closet too lmao**

 ***me, kara, iyami, and lonely will stay in one area with jyushi (I get to see him again ahahahahaha :D lonelys a piece of shit btw)**

 ***lonely will lead us to the mansion hours before people arrive so we can get ready**

 ***just in case his enemy's 2strong4me (which is impossible lol), we'll let lonely, ichi, and todo fite him. tater tot has hella fine leg game and ichi can literally murder anyone lol**

 ***my nickname is pine**

 ***looooool todo and ichi get tater tot and captain katana (my suggestions are hella gr8)**

 ***chibita's is smol and iyami's is tol LMAOOOOOO GOOD ONE LONELY XD (chibita nearly killed lonely omg dO IT)**

 ***kara's is karat cake lmao (im gonna start calling him that l8er)**

 ***dekapan's is big**

 ***homura's is fall and hana's is summer (seasons? cool)**

 ***fuck im tired lonely pls hurry up**

 ***wtf he apparently nickanamed jyushi sweets? hes creepier than I give him credit for**

 _..My notes are absolute shit. I shouldn't be allowed to jot down notes when I desperately need sleep._

"Well." Lonely smiled, clapping his hands together, walking away from the circle of candles. "Time's up. I'll drop off the costumes tomorrow night, okay? Thank you so much. I really need to capture this enemy of mine before he takes another innocent's life." He adjusted his hold on Kiiro-kun, Jyushi's beloved stuffed toy. "And I'll be sure to tell dear Sweets about how you all miss him. Such a poor individual, he believes he isn't loved by anyone."

That caught Ichi's attention, as he turned away from Dekapan. "Wait wha-"

"I bid you adieu. More questions can be asked tomorrow, okay?" Lonely immediately grabbed his hang glider from the other side of the rooftop area and ran towards another direction, making sure he was still holding onto Kiiro-kun so he wouldn't drop him. "Ta-ta for now!"

"Wait!"

But before Osomatsu could stop him, Lonely had already jumped off the roof. For a second, he seemed kind of relieved that Lonely had fallen to his doom, but upon seeing the green hang glider soar on the night sky, he twitched.

 _What a painful guy._

* * *

 **EDIT (7/28/16); This chapter has been rewritten! Thank you to CrayCrayCressyCres from Ao3 for the criticism!**


	47. Chapter 47: Five Out of Six

**"So basically, you're going to be attending some sort of ball in which you wear masks and jab random people just to see if they're carrying a weapon and assume they're a mass murderer? And if you're wrong, you get to knock them out and shove them in a closet until you finally find the murderer and the criminal who planned to kill Jyushimatsu's other self?"**

"Something like that."

 **"Cool. Wish I was there. I'd be glad to jab random people. Everyone'll be in a closet in a matter of minutes."**

When Osomatsu had texted Choromatsu just to update him on the current situation, he hadn't been surprised to find a high amount of angry texts from Choromatsu, who was typing in all caps on why the eldest Matsuno wasn't replying at him. And when Osomatsu had finally replied after taking a nice bath and changing into his pajamas as soon as they got back on the hotel room, he was surprised to see that the replies weren't angry texts in all caps, but seemingly chill replies that didn't really seemed to be scared or surprised.

It didn't take long for Osomatsu to find out he was texting Ichimatsu. Apparently, Choromatsu had some sort of argument with Todomatsu earlier and Todomatsu angrily flipped a table and left the house, though he made sure to slam the door as loud as he could. Karamatsu had chased after him, and Choromatsu just placed the phone as calm as possible on the table and left to go for a drink, leaving both Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu at the house. Ichimatsu was leaning against the couch with Jyushimatsu sleeping on his lap, and he had been crying earlier when Choromatsu had an argument with Todomatsu. After Jyushimatsu had fallen asleep on his lap thanks to Ichimatsu, Ichimatsu decided to be the one to answer Osomatsu's texts.

"No you don't. This dimension's more dangerous than ours, lemme tell ya. Todo, Todomatsu's other self, is pretty dangerous himself. He flung a plate at me, but it hit Iyami instead. He's also edgier than you, but he's a good guy. Oh, and your other selves have different ages from ours. I'm sure Todo, Kara, and Ichi are older than us."

 **"Haha. Sounds fun. Wish it would have been me who got hit by a plate though. I never really thought about how it felt.."**

"You really are a masochist, aren't 'cha? Creepy little brother. No wonder you let Jyushimatsu tie you to a bat."

 **"Nice to talk to you too, Osomatsu, you idiot of an older brother."**

He snorted. Ichi had went back to Flag Corporation's building with Dekapan, stating that he'll be busy until the afternoon and come to the hotel once he was finished with work. The same goes for Fuyu, Yuki, Homura, Hana, and Dekapan, who all needed to work. As for Hatabou, they could only hope that he'd at least face the consequences of his actions and assist them. Iyami, Chibita, and Todo had all passed out upon getting back to the hotel room, and only Osomatsu and Kara were up at this hour. Kara was reading a pocket-sized blue book he brought along with him, and it looked like a small scrapbook if Osomatsu wasn't mistaken.

Kara's eyes were drooping though, which probably meant he was going to sleep soon. The room was quiet with not a sound to be heard, with the exception of the soft snoring of Todo on Osomatsu's other side of the bed. He was sure his tapping on the phone's screen wasn't considered too much of a noise.

"Speaking of which, why did Fappymatsu and Totty fight anyway? Can't they save the fighting once I get back? Geez, you guys only have each other for now."

 **"Something about stress and whatnot. Todomatsu kept telling Choromatsu he wasn't a baby despite being the youngest and Choromatsu should stop babying him so much and focus more on trying to get you back home. Todomatsu also said that Choromatsu and Karamatsu should deal with the stuff Professor Dekapan tells us about, while we both try to take care of Jyushimatsu ourselves.. he's just getting worse and worse, in case you're curious. He didn't even eat last night. He said he was too sluggish to chew on food."**

"What?! Well, give him something softer to eat! A mochi or bread could work. They're soft enough."

 **"He says he's nauseous. He didn't even touch his share the mochi mom got for us. He just doesn't want to chew on food in general. I didn't want to force him to eat something he didn't want to.."**

"What..? A-alright.. well, give him liquids then. They're easier to swallow and he needs something in his stomach if he's gonna take medicine. He likes grapefruit juice and hot chocolate, doesn't he? Sweetened drinks. And a lot of tea and water. Do not give him anything alcoholic. It'll do more harm than good." Funny how it was coming from Osomatsu, who tended to drink a lot of beer whenever they all went to Chibita's oden stand. "Ichimatsu, you're the one closest to him, aren't you? I know it's upsetting to see Jyushimatsu in pain, but he's gonna be in more pain if you don't put anything in his stomach. He can't down medicines without eating anything prior." That was common knowledge, wasn't it? He hoped Dekapan was smart enough to remember such a thing. "And if those two morons are still glaring daggers at each other once they come back, let them make up themselves."

 **"Understood."**

Osomatsu wasn't a responsible brother, because that was Choromatsu's job. But at times like this, it was time to get serious. Even if he wasn't there to lecture both Choromatsu and Todomatsu for arguing, he could at least tell Ichimatsu what to do just in case. "Thanks a lot, Ichimatsu. I know it's hard without the eldest, but you're gonna have to deal with this 'til I get back. Don't worry, I'll get you new fish snacks for your cats once I get back as a reward!" He smiled as he typed the text. "And I won't eat 'em in front of ya next time too! Not when you're dressed as Karamatsu and pretending to be him, that is."

A few seconds later, he got a reply and he nearly burst out laughing when he read Ichimatsu's reply.

 **"WAIT YOU KNEW IT WAS ME AND NOT KARAMATSU?!"**

 _Uh oh._

Still, Osomatsu made a cheeky grin as he texted a reply. Did he feel nervous? Not at all. Plus, if Ichimatsu was going to pretend to be Karamatsu, he could have at least combed his hair. That was an obvious sign that it hadn't been Karamatsu. Seriously, who did Ichimatsu think he was? He was the eldest brother, of course he could tell his brothers apart at first glance! "Yup. Nice impression by the way. Your English is somehow worse than his. Congratulations, I didn't even think it was possible."

 **"DIE! I SINCERELY HOPE YOU DIE A THOUSAND DEATHS YOU STUPID ELDEST BROTHER! I WILL FUCKING CHOKE YOU ONCE YOU GET BACK HOME AND I'LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN! IF YOU FUCKING TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS, I WILL TOSS YOU TO THE FUCKING RIVER FOR SHITTYMATSU AND TODOMATSU TO FISH AND SELL TO THE FISH MARKET!"**

The eldest Matsuno snorted. Was the brother of darkness seriously threatening him through a text from another dimeension? Ichimatsu was as funny as Choromatsu sometimes, Osomatsu had to admit. "Haha. Goodnight to you too, Ichimatsu. Take good care of Jyushimatsu, alright? Nii-san's orders. I'll text later, okay? And if Chorofappyski's still in a bad mood, you can keep the phone for awhile or let Karamatsu suffer with it."

 **"Fine. Good night to you too. I hope you don't die in your sleep, just so I can kill you myself."**

 _Typical Ichimatsu._

With a chuckle, he put his phone on the top of the shelf and turned to Kara, who had fallen asleep with the small scrapbook on hand. "Eh? I thought you were at least better than that, Kara." He mumbled to himself with a grin. He stood up from his bed and pulled the blankets to cover Kara's body, grabbing the small book from his hand and gently putting his head on his pillow. "There ya go. Thank me tomorrow, Karat Cake." He snickered. "Now, let's see this little book you were readin'. Must be cool if you brought it with you-"

At the sight of the page where Kara had stopped reading, Osomatsu suddenly started giggling. On that page was a picture of a younger Kara and Todo, both wearing kindergarten uniforms. Since they were just kids, Todo's hair looked similar to Kara's and wasn't dyed pink, but Todo was pouting with puffed cheeks while Kara was brightly grinning, with one tooth missing. His giggling seemed loud enough to awake Kara, who stirred upon hearing the laughter of his older brother. "Eh..? Osomatsu-niisan? Why're you laughing..?"

Osomatsu showed Kara the page. "Is this really Tater Tot?! My god, he's so fucking cute as a kid! Look at him!" He practically squealed, flipping through more of the pages. "Is this like your photo album or something? I never knew they could be this small!" He stopped at a page with an older Kara and Todo, both wearing high school uniforms, except Todo's blazer was tied around his waist and a few streaks of his hair were dyed pink. "Is this where his edgy phase started?! Oh my god!"

Kara rubbed his eyes, though he seemed to be laughing too. "Oh, that. Yes, I made it as a project during high school, though it ended up being some sort of photo album. I usually keep small pictures there." He yawned. "He.. didn't leave that phase. I don't think it's a phase anymore. I think it's truly who he is, as funny as it sounds."

"It's not funny, it's fucking hilarious." Osomatsu snickered. "Lookit him! What a cute threat to society-"

A pillow was hurled at him, and the pink-haired punk's eyes were basically burning with rage. "I am trying to sleep, so shut the fuck up!" Todo hissed. Miraculously, Iyami and Chibita were too tired to actually wake up. Todo tried to bury his face on his pillow, but it became futile for him to fall asleep again. "Argh! Osomatsu, you asshole! I can't fall asleep now!" He bared his fangs. "You better have a fucking reason for being so loud, or I'll fucking punch you to oblivion-"

"Tater Tot, you looked so cute as a kid! What the hell happened? Surely not puberty!" Osomatsu wrapped an arm around Todo's neck and waved the small book around, showing Todo a picture of himself and Kara as children. It was the same picture of Todo pouting. "Ya know, me and my brothers looked too much like each other when we were kids. Even our pictures looked photoshopped because our poses were similar! But this?!" He waved around the picture, noticing Todo suddenly flush red upon seeing it. "It looks different from ours, sure, but you were so cute!"

"Kara, why would you even bring that with you." Todo covered his tomato-red face with both of his hands, mumbling in shame. "Oh my god, look at me there. I looked like I already knew how shitty my life was gonna get. How old was I there? Like, five? I feel bad for my kid self, he already knew how shitty he was."

"Why do all your high school pics look like you're going through a phase-"

"Let us not talk about that. Please."

"But why? You're still in that phase, aren't you-"

"It's not a phase, oh my god, just shut up and let me die."

"You sound like an emo kid. 'Shut up mom, this is the real me!' or something-"

"Fucking end my suffering."

As Osomatsu continued to tease an obviously tired Todo, who was now whining about his life. Kara decided it would be best to leave them be and just go to sleep, but Osomatsu's phone started vibrating on top of the drawer. The two continued to be noisy until Kara picked it up and handed it to Osomatsu. "Osomatsu-niisan. For you."

Osomatsu raised an eyebrow, giving the small book to Todo, who was probably planning on burying the scrap book somewhere Osomatsu couldn't find it. Did Choromatsu finally come back from having a few drinks, or had Karamatsu managed to bring back Todomatsu back with him to the house? He was sure Ichimatsu wouldn't bother on texting him again until the morning.

 **"This is Ichimatsu. Sorry for texting you when you're probably sleeping, but Dekapan just called and it's something important, so let's just cut to the chase okay."**

 _Unless it's something important, that is. Because even as uncaring Ichimatsu was, he doesn't pretend to not give a shit to everything. He has basic common sense, thankfully. And at least he doesn't stall like Lonely._

"What is it?"

 **"He apparently realized the location of the other Fappymatsu. He said it was the same life sign with you earlier. The same one that could have crashed onto you and the others if you didn't back off."**

 _Oh my fuck._

 **"Isn't this kinda the opposite of a bad thing, though? I mean, you finally found all of our alternate selves. All you need to do is find the other you too. I'll tell those other losers once they get home, alright? Jyushimatsu already knows. Anyway, g'night. I need rest and so do Jyushimatsu."**

 _And now, so do I. This is the opposite of good, Ichimatsu._

Osomatsu stared at the phone while Kara and Todo looked at each other in confusion, wondering why their older brother from another dimension suddenly went as white as a sheet, even when Kara got off his bed to place a concerned hand on his brother's shoulder. "Osomatsu-niisan? Is something wrong?" He asked. "Did.. did something happen to your brothers in the other dimension?" Kara got a chance to talk to his alternate self after all, and he remembered that one of them was sick. Hopefully, it didn't get worse.

"It hurts." Osomatsu mumbled quietly.

Todo frowned. "What hurts, Osomatsu-niisan?"

"I'm related to another painful guy. It''s physically hurting your onii-chan, Tater Tot." His eye twitched. "Why would fate fucking do this to me. Of all the things his other self could be, why a painful piece of shit?! OH MY GOD, WHY HIM OF ALL PEOPLE?!"

Kara and Jyushi were fine, despite their lack of confidence, and even if Todo and Ichi were going to end up in jail someday for being themselves, they at least had soft sides. But Lonely? As the alternate self of Choromatsu, the brother Osomatsu was closest to?! Lonely, that painful-as-fuck maniac that kidnapped Jyushi and was going to use him as some sort of bait so he could capture some random guy?!

 _Akatsuka-sensei, I literally need all the help I can get._


	48. Chapter 48: The Negative Ion

Ichi lived in Flag Corporation's building, just a floor below his little brother's office. It was natural he lived there, seeing as how his little brother lived there too. But after the death of his father and after giving the mansion staff better jobs and making sure they were no longer bound to serving the Suuji Family, Ichi had thought it would be best to leave the past behind. So he grabbed a few things and his little brother, and had Dekapan and Hatabou fix the extra floors of the building into his and Jyushi's respective bedrooms. Jyushi had the highest floor, since his little brother deserved to be on the very top of the world, where no one could reach him. But before anyone could reach Jyushi, they had to go through Ichi's floor too.

 _Big brother knows best after all. If they want to go to Jyushi, they have to go through me._

His room was interesting to look at, since there was a higher platform which contained his bed, a TV, his drawers and closets, a desk full of papers and elementary school books, as well as personal trinkets, while his katana was beside his bed just in case someone tried to attack him while he was sleeping. The higher platform was connected to the lower platform by stairs, and as expected, the lower platform was his office. There were shelves filled with files and books, but the furniture was arranged nicely, and sitting on Ichi's desk was an untouched chessboard. On the other side of the room was a piano, the same piano he lets Jyushi practice on.

He remembered he had to put Jyushi's tutors on hold when they get Jyushi back from Lonely, who was apparently going to use him as bait, while at the same time, protecting him from someone who happens to be very dangerous. He can't instantly teach his little brother basic math and history when Jyushi could possibly suffer from some sort of trauma. Even if Lonely agreed to never lay a finger on him, the kidnapping alone must have scared Jyushi even the slightest bit.

He still couldn't understand what Lonely meant by Jyushi thinking no one loved him, but considering they were meeting up with Lonely later, he could whack the shit out of him so he could spit out whatever he meant. Of course Jyushi was loved! What made his little brother think he wasn't? Was it because of their dad? Fuck that guy, he had died years ago and his opinions didn't matter. Plus, he didn't even acknowledge Jyushi's existence when he was still alive. Jyushi shouldn't either.

Speaking of which.. he glanced at the small purple bottle on top of his desk, just beside the expensive vase of wilted flowers Jyushi had picked with Fuyu and Yuki last autumn. Those flowers used to be a nice blend of reds, yellows, and oranges, but now, they were all gray and dead, dull and lifeless. As much as he wanted to dispose of the flowers because they looked and were probably dead, he couldn't do so until spring came and Jyushi had new flowers to the small purple bottle sitting on his desk? It was just a little reminder of how he got in this position, how he became the president to this company.

He couldn't say he rightfully earned the position, seeing as how he murdered the previous president with the liquid he emptied from the bottle, but oh well. Life's life. The police hadn't had the nerve to investigate this matter years ago, so everyone just assumed a staff member had poisoned the previous president for mistreating the staff, his own son, and even his own lovely wife. If someone else besides Ichi did it, he wouldn't even question why. His dad was a monster that everyone hated and feared, end of story. He was the reason Jyushi couldn't even walk.

Ichi bit his lip as he remembered that day. He never wanted to see Jyushi in pain ever again. He didn't want anyone to hurt his little brother in that way again. He already lost his mother, his mother who had done nothing wrong and only wanted for her husband to be kinder to his sons. He couldn't bare to lose his little brother too, not when he was the only one Ichi had left to live in this trashy world.

 _I'll never let anyone hurt him again._

Putting a hand over his chest, he felt the hard surface of the metal pendant he always wore underneath his clothes. He tugged it out a bit and clicked it open, gazing fondly at the picture inside; it was a picture they both took during Fuyu and Yuki's wedding, so they were both in formal outfits, with Jyushi's being white and Ichi's being black. Jyushi had his fingers up in a "peace" gesture as he was sitting on a plastic chair clad in white cloth, his cane sitting on his lap. Ichi was kneeling down a bit to Jyushi's level, and even though Ichi himself thought it was unsettling, he was smiling. Not necessarily as pleasant as Jyushi, since his row of sharp teeth showed, but to Jyushi, at least Ichi smiled.

His eyes softened as he ran a finger through the picture delicately, almost as if it was a fragile memory that was going to break upon contact with his finger. He hadn't showed much emotion yesterday with his rage directed at Todo and his annoyance directed at Osomatsu, but he was extremely worried for the safety of Jyushi. He hoped Jyushi was okay and Lonely kept his promise that he was going to defend him with his very life.

He glanced at the purple bottle again. As purple as his eyes, he mentally noted with a frown. He.. never did like the color purple. It was the color of that bottle of poison, which would forever remind him of his first sin as a child. It was the same color as the liquid inside the bottle. It was the same color of his father's eyes. And finally, it was the color of his eyes. Trash like him had the same eye color as his monster of a father, and the same color as the liquid he had used to rid of his father. How funny, he thought.

Jyushi always said Ichi's eyes looked pretty because they were mysterious to gaze at, but in Ichi's opinion, he liked Jyushi's and his mother's yellow eyes better. They were as bright as the sun and seemingly held warmth and kindness. Ichi liked the way Jyushi's eyes would sparkle whenever his younger brother found fresh flowers to pick, or found butterflies fluttering in the park.

With a sigh, he put the pendant back underneath his clothes, slightly flinching at the cold metal touching against his skin. Just as he was about to open his laptop and search for anything that could occupy his mind away from the frantic worrying he had for his little brother, his door was slammed open. Or, to be more precise, it was kicked down. Before he could push a button to have security march in and shoot the person who dared to break his door, he found himself face-to-face with a frantic Osomatsu, who grabbed the collar of his coat and started shaking him.

"Ichi! I need your help! I know Lonely's true identity!" By the way he was yelling, it was more of a whine. A really annoying whine. "Please help us! I didn't hack through your security measures again for nothing!"

 _What?! AGAIN?! OH MY GOD, DIDN'T THEY LEARN THE FIRST TIME THAT WE NEED TO HAVE BETTER SECURITY MEASURES?! OH MY FUCK-_

"Unhand me this instant, Matsuno!" Ichi barked. From the corner of his eye, he could see Hana had came in and was staring at the remains of the door with interest. Todo, the one who had apparently kicked down the door, bowed in apology in the most awkward fashion. "Take a seat before I call security up in here and have you kicked out!"

"Um, about that." Kara was also in the room, and he was the only one who still hadn't committed a crime today. With Osomatsu currently trying to murder Ichi by furiously shaking him and Todo breaking down a door, it was a miracle that Kara was still an average guy with no sin against him. Besides choking him with a wooden baton, that is. "We, erm.. locked them up in different parts of the storage room by attracting their attention with pebbles and making them walk over to that area, so we could lock them up. As for the guards at the lobby, well.."

Ichi raised a hand, eye twitching in annoyance. Thankfully, Osomatsu also took it as a sign to shop shaking him. "Save it for later, Kyabarie. Hatabou and Dekapan will deal with this issue. I should arrest you for breaking in the same building whose securities you hacked days ago, but that is rather impressive and you get a gold star for that, so you're off the hook. For now." Ichi grumbled, adjusting his glasses. Seconds later, he carefully opened his laptop. "Hana, call for someone to clean this mess up. I take it you were the one who lead them here?"

Hana had a lot of potential that the Suuji Brothers saw, though her only flaw was her lack of loyalty, as well as Homura's. Unlike Hatabou, Dekapan, Fuyu, Yuki, or the other members of Flag Corporation, Hana wouldn't blindly follow Ichi's orders if they went against her morals. With a nod that caused both her twin tails to seemingly flutter, she enthusiastically flapped her hands around as if she were a bird. "Yup! I caught them trying to sneak in the elevator! Amateurs at doing it, lemme tell ya! So I decided to bring them here since they were looking for ya! Osomatsu-san was fidgety though, and I think Todo-san was really anxious! So anxious, he kicked a door down!"

..She was brave to a fault, Ichi could give her that. She was lucky Ichi didn't just blindly hurt people who could be as oblivious as her, unlike his father. With a sigh, he waved his hand dismissively. "Fine, fine. I'm not mad. Just a bit frustrated, but that could be settled easily by playing the piano until I manage to make myself deaf. You go and help Hatabou now. I'll call for you two later in case I need anything. And tell Hatabou to cancel my meetings for the day."

Hana saluted, still full of energy and as bouncy as a peppy cheerleader. "Sir, yes sir!" She chirped. Though before she left the room, she turned curiously to Osomatsu. "Hey Osomatsu-san! Where's Chibita-kun anyway?"

 _..Chibita-kun? They're that close already?_

"Still back at the hotel! Probably relaxing or still sleeping, even. I accidentally woke him and Iyami up by throwing a tantrum last night. Todo, Chibita, and Iyami couldn't sleep afterwards, haha." Osomatsu said with a grin, finally letting go of Ichi. "But he'll be up later, I'm sure. Plus, we're meeting up with that Lonely guy later! You guys make a great team when it comes to making coffee."

"Aw, thanks!" Hana presumably attempted to give Osomatsu a playful punch, which hurt like hell when she aimed for his stomach due to her short size. The punch of a small girl was somehow worse than Todo's foot kicking him. "See ya guys later." She didn't even bother to shut the door, seeing as how there were none. Pieces of the door were scattered a bit by Hana, but the mess wasn't irritating to the point Ichi would kill one of his clones on the spot and use their body as a cover-up for the mess.

He removed his glasses, rubbing his forehead in exasperation. "Take a seat first. I need coffee and it's too early for this." He grumbled, carefully setting away the chessboard to the side of his desk to make room for more loads of paper he got from under the desk. He pulled his office chair which had been facing the window and turned it so that it faced his desk. "So, you claim to know Lonely's true identity. Do tell, so he'll be able to stop using those fucking nicknames." He scoffed, sitting on the chair. He started typing furiously on his laptop, annoyed eyes glaring at the screen with intensity.

Osomatsu finally settled down on the sofa with Todo and Kara on the sofa across him. "Alright, so I don't know his full name, but I'm pretty sure his first name's Choro." Because Todo, Kara, Jyushi, and Ichi all had the first part of their names without "Matsu", so it made sense for Lonely to have the same name.

Ichi continued to type on the laptop. "Well, that's it?"

"Uh, yeah. Unfortunately."

The purple-eyed male scoffed, flicking his glasses. "Fucking hell. I expected a lot more than just that. Only his name. Thousands of people could share that name." He murmured. "You're lucky we only focus on Akatsuka City residents. If this company focused on the entire country of Japan, we'd be dead. Not even I have the motivation to deal with that much work." He reached out for the telephone on one side of his desk, dialing a number and waiting for someone on the other line to pick up. "Boss Homura of the Individual's Information Department? This is President Suuji speaking. Listen, I need you to look for the files of the individuals whose name starts with 'Choro'. Can you do that? How many results are there?"

 **"Of course I can! Um, as for the results, er... seventy-eight results, sir!"**

Everyone heard the anxious squeaking from the other line, though Ichi just sighed in reply, not bothering to tell her that the higher the pitch of her voice is, the more likely she'll choke on her own breath and die. "Alright.. that's actually better than I thought. Choro is not a common name in Akatsuka after all. Grab those files and have someone bring them here. I need them now for research purposes. You're doing fine Homura, so don't be too anxious. Hana told me about how you fainted yesterday when I gave you that promotion. You don't want everyone in that floor to pour glasses of water on you now, do you? So don't be too shy about being the boss of that department."

 **"Y-yes sir! I'll do my best!"**

He hung up afterwards, giving a bored look to Osomatsu and the other two. "There you have it. Seventy-eight files and since there are four of us, it won't be too hard to skim through them. Now we wait. For eternity, probably, since Homura will probably use five minutes to muster up the courage to ask someone in that department to assist her." He sighed, removing his glasses. "I didn't expect to deal with this much work as soon as I got back from France, especially with my little brother's kidnapping. I can't relax with that going on either. Then again.." He glared darkly at Osomatsu. "Having a troublemaker from another dimension isn't a walk in the park to deal with in the first place."

Osomatsu stiffened. Kara's eyes widened. And Todo reacted by jumping up from the sofa and making a defensive stance, inching towards Osomatsu just in case Ichi would lunge at him. "You know." Osomatsu gasped out. Ichi merely leaned against the chair, arms behind his back and his legs crossed on top of the desk. "How'd you find out, Ichi?"

"You do realize I'm not the type to not ask about these kinds of things? Information gathering is what my company is about, so I have to ask every single detail about my brother's 'friends', naturally. Just to see if they're safe enough for my brother to be around with." Ichi scoffed. "I asked Dekapan and Hatabou, of course. You truly are a wondrous case, Matsuno. You ended up in this dimension, and you don't even know how?" He lazily lifted up his right hand, using his index finger to point at Osomatsu. "And I'm also wondering why you have that."

Osomatsu cocked his head to the side. "Huh?" He had what? The scarf? He knew it reeked of Karamatsu's disgusting perfume, but surely it can't be that bad now, could it?

 _Then again.. this is Karamatsu we're talking about._

"The ring. Only Jyushi and I have that kind of ring." He had it custom made a month after his father's death, and Jyushi had always hidden the ring on his finger with his sleeves. But every winter, he'd also hide it with mittens. He unconsciously ran his left thumb on his left index finger, feeling the smooth texture of the metal band wrapped around his finger.

"How'd you see that?" Todo interrupted, eyes focused on Ichi's every move. He won't hesitate to break Ichi's neck if he hurt Osomatsu or Kara. Todo's eyes glanced around the room, looking for something that could be used as a weapon just in case Ichi were to go berserk. "You wear glasses, don't you? There's no way you could notice something as small as that from there to here."

"True. My eyes aren't as sharp as yours, Katsuna." Ichi stood from his seat to walk all over the room, arms behind his back to assure Todo he wasn't going to do anything. "I heard from Hatabou this morning. Jyushi entrusted it to you? As some sort of test for trust, I recall?" He watched as Osomatsu timidly nod in agreement, and much to his amusement, Todo was making a defensive stance. Kara was also a bit wary, sweating as his blue eyes followed Ichi's pattern in moving back and forth around certain areas of his room. "Oh, I'm not mad. Not at all. I'm just a bit.. curious."

"About what?" Kara asked.

Ichi continued to walk around the room, stopping when he reached his desk again. He carefully picked up the black queen, and he reminded himself to be very gentle because the chess pieces were made out of porcelain. "See this?" He held the piece up with his thumb and index finger. The other three were now staring at the fragile chess piece he was holding up with his fingers. "It's the black queen. It's considered the most important piece in the game. If something were to happen to it, even the king wouldn't be so useful." Just like Jyushi to Ichi. He carefully placed it back on it's place on the board. "I know it won't make much sense, but I'm not one to control Jyushi's decisions. After all, he is growing."

As much as Ichi would prefer for Jyushi to just stay as his currently nineteen-year old and optimistic little brother, he sighed at the thought of his brother being taken advantage of. It had happened multiple times in the past after all. Jyushi was just too kind, but even kindness had it's limits. His mother, for example. She was such a kind woman, though after dealing with such a monster for a husband for years, even she had snapped. And that only resulted into her death.

 _And no matter how hard I try to prevent it, Jyushi will someday have to face the real world. And I won't be able to protect him. If only there was an option for him to stay as he is.. if he faces the real world one day, he won't be Jyushi anymore.. and I'll lose the only happiness in my life._

"What I'm trying to say is, Jyushi must trust you a lot to give you his ring. Even if I told him countless times to not just give it away to random strangers he just met and considers his friends. And it may be too much for me to ask this of you, but if you dare to break the trust he has in you.." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was pleased to see Todo suddenly look very agitated. It meant he was intimidating, at least. "I will never forgive any of you and one of you will be strapped on the flag of Flag Corporation. The other two will probably be chopped to itty-bitty pieces and their intestines will be sold as a new product. Am I clear?"

To his surprise, Osomatsu was the one that reacted to him saying such things, as he stood up from the sofa and gently patted an agitated Todo on the head, giving him a small smile as if to say it was going to be fine. "Ichi, Ichi. Captain Katana, you really are a megalomaniac." He tsked. "Don't ask me how I know a big word like that Todo, it's Chorofappyski's fault for being a human dictionary ever since middle school. But Ichi! That's a big thing you're asking of us to do. Especially since you nearly killed two of us yesterday. But!" He raised a finger in a dramatic fashion, though not as dramatic as Lonely's. "You don't really need to tell us that, since we won't do such a thing! We all share the same face, so let's at least get along, aight?"

 _..That.. isn't really the reaction I expected.._

Ichi only scoffed, focusing on fixing his chessboard instead. Damn, those files were taking a long time. "You better not be lying. I mean, you are from another dimension. Who knows what you do in your own world."

Then suddenly, he heard nervous chuckling. He quickly glanced back at Osomatsu, who was still standing beside Todo, who was now shaking his head in.. disappointment? Second-hand embarrassment? Who knows. "Ah. I know that Dekapan and Hatabou told you where I came from, but I doubt any of you know what I am to you in my dimension!"

 _What.. he is.. to me?_

Ichi crossed his arms, clicking his tongue in annoyance. He still hated Osomatsu, even if he was brave enough to actually talk to him directly without fearing a katana being shoved up his ass. "Oh? If you're in a higher position than I am from where you come from, I doubt it matters to me in this dimension-"

"Your right. It probably won't matter. Yeah, funny story is, in this dimension, you're only related to Jyushi, yeah? And Kara and Todo are best friends?" He was chuckling nervously, with Todo mentally praying he'd deliver the statement as clear as day. Even Kara had to look away with a sigh. "Well, in my dimension, you're actually my little brother. Oh, and Kara's your big brother. And Todo's supposed to be the youngest, and Jyushi's the second youngest and-"

"Okay, hold the damn phone!" He suddenly snapped. He wanted to slam his fists against the table, but he forced himself not to, especially since his favorite chessboard was sitting on top of the desk. "Repeat what you just said."

Todo rolled his pink eyes, sighing. "Osomatsu, you idiot. You could have at least delivered it the way you delivered it to Kara or Jyushi."

"Hey, this is harder than it looks, Tater Tot! You try explaining to some big-shot president that you're his eldest brother from an alternate dimension-"

It was at that point that Ichi turned his back on them, reaching out for the telephone on his desk, dialing a number, all the while he kept a deadpan face. "Alright. This is where I draw the line. I knew it was too early for this. Would you gents care for a cup of coffee? As dark as my soul, maybe I'm still half-asleep."

Osomatsu sputtered out something incoherent. "W-what?! Oi, Ichi! I'm not kidding! I really am your big brother!"

"I refuse to believe such a thing."

"Ichi, it's not really that hard to believe!"

"After hearing you come from another dimension, I refuse to believe in anything else."

While Osomatsu continued to whine loudly and Ichi started to list down his breakfast for the day, Todo sat back next to Kara, relieved that there was nothing deadly in the atmosphere. Still, he couldn't help but snicker. "Isn't this how Osomatsu reacted to Lonely being his brother last night?"

Kara sighed, shaking his head. Even if Osomatsu was his older brother and he respected him, Osomatsu was truly an idiot.


	49. Chapter 49: Contagious Happiness

"Lonely?"

Lonely looked up from the newspaper he was reading and scribbling on with a red marker, seeing Jyushi on the doorway. Jyushi was forcing himself to stand up with a cane that Lonely had provided as a replacement from the one Jyushi had left at the restaurant. Even though he trusted Jyushi as Jyushi trusted him, as that's what friends do he kept reminding himself, he still kept a mask on his face just to keep his identity hidden from him. He couldn't be too careful, especially around someone who had the ability to instantly memorize anything within seconds like a computer.

Still, he put down the newspaper he was reading, making a soft smile directed at his friend. Even though Jyushi had such a gift, Jyushi wasn't entirely dangerous. That'd be plain silly, Lonely kept telling himself. "What is it, Sweets? Do you require anything?" He asked. He already gave him breakfast, but was Jyushi hungry again? There was a chance.

Jyushi wobbled as he walked away from the doorway, trying hard and his best to move to where Lonely was. It was hard to do so when he was gripping onto a cane with his right hand while his left arm was wrapped around his precious Kiiro-kun as he stumbled. Lonely noticed how difficult it was for Jyushi to move and stood up from his seat and ran to his side, carefully helping him before he hurt himself. Though Lonely had a lot of outfits to choose from, it was hard to find one that could be used as pajamas to give to someone like Jyushi. Hence why he just gave Jyushi a white over-sized polo Jyushi couldn't even button up due to the long sleeves, black shorts, and white ankle socks so Jyushi could at least have a nice change of clothes from his stuffy winter wear. Thankfully, they had the same size when it came to underwear, so they didn't need to worry about that.

As for where his previous clothes and his backpack were, Lonely was nice enough to do the laundry. Jyushi's phone was still in tact, though with how rough Lonely had carried an unconscious Jyushi from the city's restaurant to deep within the forest had resulted to the poor phone now having a broken screen. His other items were at least okay. And Jyushi himself was fine, of course. The slight nausea he felt when he woke up was probably a result from Lonely having to fly a hang-glider while carrying an unconscious body with him.

 _I am thankful we both ended up in one piece, though. If Jyushi ever got hurt, so much for "I will never lay a finger on him".. I'm sure his brother would have sliced me into small pieces._

"Thank you so much, Lonely." Jyushi mumbled softly as Lonely helped him sit on the chair across him. Lonely still didn't leave his side, and instead, he pulled over a chair and sat next to him. "Sorry about that. It's hard to get around without my lucky cane! Plus, the floor's slippery! As for why I'm here.. well, I got lonely at your study! I read all your books already and read all the newspapers on your walls, and I'm bored. I just want to be around you, if it's not too much trouble!"

Another thing Lonely liked about Jyushi, besides the fact he was good company and was very cooperative with him, was that Jyushi was honest. Honesty was the best policy after all, and since Jyushi had the naivety of a child, he wasn't really plotting anything to escape. Plus, Lonely had explained the situation to him last night after he accidentally woke him up when he planned to give the yellow-eyed male a bag of mushed-up cake and his beloved Kiiro-kun. "Of course it won't be much trouble. I very much enjoy your company, Sweets. Though the living room doesn't necessarily have that much to offer, no? Let me think of something interesting to do. We still have time before we set up the preparations."

Jyushi swore he saw this place before. From the furniture to the paintings that decorated the walls, and even through how slippery the floor was. This place seemed really familiar, though Jyushi couldn't tell why. The living room was like Lonely's study, decorated with papers and newspapers he couldn't understand. Sure, Jyushi knew how to read and all, but understanding complex words wasn't really part of his abilities. He remembered every single thing Lonely wrote on those newspapers, from scarily-written threats in red marker to neat handwriting complete with extra information. Then again, even the halls had multiple newspapers and papers taped, almost as if to remind Lonely about what he was doing every time he strolled around the manor. At least Lonely had a hobby, since he claimed to have no friends.

"Lonely, you said you were gonna have a ball tomorrow, right? It sounds really fun, but do you think your guests won't mind the newspapers all over the place?" Jyushi asked curiously. The last party he attended was a Halloween Party held at Flag Corporation's building, and he had dressed up as an angel while Ichi had dressed up as a grim reaper. While it was a fun party that resulted to Hana getting cavities and having to be excused from work for an entire week straight, it was an employees-only party. He was also sure Lonely just invited random people from all over Akatsuka City, which meant strangers will be all over the place. And some of them might not find Lonely's "decorations" around the manor as interesting as Jyushi does.

 _But if Osomatsu-niisan got invited, he's sure to find them interesting too!_

Lonely just made a smile. "Oh no. They'll all be staying in the lobby. It's cleaner than my manor's halls, believe me. It would be rather embarrassing to show them the mess in the other parts of the mansion, and I plan to make sure they never leave the lobby to wander around. But there are other nice places in the mansion. The garden, for example. Though it's winter and there may not be any flowers, the snow itself is beautiful enough." He offered a hand. "Do you want to see for yourself, Sweets?"

Why not, Jyushi reasoned mentally. He used his long sleeve to place on Lonely's open hand, and once again, he was being helped as he walked and exited the living room, still holding onto Kiiro-kun. The place had bright orange lights, but the air was cold and Jyushi could smell the same scent from Lonely's study. Up until now, he still couldn't figure out what the scent was. Lonely's shoes were clicking against the marble floor and that was the only source of noise. They walked in silence, the only thing Jyushi could hear was Lonely's footsteps.

Jyushi looked down at his stuffed cat that was hugged onto his arm. His yellow eyes softened. The stuffed animal was handmade by Ichi for a project during high school, and after receiving a perfect grade as always, he had happily given it to Jyushi as a gift. Jyushi loved it very much, much more than the other stuffed animals in his room, even more so than the large giraffe that Todo had thrown at Osomatsu when he teased him. Kiiro-kun was like a friend to him, even if he couldn't talk back to Jyushi. He thought of it more as a safety blanket if anything, and he was glad Lonely gave it to him last night.

 _Still.. Lonely said Ichi-niisan came back from his trip early because he heard from Hatabou that I got kidnapped.. but Lonely isn't even doing anything bad! He got me sweets when I woke up too! So why's Ichi-niisan worried? Lonely just wants to stop the bad guy from hurting more people.. right? And that's why I'm here.. because I was supposed to die, but Lonely prevented that by bringing me here so the bad man couldn't find me and so he could protect me. So I have to help him catch the bad guy by acting as bait.. ummm, does this mean I "owe my life" to Lonely now? Hmmm..._

Jyushi hadn't noticed they stepped outside of the mansion already until his white slippers stepped into the snow, causing him to flinch at the cold contact. Lonely snorted a bit at his reaction, still holding onto the sleeve of Jyushi's shirt so he wouldn't fall straight onto the snow. "Wonderful, isn't it? I do adore winter. Even though it's seemingly a dark, cold season, it's also a season for beauty and for family to bond, correct? And a season where all your leave behind all your past mistakes and get ready for spring, where you start anew." He sighed. "I know people adore summer, but I cannot stand the heat and the noise. I very much prefer winter and solitude."

"Leave behind all the past mistakes, huh.." Jyushi blinked when he suddenly felt something cold on his nose, and he sneezed, almost like a kitten. After rubbing his nose and hearing Lonely's quiet giggles, Jyushi's eyes widened at the sight of the garden. "There's a lotta snow!" Jyushi commented with a wide smile. It was snowing, and piles of white had covered most of the flowerbeds that were supposed to be there, but thankfully, there weren't any flowers. Jyushi would hate to see such nice flowers cold! But there were small trees, with the biggest tree in the center having a swing set, and there were even snowmen everywhere! "Ah, you must have so much fun, Lonely! You have a swing set too!"

He remembered going to the park with Osomatsu, Todo, and Kara two days ago, and he remembered playing on the swing set while Todo pushed him. It was pretty fun! Even though they all got in a snowball fight and it was really cold, and Jyushi's plate of cake remained untouched for the rest of the day, it was still a fun picnic.

 _I hope we can go on another one. But with Ichi-niisan and Lonely too! I wonder if the five of them can get along._

Lonely chuckled at his enthusiasm. Such simple snowmen was able to bring happiness? He felt pride in that. Maybe he should make more later. He wasn't really the best when it came to things like this. "I built the snowmen for the guests tomorrow, just in case some of them want to wander outside. Hopefully, they won't melt. The snowmen, I mean." Lonely slowly walked over to where the swing set was, carefully helping Jyushi walk alongside him. Thankfully, it wasn't too cold, and if it was, Lonely could always rush in and grab a jacket for Jyushi. He himself was wearing a suit, so it wasn't cold to him.

Jyushi sat on the swing set as soon as they got there, not caring about the snow he sat on, which was probably gonna stain his over-sized shirt and the shorts he was wearing. Lonely was nice enough to give him shorts with thick material, so Jyushi didn't feel like he sat on cold water. Jyushi started to giggle wildly and flap one of his sleeves, as his other arm was still holding onto Kiiro-kun. "Lonely, Lonely! Push!" When Lonely went behind him and got ready to push, Jyushi gripped onto the handle of the swing set as tight as he could. "Push! Lonely!"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't let go, alright? It'd be a hassle to dig you out of the snow if you fly off." Lonely did as Jyushi told him to, starting out slow. He didn't want Jyushi to accidentally fly off to another part of the forest after all. But as Jyushi continued to laugh loudly, Lonely found himself laughing too. Even with the colombina mask covering his eyes, one could see even from afar that Lonely seemed to be having fun. He had Jyushi's happiness to blame for just being so damn contagious.

"Ahahaha! Lonely, higher!"

"Eh? But Sweets, you'll fly off if I push you harder!"

"Fly?! I can fly if you push me harder?! Yay! So cool! Higher then!"

"Ah! Sweets! Hold on tight, okay?"

To Lonely's relief, Jyushi actually listened, because he saw Jyushi's fingers from underneath the sleeve grip tightly onto the swing as he laughed louder. Lonely could swear Jyushi was now tearing up from laughing too much, but he'd be a hypocrite if he said Jyushi was just being plain silly. Lonely almost wanted to take his mask off, because he felt something wet from his eyes slightly blur his vision. Fuck, if Jyushi didn't stop laughing right now, Lonely was sure he would choke on his own breath and probably die.

 _Jyushi's happiness is truly contagious.. ah, he is dangerous after all._

Lonely stopped pushing when he heard the sound of a vehicle beeping loudly, loud to the point even Jyushi seemed bothered. Jyushi slightly bounced from his seat in surprise, but still held onto Kiiro-kun. "Uwaa!" He squeaked out, hugging Kiiro-kun to his chest out of instinct and fear. "Hey, Lonely! What was that?!"

Lonely frowned a bit. "I thought I told them not to have their drivers cause too much noise." Lonely grumbled to himself, before forcing himself to smile at Jyushi, who was staring at him curiously. "Oh, it's just the stuff I ordered for tomorrow. I cannot cook anything outside of basic meals, you see, and having only one person to cook the food for a hundred guests isn't as simple as it sounds. So I hired people to do that for me tomorrow. I also hired people to set up the decorations. They're called Party Planning Businesses."

Jyushi nodded, listening in interest. "Sounds cool!" Every time they had a party at Flag Corporation, Jyushi and Ichi would help the other employees set it up themselves, with Ichi always saying it was better to set it up with everyone. So far, the wedding of Fuyu and Yuki has been the most fun to prepare, especially since there were so many pastel-colored balloons all over the place! He loved parties in general, because preparing them was so fun!

"And unfortunately, these ones happen to be very noisy. And I loathe noise. So much. It is just so irritating it makes my head hurt. Sometimes, I think that's the only good thing about solitude; lack of noise." Scoffed Lonely, rubbing his temples in irritation. "Nonetheless, I have read from multiple newspapers and magazines that this particular business happens to be good at their job. So I decided to pick this particular group to do the job instead. You can never be too careful with-" He noticed Jyushi was now looking down on the snow. "Sweets? Is something wrong?"

"You.. you said you hate noise." Pointed out Jyushi with a quiet voice, hugging Kiiro-kun tighter. "Am.. am I too noisy, Lonely? Does it bother you when I become.. too loud?"

Oh no. How on earth could he forget that Jyushi was the kind of person who loved noise because he made noise as well? "Ah! You aren't a bother at all, Sweets!" Shit, Lonely forgot that Jyushi had an inferiority complex too, and was incredibly sensitive to words. His mistake. "Sweets, don't feel so bad! I do apologize if it sounded that way, but I do not find it a bother. If anything, you are excellent company, Sweets. I didn't mean it." If Ichi were to question him later about Jyushi, it would kill Lonely to lie about what he just said. If Ichi was a good big brother, he could probably tell if Lonely had hurt Jyushi, either physically or emotionally. And Ichi probably won't hesitate to kill him.

 _Emotional pain can be as painful as physical pain, or even worse._

Much to Lonely's horror, Jyushi started sniffling. Fuck, he needed to find something to make him feel better. And the honking of a truck from the other side of the manor was not helping him think. "Sweets." What could he say to make a child-minded nineteen-year old feel less guilty about being loud? "I.. I do very much apologize." It was lame, he thought. But what else could he say? "That was.. rather insensitive of me, I have to admit. And I deeply apologize from the bottom of my heart if it hurts you so much."

Finally, Jyushi stooped sniffling and used the sleeve of the shirt to wipe his own eyes. "Nn. It's okay. Sorry for crying over nothing.."

"It's not nothing." Lonely patted him on the head. "But if it makes you feel better, the only noise I seem to not mind is your voice. Your happiness is contagious after all, and instead of causing irritation, it.. somehow calms me?" Technically it wasn't a lie, since having someone cheerful and noisy around was a nice change from utter silence or the sound of a radio just playing. Or his own footsteps.

Immediately, Jyushi looked up at him again, eyes sparkling and brightly smiling, almost as if he hadn't been upset seconds ago. "Eh? Really?!"

 _Well.. that's a.. strange shift in moods._

Still, it was better than nothing. Lonely made a small smile, ruffling Jyushi's hair now. "Yes, I do mean it-" For the love of god, Lonely made a mental reminder to just learn how to cook and to set up decorations himself, since the sound of the truck beeping was still ongoing, as if the people driving it were having a party themselves. "Ugh. I'll have to get that. You don't mind staying here for awhile, do you Sweets?"

"I'm fine!" Jyushi chirped, waving a sleeve around.

Lonely sighed in relief. "Good. I might accidentally spout out something you may not want to hear." Honestly, whoever gave them a driver's license deserved to be thrown to the deepest pits of the ocean with sharks trailing behind their sinking body, because Lonely was going to end up deaf if they didn't stop beeping their truck like a madman.


	50. Chapter 50: The Six Same Idiots

It was the first time in his life that Matsuno Ichimatsu actually got out of bed without being forced up by fussy Choromatsu or hyperactive Jyushimatsu, or even sassy Todomatsu or annoyingly painful Karamatsu. He actually woke up to the sound of an annoying alarm clock beeping loudly, and with irritation, he slammed his palm down on the button to shut it up before he let out a yawn. Shittymatsu and Totty didn't come home last night, nor did Fappymatsu, who probably got drunk or mugged on the way home or something. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, cursing his brothers for deciding to have an argument at a situation like this. Neither of their parents were home, and the only ones at the household were Ichimatsu himself and Jyushimatsu.

Only the two of them had slept on the futon, so there were more pillows for them to play with and make a fort out of. Jyushimatsu was still sleeping with a few buttons of his pajama top unbuttoned, a cold rag on his forehead and a pillow hugged close to his chest. Ichimatsu's eyes softened when he heard Jyushimatsu's ragged breathing, signifying that he still wasn't okay. Ichimatsu carefully removed the damp rag from Jyushimatsu's forehead and placed it on the basin beside the futon, deciding to change it for the day and prepare breakfast for the both of them. Those three other losers can make their own breakfast, Ichimatsu thought bitterly.

However, just before he got up, Jyushimatsu's hand instantly grabbed his wrist. Not hard enough to break it though. "Jyushimatsu?"

His younger brother opened his eyes with a bit of hesitation. His head was throbbing and his throat felt really dry, but he still forced himself to speak regardless. "Ichimatsu-niisan." He choked out, forcing a weak smile. "Good morning. Did Choromatsu-niisan and Totty make up with each other?" He asked weakly, his grip on Ichimatsu's arm loosening up a bit. Jyushimatsu could have normally broken his wrist, but with how sick he was, he could barely sit up without assistance. It didn't help that it was winter too, and Jyushimatsu absolutely hated the cold.

Ichimatsu turned away so Jyushimatsu wouldn't see his frown. Those three assholes better come home soon, he cursed mentally. When he turned back to Jyushimatsu, he made a small smile and ruffled his little brother's hair. "I don't think so. Both are stubborn and I doubt both of them would make up with each other easily. Both of them have the biggest prides in the family, right? I'm sure Shittymatsu's trying his best to make sure both of them apologize to one another." He assured.

Jyushimatsu blinked. "Ah. I see." He mumbled. This was never a good sign. Ever since Osomatsu's "disappearance", Jyushimatsu had never been smiling genuinely, and had only smiled whenever he heard news about Osomatsu from either Choromatsu or Karamatsu, or when they had recorded that little video days ago. Plus, Jyushimatsu was at house arrest in the moment, meaning he couldn't even go to the roof with Karamatsu to sing those little songs they usually sung. With Todomatsu absent, he had no one to play board games with either. And Choromatsu often showed Jyushimatsu one of his weaboo-comics, so even that was out of the list.

Still. Ichimatsu was there. But what could garbage like him possibly do, Ichimatsu thought to himself. Before he could say anything else, he heard the sound of a telephone ringing from downstairs. Jyushimatsu immediately let go of Ichimatsu's arm and gave him a nod, mentally telling him to pick it up and answer it. Ichimatsu wasn't a runner too, but even he had to run downstairs to immediately grab the phone. "This is Matsuno speaking." He panted when he finally picked it up. It didn't really matter which Matsuno he was, since he lived here.

 **"Ichimatsu-kun?"**

"Professor Dekapan." Ah, so it was just the family doctor and their neighborhood's local professor and inventor. Besides Chibita and Totoko, and their own parents naturally, Dekapan was one of the people that could tell the sextuplets apart from one another. It was probably because of the small things such as their hair, Shittymatsu's eyebrows, Fappymatsu's angular mouth, or their voices, which was the easiest way to tell them apart from one another. Iyami was still mixing them all up for Osomatsu. But Dekapan calling early in the morning meant something either good or bad has been discovered. "Good morning, professor. Is there something wrong right now?" He asked, expecting the worst.

 **"Oh. I called to ask if you brothers are okay now. Didn't Choromatsu-kun and Todomatsu-kun have an argument yesterday? Have they made amends? Are you alright? How about Jyushimatsu-kun and Karamatsu-kun?"**

 _Slow down there, old man. Age isn't gonna take you alive just yet._

Ichimatsu had to inhale a bit before he accidentally lost his cool. He couldn't do that to the same man who had been there all this time ever since the "disappearance" of their eldest brother. Plus, Dekapan was nice enough to visit them occasionally to check up on Jyushimatsu's health, since the Matsuno Brothers never liked doctors unless they were Professor Dekapan. Besides, normal doctors might question Jyushimatsu's mindset too, and Ichimatsu wasn't in a mood to deal with people who would question how the sextuplets' minds worked. Twin telepathy, they'd always say, which was a load of bullshit. "Choromatsu and Todomatsu still aren't back. Karamatsu's probably with Todomatsu, but I don't know about Choromatsu. I just woke up and so did Jyushimatsu.. it's only us at the moment."

 **"I see. I called because.. well, I made a new medicine for Jyushimatsu-kun. I still don't know what's wrong with him, but I'm sure this medicine will help his appetite a bit. He needs to eat more, doesn't he? Think of it as vitamins. It'll help him to breathe easier too. Besides that, I just finished making the video-caller application. It took six-hundred and seventy-four tries, but it's finally complete. I just tested it last night, after I finished calling you about the alternate Choromatsu-kun. I just need to install it on the dimension phone I gave you. At what time do you think you'll be able to come here to pick up the medicine? I'll also need to put the application on your phone before I send it to Osomatsu-kun's phone."**

"What time? But those other three assholes aren't at the house yet, professor. I can't possible leave Jyushimatsu all alone in the house, especially since he's sick." He scowled. Wherever those three were, he hoped they could at least remember they had two other brothers at home. And Ichimatsu was the only one that could deal with this at the moment, since Jyushimatsu was very sick. "But.. I'll be there in twenty minutes, professor. If it's not too much, can you also prepare some coffee while you're at it? Those losers didn't go grocery shopping yesterday."

 **"Of course, Ichimatsu-kun. See you later, and do be careful on your way here. Don't forget to bring a jacket."**

"Thanks. See ya, doc." He put the phone down and began unbuttoning his pajamas as he went back up to his and his brothers' shared room, sliding the door open as soon as he got there. He found Jyushimatsu on his stomach, playing with a baseball by rolling it on the floor between his palms. His brother's cowlick seemed to stand up straight when Jyushimatsu heard his brother walking back in the room. "Jyushimatsu. I'll be heading to the doc's. He said he just finished that new application. Plus, he has new medicine for you." He said distractedly, slipping on his purple hoodie and sweatpants. He also took out a purple scarf and purple coat from the closet, as well as his purple winter boots. "I'll be gone for a hour. Just stay in bed. If you need anything, don't try to leave the bed. Throw your baseball outside. The neighbors know that if you can't stand up, you'll throw something out the window. Anyway, do that and they'll rush in here-"

"Ichimatsu-niisan." Jyushimatsu interrupted, rolling on his back. With struggle, he forced himself to sit up. "I wanna go with you."

Immediately, Ichimatsu turned to him as if Jyushimatsu just stated that he just got a job. "You know you can't. Choromatsu and Shittymatsu put you on house arrest for a reason. Hell, even Todomatsu agreed to it. Majority wins, and it's for your own sake, alright? So no. You're not leaving this house. Sorry, but once Osomatsu gets back and you're feeling better, I'll play baseball with you again." He grabbed the covers from the other side of the futon and wrapped it around his little brother. "I won't take that long. I just have to get the application and your medicine. Stay in the bed, unless you need to go to the bathroom."

"But Ichimatsu-niisan.."

 _I'm really sorry, Jyushi. I promise I'll get you some colorful rubber balls to play with on the way home._

"No means no, Jyushimatsu. Sorry, I don't make the rules, and I'd gladly break 'em if you wanted me to. But I can't risk you getting sicker, and just this once, Chorofappyski and Shittymatsu are right. Do this for me, okay?" Jyushimatsu's frown deepened, and it really had hurt Ichimatsu to say that. He was the closest to Jyushimatsu, as Osomatsu said, so he was the only one that was able to say things like this. If it were any of the other brothers, they'd probably sugar-coat it. "I'll play with you lots later. And when you get better too. I'll even let you text Osomatsu once I get back. Or if the video-caller application works, I'll let you try it first." Jyushimatsu had the mentality of a child, so Ichimatsu hoped that by bribing Jyushimatsu with simple things, he'd listen. "Please?"

Jyushimatsu looked upset at what Ichimatsu was saying, but at last, he nodded. It was for his sake, he kept telling himself. Ichimatsu was just being a responsible brother. "Okay, nii-san." He mumbled softly. At least he listened to his older brothers with a simple "please". He was glad Jyushimatsu was the kindest of the brothers. Jyushimatsu lied down on the futon again and kicked his legs a bit to adjust the blankets to cover him. "But you promised.. let's play when you get back, okay? And let's try to call Osomatsu-niisan too."

Ichimatsu made a soft smile. "Yeah, sure. I'll drag Shittymatsu into your little game too if ya want me to. And Osomatsu's probably looking forward to seeing our same faces again." Speaking of Shittymatsu, he hoped the other three wouldn't scold him for leaving Jyushimatsu all by himself at the house, when those idiots were clearly at fault here. If they were going to get angry at him for leaving a sick brother at the house, they shouldn't have had left Ichimatsu with all these responsibilities, especially since he's the brother who is least likely to do anything at all. "Anyway, I'll be going now. I'll be back as soon as possible, okay? If those other three assholes come back, tell them I went to the professor's."

Jyushimatsu nodded, still smiling, albeit in a weak manner. "Okay, Ichimatsu-niisan! I'll build a pillow fort to keep me occupied for the time being! And muscle hustle your way through the snow, okay? Crush the cold!"

Ichimatsu ruffled Jyushimatsu's already messy bed-hair, chuckling. Hm, it may be odd for someone like Ichimatsu to say this, but Jyushimatsu definitely needed to comb his hair. The messy hair was usually Ichimatsu's hairstyle, and somehow, it didn't fit the usually reckless Jyushimatsu. "Alright. Crush the cold like it's Shittymatsu's fucking face, got it."

"Eh? That isn't what I said, Ichimatsu-"

"Riiiiight. Gotta go now. Can't keep the professor waiting."

* * *

Chibita hated the sextuplets when he was a child. But as they grew, he found himself caring for their well-beings and their futures, always silently praying that the six idiots would just grow up already. But he himself knew that if they were to grow up and stop being NEETs, their union as this neighborhood's infamous sextuplets would surely break piece by piece. So he was secretly relieved when those six idiots just went back to living with their parents and wasting every single day of their lives eating out at his oden stand.

But after "that" incident.. Osomatsu was nowhere to be found, Choromatsu and Karamatsu had to assume roles of being the only two of the supposedly elder trio, Jyushimatsu had no longer been going out with Ichimatsu on walks and both brothers had always stayed at the house, and Todomatsu was trying so hard to not let his family problems get in the way of his social life. It was horrible, Chibita thought. Because of "that", the bond of the sextuplets was falling apart, even more so than when they all left to be independent.

He cared about them, more than he'd like to admit. So when Choromatsu went to his oden stand and passed out after drinking too much and crying, Chibita thought it'd be best to drag Choromatsu to his place for the time being and let the third brother whine about his hangover in the morning. Right now, Choromatsu was literally rolling around on the futon and loudly complaining about his headache as Chibita chopped carrots with exasperation. He warned him not to drink too much, especially since Choromatsu was the brother who couldn't hold his liquor, similar to Karamatsu and Ichimatsu. But when Choromatsu was drunk, he'd spout out the weirdest shit.

"Chibita, turn off the lights! My head hurts!" The third eldest Matsuno kept yelling from Chibita's bedroom.

"The lights aren't even on, ya idjit. Are you still drunk? The hell? There are painkillers on the side of the futon and a glass of water. Drink 'em up before I bring ya yer breakfast, idjit." What was the point in getting angry? Chibita sighed, continuing his task of chopping vegetables. Simple hotpot for today's breakfast, since winter was cold and they needed soup to stay warm. Hm, if Chibita made too much, he could always give them to the sextuplets. "And if you're looking for your clothes, they're folded on the other side of the futon."

Minutes later, he had finished preparing breakfast and setting up bowls and chopsticks. Just as he was about to call Choromatsu, the third brother had arrived at the room, squinting. His head was still hurting, and he couldn't even button the polo he usually wore underneath his hoodie. Speaking of hoodie, the green fabric was slung over his shoulder and Choromatsu didn't even look like he zipped his pants up at all. Ugh, so much for "the most mature" and "the most responsible" of those stupid sextuplets. "Mornin'." He yawned. "Thanks for letting me stay the night."

"Don't get used to it, you idjit. You drank too much, and it'd be rude of me to leave ya at your's house's doorstep. It's hella cold too." Chibita scoffed. While it may have sounded harsh, he knew he had to be real with Choromatsu. Besides, this was his natural way of talking when it came to any of the Matsuno Brothers, since all of them were idiots that needed to have their brains checked daily just to see if they're still human. "You truly are idjits! The biggest idjits Akatsuka-sensei has ever made! The biggest idjits Coachmatsu has trained! Unbelievable!" He clicked his tongue in annoyance, shoving a bowl of rice and chopsticks to Choromatsu, who sat across him. "You brothers only have each other for now! Aren't ya all supposed to team up and get your brother back?! Arguing isn't gonna help solve a thing, damn it!"

 _I know. But still.. Todomatsu knows that Karamatsu-niisan and I can't help but fuss over him, Ichimatsu, and Jyushimatsu. Those three are the younger trio, and it's natural for us to worry about 'em. Especially since the eldest is not with us._

"Argh, and you know how your youngest brother is, damn it! Todomatsu has always been stubborn, yeah, but even though he's the youngest, he doesn't want that to be his life's title permanently! Especially since he was the one that nearly made it out into society, damn it. He loves attention, but constantly being fussed over like some sort of fragile little girl? It's natural he wants to step out of your shadows! You older trio are easier to understand than the younger three, and even I can tell they all suffer from something deep within! There's a line between you and Ichimatsu, and if you're the 'brains' in your group of idiotic sextuplets, you're supposed to know that sheltering someone as deadly and as stubborn as Todomatsu is a bad idea! Plus, he's the only one with a job! It's enough to prove he can take care of himself! The only things he's scared of are gross things and the fucking dark, damn it!"

 _But what can I do? We already lost Osomatsu. I can't possibly lose another one.. I mean, if Osomatsu's absence caused such a reaction out from Jyushimatsu, I'd hate to see Jyushimatsu's face if we lose another one of our brothers._

"You already kept Jyushimatsu in the house too! Heh, next time, you're probably gonna keep Kara-boy in the closet! Believe it or not, Choro-boy, but not facing danger head-on is just as bad as being a reckless asshole! You're basically ignoring your problems, damn it! You and Karamatsu are the ones 'in-charge', now that Osomatsu's not around? Go ahead! But if your younger brothers wanna help and want to be stopped being treated like a baby, don't argue with 'em over it! Hell, you're sextuplets! Same age! It doesn't matter whose older or younger, 'cuz at the end of the day, you guys are brothers and you should all take care of each other, damn it!"

 _Should all take care of each other, huh._

"Speakin' of which." He poured tea on a small, traditional japanese cup and pushed it over to Choromatsu. "I got called by Dekapan ten minutes ago, Choromatsu. He said he's lookin' for ya, Todomatsu, and Karamatsu. You idjits left Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu at the house last night, and Ichimatsu's at Dekapan's place, grabbin' new medicine and something else. He said Ichimatsu's at his lab right now, and since you, Todomatsu, and Karamatsu "

 _Wait a fucking minute._

Choromatsu stood up from the cushion he was sitting on, spitting his rice all over Chibita's face. "JYUSHIMATSU'S ALONE?! AT HOME?!" Fucking hell, what was Ichimatsu thinking?! Actually, Ichimatsu was responsible enough to not bring a sick person with him over to Dekapan's place, but he could have at least thought of another way to go to Dekapan's and somehow make sure Jyushimatsu was okay! He grabbed the cup of tea and downed it all, ignoring the burning sensation on his tongue, and struggled to get his hoodie on. "Thanks for the breakfast, Chibita! But I gotta go!" He could practically feel his mother hen instincts, oh god.

 _What if Jyushimatsu vomited on the futon?! Or took a piss there?! Or worst, both?! Argh, get it together, Choromatsu! The futon's not important, Jyushimatsu is! What if he passed out from headaches?! Coughed out blood?! Oh my god, if he does cough out blood- NO! Happy thoughts, you stupid, good-for-nothing Fappymatsu! BUT WHERE IS THE GOOD IN LEAVING YOUR SICK LITTLE BROTHER ALL ALONE AT HOME?! Oh my god, Osomatsu-niisan's gonna fucking freak if he finds out! AND ICHIMATSU HAS THE PHONE! HE BETTER NOT TELL OSOMATSU!_

Chibita grudgingly wiped the rice off his face with a scowl, watching as Choromatsu grab his pair of shoes and rush to the doorstep. But when Choromatsu opened the door and ran towards his house with all the energy flowing through him, he stopped upon seeing the people at the doorstep.

Todomatsu. And Karamatsu too.

"Chorofappyski-niisan?!"

"Totty?!"

"Brother?!"

"Karamatsu-niisan?!"

Three out of six idiots were here, all out at Chibita's doorstep. The smallest male in the area nearly choked on his food upon seeing Karamatsu covered in snow head to toe, with Todomatsu looking rather normal, thankfully. The three brothers stood there in silence, with Choromatsu wondering why Todomatsu and Karamatsu were at Chibita's doorstep, and vice versa. Chibita would have yelled at them, but he was a bit tired from lecturing Choromatsu earlier. So he continued to eat his rice in silence, the only thing being heard was the clicking of Chibita's chopsticks.

 _Just talk to each other, you idjits. Why be a stranger, you literally live with each other. And you always fight anyway, so just make up like you always do. For Osomatsu's sake, he needs ya guys right now._

Then Todomatsu broke the silence, with Chibita mentally thanking him for doing so. "You stayed the night here at Chibita's, Risingfappyski-niisan?" He puffed his cheeks. "Lucky! Karamatsu-niisan and I stayed at Iyami's. Yeah, he has a new place, since we robbed his older one last Halloween. Needless to say, it was cold and Iyami snored a lot. And now, Iyami doesn't have his overbite anymore." Unless Osomatsu comes back and whacks him in the head again, Todomatsu mentally added. "And, uh.. we came here for breakfast, actually. Karamatsu-niisan says Chibita can cook something else other than oden, and I thought you're still mad at me for last night, so we decided to have breakfast somewhere else-"

Then Choromatsu grabs both of Todomatsu's shoulders. "Totty! I'm sorry! I truly am a horrible brother!" He fails to see Todomatsu's somewhat disgusted face, but the youngest is probably disgusted by the snot and tears staining his pink hoodie. "I should have listened to you! Chibita's right! If anything, you deserve to have a younger brother of your own! You're the secondary straight-man in this family, and you're probably better at it than I am! I'm sorry, Totty!"

The youngest scowled, struggling to push Choromatsu off him with Karamatsu flicking his sunglasses (where did he get those anyway) in a manner that was supposed to be cool. "I'm sorry too, Fappy- I mean, Choromatsu-niisan. But yeah, I deserve to have a little brother of my own! If you're gonna dote on my just because I'm the youngest, I very much prefer having any of you stupid older brothers as my little sla- brother." He huffed, but a small smile was on his face. "Doting's cool and all, but I'm practically the only normal one in the family! Let me handle some stuff on my own too! I mean, you let Karamatsu-niisan, so why shouldn't you let me? Moron."

"Heh. Truly, our bond as brothers can never truly break despite the hardships along the path of life." Karamatsu, the painful idiot, only removed his sunglasses and stared at the sun in a dramatic fashion. "All's well that ends well-"

"Isn't Jyushimatsu back at home? All alone?" Chibita interrupted, not wanting to deal with any of the drama the brothers might have. He swore he was gonna throw the hotpot at them if they caused another scene at his doorstep. He could only hope his neighbors didn't see the embarrassing display of Choromatsu. Plus, Karamatsu was embarrassing enough, even though he wasn't doing anything at all. Six same faces, more like six shameful faces, Chibita thought. No wonder Totoko wouldn't date any of those losers. "You idjits go continue your drama at your own house. I'm trying to eat here, damn it."

Choromatsu's eyes widened, and he let go of Todomatsu. "Oh fuck! You're right! Ichimatsu left Jyushimatsu at home!" He ran out of Chibita's house, dragging both Karamatsu and Todomatsu with him and leaving Chibita's front door open.

And even in the distance, Chibita could hear the bickering of his childhood friends.

"Yamimatsu-niisan left him there?! Argh, how could he?!"

"I know, right?! Oh fuck, my tongue is burning."

"Heh! I feel like I'll freeze to death!"

"..Totty, why is Shittymatsu-niisan covered in snow?"

"Can't you see what he's wearing? A glittery fur-coat? Someone thought he was some sort of yokai and tried to run him over."

"And they didn't succeed! Heh, it takes more than a machine to get rid of me!"

"Unfortunately."

Chibita only took a sip from his cup of tea. Six idiots, sure, but he couldn't deny it wasn't the same since the eldest idiot wasn't around. He hoped Osomatsu could get back soon.


	51. Chapter 51: A Melancholic Workaholic

It really didn't take long for the four clones to find the file they were looking for, the file that had all the information about Lonely. It was simple, really. They'd ignore all files of people with the name "Choro" if they were below the age of eighteen, were a girl, or didn't have anything odd in their backgrounds that could have been the cost for Lonely's sanity. Hatabou wasn't lying when he said files spared no detail, because Osomatsu kind of felt guilty for skimming through files and finding out secrets of people he doesn't even know in real life. Still, with the folder on his hands now after reading and intruding the privacies of other people, he could say it was worth it.

 _Besides. This isn't the first time I invaded someone's privacy, pffft. Chorofappyski would have kept screaming about how wrong this is, reading personal files of others, but would gladly skim through Totoko-chan's or Nyaa-chan's. Totty would pretend to be high and mighty about it, but he'd probably read it too and even share 'em online if he's feeling evil enough. Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu wouldn't give a shit as always, they'd probably go play somewhere else. And of course, Karamatsu wouldn't read any, and he'd just stare at his mirror._

They had been bought snacks earlier, and even as they were all looking through a mountain of files, Osomatsu and Ichi didn't stop shooting their own opinions back and forth as they stuffed their faces with sandwiches and other finger good that Ichi surprisingly loved to eat; Osomatsu was trying hard to convince Ichi he was his brother, and Ichi sounded like he wanted to have a rocket built outside Flag Corporation just so he didn't have to share the same air as Osomatsu. While the two were doing this, Kara and Todo just shook their heads and prayed that the file would magically be placed on the top mountain of the file-pile so they'd have another topic to talk about.

One could only imagine their internal screams of happiness when Osomatsu triumphantly raised a file over his head and screamed that he found it. Ichi also forgot about the previous argument to sigh in relief, glad that they were able to find the folder and probably forget about their childish bickering for the time being. Osomatsu opened the file with little to no hesitation as soon as he got it. He had literally walked in Choromatsu doing embarrassing things multiple times, so reading his alternate self's personal information?

 _A walk in the park._

As expected, the small picture clipped on the corner was a picture of someone that heavily resembled Osomatsu, except his rather small eyes were green, he had no cowlick popping out of his neatly combed hair, and his supposed frown was a bit angular in a way that looked like a triangle, or an arrow pointing upwards. He seemed to have followed this dimension's ways of changing the eye color of the alternate versions of his brothers, Osomatsu noted. He seemed to be the same age as Kara too; older than him, Jyushi, Todo, and Ichi. He was probably the second eldest in this world too. His birthday was the sixth of November and half of his personal information, such as residence, was unknown. The file was last updated four years ago, which meant that Lonely had seemingly escaped Flag Corporation's sights for years now.

And his name? Kodoku Choro.

 _..Wow. Pretty fitting. This dimension sure loves to fuck around with names and personalities._

"Looks like this world's Fappymatsu is the pinnacle of loneliness. With a last name to boot. Heh, he's just like Kara and Todo." He snorted, and Todo lightly smacked him on the back of his head with a rolled newspaper. His reactions to Osomatsu's teasing was getting less violent, and Osomatsu was a bit amused at the fact that Todo seemed to be opening up to him. Still, he had to pretend he was hurt. If he didn't, Todo might become flustered upon realizing how soft he was being. "Ow. Anyway, his name's Kodoku Choro. He's the same age as Kara. But how does this work, exactly? His file was last updated four years ago, Ichi."

The purple-eyed male took the file from Osomatsu with a scowl. "Files stop updating when individuals manage to leave Akatsuka City or anything connected to it, as well as when we lose sight of them. But I've never heard of this 'Lonely' person up until yesterday. And somehow, his identity as Kodoku Choro has been hidden. At least, up until now." He flipped through some of the papers stapled together. "There are cameras all over the city and in your town too. Every building, every alley, and every street. All cameras are connected to Flag Corporation's database. And somehow, Kodoku managed to dodge that four years straight." He clicked his tongue, shutting the file and slamming it on his desk.

Kara crossed his arms. "So.. what is that supposed to mean, then?"

"It means he either left the city for four years and only came back to kidnap my little brother, or he has been hiding somewhere that has no cameras. And he was really smart. I have to ask Dekapan for camera footage four years ago." He glanced at the untouched chessboard on his desk, letting out a sigh. He really wanted to go and call Yuki or Hatabou so he could play a little game of chess with them. Or just leave the building to have a smoke, that was good too. He needed to be as far away from these three idiots as possible, he reasoned.

Todo leaned against the sofa, arms behind his back and his legs crossed. "Man. Isn't there any area without cameras? You guys are creepy. It's pretty weird to think that no one in the city is safe from secrets." Now that he thought about it, he hoped that the people responsible for the camera footage were level-headed people, consisting of both males and females. God knows what people do when they assume they're alone.

Ichi snorted at that statement. Poor old Todo had no idea how many times the cameras caught him crying before going to sleep, or obnoxiously screaming sort of pop song whenever he got drunk and poor Kara had to lead him to his bedroom, but not before throwing up all over the living room. As a completely sadistic person himself, Ichi didn't really care what Todo thought. Flag Corporation was Ichi's company, so he was going to do his job however he pleased.

"We take pride in that. And as for areas without cameras, there are only two places near Akatsuka that have no such thing. It happens to be the beach and the forest. I don't have control over both of those areas. Shame. The government's gonna fucking fight me if I try to break their law, and I'm not stupid enough to fight battles I know I can't win. They are going to fucking slaughter me, and I'm not getting Jyushi or any of the other employees involved. Especially since Jyushi's head contains all sorts of file information, codes, and passwords. They're gonna use 'em on other bullshit if they find out, and I intend to hide it from them so they don't stress him."

Kara raised a brow. "But.. why? In a way, Jyushi's just a kid.."

"Yeah, but if your brain is basically a computer that has all sorts of important data that can normally be seen by hacking computers, I can see why the government would want your ass too." Osomatsu pointed out. "Plus, if Ichi does something illegal and they get him and the others arrested, they could skip trying to interrogate each and everyone of 'em. They could simply scare Jyushi until he lets out information."

"Thankfully, I'm not that much of a prick to have them keeping a close eye on me. They're assholes." Ichi scoffed. "Anyway, we got Kodoku Choro as the true identity of Lonely, but what exactly are we going to do with this information? We agreed to help Lonely, but that twat hasn't even told us the name of his 'arch enemy' or whatever the fuck he calls his enemy. We could have had actually learned the info about this supposed criminal, but Tuxedo Mask wannabe beats around the bush like eight times every damn minute." He rubbed his temples. "Whatever. I need a damn break. You three actually managed to do something nice today, I'll give you that. However," He glared at them. "I hadn't planned for anyone to kick down my door so early in the damn morning, and it's time for lunch. I'll have Hatabou, Fuyu, and Yuki have lunch with you three as long as you get out now."

Todo's eye twitched. Ichi was truly a pompous ass, no matter how hard Osomatsu tried to justify it. "Why you.."

Osomatsu thankfully held him back by ruffling his hair. "Now, now. Don't start another fight with Captain Katana, Tater Tot." Ichi glared daggers at Osomatsu and Osomatsu felt a dark aura radiate from Todo. "But thanks a ton, Ichi. You really helped out a lot. Heh, nii-san's so proud of ya. I got stuff on my eyes now." He was a few steps closer to getting back to his dimension, now all he needed to do was to inject the other three with the syringe, as well as find and inject his other self once he finds him. He rubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his red hoodie. At first, he was joking. But when he saw the wet stains on the sleeve, his eyes widened. It was even worse when he realized Todo was now looking at him worriedly. "Welp. Fuck."

"Why are you crying now? Stop that." Ichi seemingly demanded with a scowl. While it seemed harsh, Osomatsu couldn't blame him. Ichi was probably busy with both work and worrying over Jyushi, and he certainly didn't want to deal with his supposed older brother suddenly bursting into tears. He grabbed a chicken wing from the plate of food on the table and bit into it, using his free hand to shoo the other three away. "Get out. Now. I need to get some work done before tonight. Shit, I have to skip tomorrow's load too-"

A ringing sound interrupted him as he talked. Everyone turned to the source of the noise, which came from the sofa. Osomatsu's red sling bag was placed beside a cushion, muffling the loud pop music that was blasting everyone's eardrums and was probably giving Todo and Ichi a major headache. Kara was the one to pick the bag up and dig up the phone out of it, and Osomatsu mentally cursed for not silencing it. "The ringtone is different, Osomatsu-niisan. And it's louder too."

 _No shit. Bless your soul, Kara. And Choromatsu, you're a total weeb._

"What is that?! That's not a normal phone! That's a mess" Ichi stomped towards Kara and snatched the phone in an instant, irritated by such a loud ringtone. "Smartphones are a pain to deal with, I know, but your's looks like a wreck! And why is it pink- wait a minute." He remembered something that Dekapan had told him. "Could this be.. the same phone you used to hack all of our security?" He held the phone with his index finger and thumb, stretching his arm a bit as if the phone was some sort of odd specimen he picked up from the toilet.

Osomatsu's eyes widened. With the way Ichi was holding the phone, he could drop it. And if he dropped it, the phone could possibly break. And if the phone breaks? His only source of communication with his brothers would be gone. Moving away from Todo and walking over to Ichi, he tried to grab the phone. Unfortunately, and like a child, Ichi stepped away from Osomatsu, still holding the phone as if it was a dissected frog. "Oi, Ichi." Now that he stopped crying and was back to his normal self, he was now a bit worried about Ichi's weird look towards the phone. "Give it back."

To his horror, Ichi flipped it upwards as if it were a coin. Whether it was by luck or by skill, Ichi caught the phone before it could hit the floor. Osomatsu could see even Kara and Todo were tense. "No. This.. thing requires research. It could help Flag Corporation even more." A small and shit-eating grin appeared on his face, even as the song played loudly. "Besides. Dekapan was able to learn more about you with his technology. Something like this could help him with his research even more."

"Ichi, just-"

"Besides. Why go back to your own dimension?" He flipped the phone without a care, but he caught it whenever it went downwards. It was like Ichi was throwing a rubber ball with his palm. "You probably can't. Maybe you got absorbed by some sort of black hole and you ended up here. And whatever goes in a black hole can never return, right? So what's the point? If you claim we're some sort of alternate version of your brothers, then you're all set, Matsuno." He held the phone in front of Osomatsu in the same manner he was holding it earlier. "Plus, you're going to end up having yourself killed. And it's not worth it-"

"Shut the fuck up!"

Now it was just by pure luck. Todo's foot would have collided with Ichi's cheek if Ichi didn't stumble a bit to the side. However, the phone was still midair and before Ichi could grab it, Todo sent another swift kick at him, this time, successfully hitting his cheek. Todo grabbed the phone and immediately gave it to Osomatsu, not breaking eye contact with Ichi. "You fucker. You always think of yourself, don't you? Greedy bastard. How would you feel if you were in Osomatsu's place? If you were in my place?" He grabbed Ichi from the floor by his collar, shaking him. Blood was seeping out of Ichi's mouth, but his glasses remained in tact. "How could you just hurt people without thinking how the people who care about them feel?! How would you feel if I was the one that broke Jyushi's legs?!"

 _The one that broke Jyushi's legs is-_

Ichi pushed Todo off him, angrily wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket. "You do not talk about that so lightly, Katsuna. You don't know the full story of it, so you better not talk about my brother's disability as if it were an accident. As if it was nothing more than another individual hurting someone for their own satisfaction." He growled. "And if you were the one who did it? Easy. I'd kill you. And not with poison, oh no." He wouldn't give Todo a fast death like his father. "I'd make you suffer the same pain. Maybe even worse."

While Todo and Ichi were getting ready to tear each other's throats, Kara and Osomatsu were looking at each other, wondering if they were going to stop them from fighting again, or just answer the phone that was still ringing. In the end, and against Kara's wishes, Osomatsu clicked his phone to unlock the screen, and found a green circle in the center of the screen, almost like a button. He pushed it, even as he heard the animal-like growling noises made by the two rowdy males across him and Kara.

And then another voice joined in.

 **"Osomatsu-niisan?"**

The growling stopped. Ichi and Todo's heads turned to Osomatsu and Kara. The blue-eyed male was also in shock, turning to his older brother with a shocked expression on his face. The voice had came from the phone, and it was a bit raspy with something else laced in it. Playfulness? Naivety? Almost like childlike-wonder? No one knew.

But there was one thing Kara, Todo, and Ichi knew.

 _The voice sounded like Jyushi's._

Osomatsu's eyes were glued to the screen once he saw something appear in it. On the phone's screen was his little brother, Jyushimatsu, wearing the Matsuno hoodie and holding something up in an arm's length, which was probably the device used to text Osomatsu. His black eyes were tired and his hair was a bit scruffy, and Osomatsu would have mistook him for Ichimatsu if he couldn't see Ichimatsu just beside Jyushimatsu, letting the younger brother lean against him.

Ichi's voice broke through the silence similar to how Jyushimatsu's voice interrupted him and Todo. "J-Jyushi..?"


	52. Chapter 52: Wish Upon A Star

Osomatsu's hand was trembling as he held the phone with both hands, almost as if it was a delicate object. His little brother, Jyushimatsu, was on the screen, his black eyes glistening with tears similar to Osomatsu's. Ichimatsu noticed Osomatsu's somewhat pitying expression and made a rare smile, though it was small. Jyushimatsu's smile became wider until it didn't even look like he was sick anymore. Even with his rather tired and dull black eyes and the drooping cowlick, Jyushimatsu was still brightly smiling.

It was similar to Jyushi's smile; bright like the sun, almost innocent, but Osomatsu knew there was something else behind it. But for now, it didn't matter. He could tell that this was a truly genuine smile. The tears spilling from Jyushimatsu's eyes were real, and so were his smile and his snot. Gross, Osomatsu thought with a weak chuckle. Ichimatsu's probably going to wipe his little brother's nose as always.

 **"Look at that, Jyushimatsu."**

 **"..Ichimatsu-niisan..?"**

 **"Osomatsu's there and he looks like a mess. Aren't you going to say anything-"**

 **"O-osomatsu.."**

 **"Eh? Jyushimatsu, he can't hear ya. It's unlike you to sound so quiet, y'know?"**

 **"O-osomatsu..nii..san.."**

 **"Jyushimatsu, you gotta speak louder than that-"**

 **"Nii-san, Nii-san! Osomatsu-niisan! You really are okay! It's me, Jyushimatsu! Ehhh?! You have bags! Like everyone else in here, 'cept me! But you're okay! And you're crying?! Oh noooo! Nii-san, don't cry! Nii-san never cries, because nii-san is strong! Stronger than me, stronger than Karamatsu-niisan and Ichimatsu-niisan combined! Stronger than all five of us! But nii-san can cry if he wants to!"**

 **"Heh. You can see how much Jyushimatsu misses ya, Osomatsu. You're an asshole, y'know that? Keep it up, bro."**

 **"** **Then he can fully release all his muscle hustle once he stops crying, and nii-san can smile for all of us again! And nii-san can come back home so we can play a lot of baseball, right?! And we can share cup ramen like we used to?! A-and then.. nii-san, Ichimatsu-niisan, and so will everyone else.. we'll all cause trouble for the neighborhood like we did as kids! With Totoko-chan, and Chibita, and Iyami! Hatabou and Professor Dekapan too! I miss you so much, nii-san!"**

 **"..Jyushimatsu."**

 **"I really.. miss you, nii-san.. please.. continue to be safe.. I.. I'm worried for you, nii-san.. and so is everyone else."**

 _Damn it, Jyushimatsu. Your sincerity and kindness is just making me feel even more teary-eyed._

Jyushimatsu's voice was so similar to Jyushi's, so Ichi instantly ran over to Osomatsu to check the source of the voice. To his shock, it was a person who looked exactly like his brother. Not just Jyushi, but also looked like him, like Kara, like Todo, like Choro, and like Osomatsu himself. Except his eyes were the same black color instead of a bright yellow that represented the sun itself. But the bright smile, the cowlick, and the voice were all the same.. the gleam in his eyes were also similar to Jyushi's, despite the absence of the sun-like eyes. He was staring deep into the same soul.

The Jyushi clone noticed Ichi's presence in an instant. Ichi also noticed the male beside his brother's clone looked exactly like him; scruffy hair and half-lidded eyes. Like the Jyushi clone and Osomatsu, he had black eyes instead of an eerie purple. Both males on the screen of the pink phone looked at each other in confusion, before staring back at Osomatsu, then at Ichi. It didn't take long for both of them to notice Kara beside Osomatsu, and Ichi noticed Todo was now beside him. All four of them were staring at Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu in interest.

They all knew they all looked like Osomatsu, though the eyes were the only change.

Until Ichimatsu spoke up with his usual monotone voice, raising an eyebrow and clicking his tongue in annoyance, keeping Jyushimatsu on his shoulder by pressing his hand against the other side of Jyushimatsu's head. He eventually reached out for the thing Jyushimatsu was holding, so now, both brothers were holding up some sort of phone while leaning against a couch. If anyone from the other side walked in on them, it would probably look like they were both trying to take a selfie.

 **"Hahhh? My other self still looks like shit, Osomatsu. So much for being a big-shot president. Heh. I guess trash is trash even in another dimension. And look, Jyushimatsu. He's seeping blood. Hehe."**

 **"Alternate Ichimatsu-niisan has purple eyes, Ichimatsu-niisan. So pretty! And he's wearing glasses too."**

 **"He still looks like shit though. I'm garbage, and so is he. And is that Shittymatsu's other self? He looks the same, but.. I don't see anything painful, thankfully."**

 **"Karamatsu-niisan's alternate self has nice eyes. Blue! Ooh, is that Totty? He looks older than me! His ears are sparkling, Ichimatsu-niisan! And his eyes are pink too!"**

 **"Todo- What the actual fuck. He looks so fucking edgy, holy shit. Did he dye his hair pink- are those earrings. Holy fuck. And he's wearing Shittymatsu's leather jacket. What has the world become."**

 **"So cool.. he looks like a mix between Totty and Ichimatsu-niisan."**

 **"Uggggh. No wonder. My crippling depression and that asshole's two-faced nature should not mix."**

Ichimatsu probably started the topic in order to distract Jyushimatsu and OSomatsu from bawling. The number duo continued to comment about the appearances of the alternate versions of their brothers, all the while Osomatsu was still silently crying. The video file was enough to make him feel so soft and mushy on the inside, but seeing Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu continue to be themselves despite his absence made something in Osomatsu light up. It was pride, probably. Osomatsu knew his brothers would still have their "special trait" even after his disappearance.

 _If we can't be the six same faces as long as I'm not there, they might as well just keep their characters with 'em. And Ichimatsu, why do you look like a bigger mess than I do? You freakin' hypocrite._

"You stupid little brothers." Osomatsu mumbled under his breath, wiping the tears out of his eyes with the sleeve of his red hoodie. His voice was loud enough for both of his little brothers to snap their heads back to him, meaning they were now focused on him. "Always making me worry, you fucking idiots. Ichimatsu, you're the only one there, so take care of our sick sunshine, alright? Did you guys even eat already? Take a bath and all?" Ichi looked a bit clean, but he probably just washed his face and munched on a few cat-shaped cookies. Jyushi still looked sick. "Where are those other three fuckers? I swear I'll make you five morons face the wall when I come back. Fighting when nii-san's not around.. you three should all be ashamed. Heh. You all get early bedtime for being such brats."

Ichimatsu snorted in amusement and Jyushimatsu finally giggled. The three alternates noticed Osomatsu's sudden shift in mood, almost as if he knew he had authority over them all in this room. Ichi was more focused on the other Jyushi.. Jyushimatsu. Apparently, he was the little brother of Osomatsu and his other self, Ichimatsu. And he looked a bit tired too.

 **"I just got back from Professor Dekapan's. I dunno where those other three are, honestly. But the doc called Chibita, and the guy said Fappymatsu stayed the night. He's probably sprinting his way towards here as we speak. I only called ya because I promised Jyushimatsu he'd be the first to call you when it's possible."**

 **"..We all miss you though, nii-san. Even Ichimatsu-niisan.."**

 **"O-oi! Don't say shit like that, Jyushimatsu."**

 **"Are you.. doing fine, Osomatsu-niisan? I mean.. you're worried about us, but how about you..?"**

 _Very fuckin' peachy._

"I'm doing fine. It may seem like I'm not, but seeing ya guys.." This sounded so damn cheesy and he hated himself for this. "Makes me feel better." With a grin, he wrapped one arm around Kara. He then moved his arm a bit so Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu could see their alternate brother's face. "This is Karamatsu's other self, Kyabarie Kara! He lacks the confidence to be painful, and he's currently the only one with actual common sense! He's good at cooking too, and he has a creepy ficus named Rosa." He moved the phone to face Todo now, who flinched. "This is our dear old Katsuna Todo! Though we call 'im Tater Tot for shits and giggles. He's the complete opposite of Totty, and he literally broke his phone and did not give a shit about it." Then he showed the phone to Ichi. "This is Suuji Ichi, president of Flag Corporation! He's like Ichimatsu, except this guy loves to grin like a madman. His brother, Suuji Jyushi, is with the other Fappymatsu, Kodoku Choro."

 **"Really? Katsuna-san, huh.. he looks so cool! Kyabarie-san and Alternate Ichimatsu-niisan too! They have colored eyes, Ichimatsu-niisan!"**

 **"..They're kinda cool, I guess."**

 **"Kinda? They're really cool! Ahhh, Katsuna-san dresses like one of those bands you listen to, Ichi-"**

 **"We promised to never talk about that again, Jyushimatsu."**

 **"Oops."**

Osomatsu could see Todo was now flushing red. Compliments probably made him softer than he already was.

 **"And Kyabarie-san is like Karamatsu-niisan! Except less painful!"**

 **"That's a yay from me."**

 **"Kyabarie-san, I do hope you become more confident in yourself! Muscle hustle! But what is a 'ficus'?"**

 **"An abomination of a plant, probably."**

 **"Ah! Did Kyabarie-san make sure the ficus is warm? Karamatsu-niisan always makes sure our Christmas tree is warm!"**

 **"Oh fuck, why did you remind me. That's gross."**

The look Kara was giving Osomatsu was basically stating he was right in dressing up his beloved ficus in a hat and a scarf, because he was proudly smiling, in contrast to Todo who was blushing in embarrassment.

 **"..Hey, Alternate Ichimatsu-niisan."**

Ichi's eyes suddenly widened when he heard the alternate version of Jyushi call out his name. He snapped out of the little trance he was in once Todo nudged him on the shoulder. "A-ah..?"

On the screen, Jyushi smiled brightly at him. Fuck, now it reminded Ichi so much of Jyushi. It just plain hurt to see, but he couldn't just snap at him. Jyushimatsu was Jyushi, and Jyushi was Jyushimatsu.

 **"I heard from Ichimatsu-niisan that your brother's in danger! The other me! A bad man is trying to hurt him, so Alternate Choromatsu-niisan wants to protect him!"**

 **"Sounds messed up. Hope you're doin' fine, I guess. Y'know, with your brother bein' kidnapped and all-"**

 **"Niisan."**

 **"Sorry. Go on."**

 **"Thanks, Ichimatsu-nisan. Anyway, Alternate Ichimatsu-niisan! Osomatsu-niisan will help you protect him too! Because Osomatsu-niisan is the best eldest brother of sextuplets in the world! Ah, and I hope I'm not being selfish, but-"**

 **"If one of you calls Jyushimatsu selfish, I will kick your asses so hard."**

 **"Niisan.."**

 **"Oh, right. Sorry."**

 **"..I hope that you can protect and take care of my nii-san too.. please?"**

Ichi glanced at Osomatsu. This was the same man he nearly stabbed yesterday, but this was also the man who had agreed to help Flag Corporation and Lonely catch the man who had plotted to hurt his little brother. Even as Ichi said such harsh words minutes ago, Osomatsu was still giving him a chance to talk to the alternate version of his brother.

Ichi would have declined it coldly after reminding himself that Jyushimatsu was not Jyushi in a way, but then, Jyushimatsu stated coughing. The other three looked absolutely worried when the coughing became harsher. Ichimatsu seemingly put the phone down, and the only thing they could see on the screen was utter darkness.

They then heard the muffled panicking of Ichimatsu and the coughing of Jyushimatsu, in which Osomatsu suddenly started panicking. "Ichimatsu?! Jyushimatsu?! Oi, Ichimatsu!"

 **"Osomatsu-niisan, I'll have.. I'll have to hang up for now."**

"Why?!"

 **"Jyushimatsu passed out."**

"WHAT?!"

 **"I don't know! I'll call Dekapan again, okay?! I'll call you later once Jyushimatsu wakes up again!"**

"Ichi-"

 **"Later!"**

The screen suddenly went back to the menu screen, displaying the applications the phone had, all which were made by Dekapan. Osomatsu didn't drop the phone, but his serious expression remained on his face.

And Ichi didn't even get to say yes to Jyushimatsu's wish.

For some reason, that made him feel bad.


	53. Chapter 53: Repressed Memories

"Alright! That's the last of them, Mister Lonely. Rokomi and I set up the decorations as fancy as you wanted them to be, the food for tomorrow is gonna be cooked tomorrow afternoon by Rakomi and Dokomi so that it will be fresh and ready once the guests arrive, and of course, other attractions like the little magic show Chikomi and Shikomi are going to perform is gonna be practiced repeatedly to ensure your party's a success. You can pay us tomorrow, so don't worry about a thing!"

The Party Planning Business that Lonely had called were an awfully loud bunch of women who were a group of twenty-four year old man-obsessed maniacs, and if that wasn't enough, it was a group of noisy sextuplets, all sisters. The six sisters were a noisy bunch who had drove a truck from the city to the forest with little to no fear, and all were dressed in white blouses, black neckties, black pencil skirts, and black heels. Two of them wore glasses (one was a pair of shades though), two of them were tanned compared to the rest, and one of them had their sleeves rolled up, but beside that, they all wore the same outfit with no differences at all.

The big boss of their little team happened to be Onnanoko Sokomi, who seemed to be the eldest sister and the supposedly most mature one of the bunch, though she was definitely the worst when angry. She was in charge of planning things out, as well as counting the total of things that needed to be paid immediately.

The second eldest was Onnanoko Rakomi, who was a sporty female who was often in charge of carrying heavy things and equipment such as ladders and tools, but she's also a great cook. She would be in charge of the food to be eaten tomorrow, and her sisters had complete faith in her that she would make it the best. She was also the driver of their truck.

The third daughter was named Onnanoko Rokomi, and while she seemed to be less aggressive than her other sisters, she had started being talkative once she saw Jyushi and Lonely together, a mad grin on her face as she did her work. She had been the one to suggest how the decorations would blend well together, as well as the one to chide at Lonely for suggesting a certain suit for Jyushi. In the end, she had been the one to pick his outfit.

The next was Onnanoko Chikomi, the most quiet and the most mysterious, but definitely the most elegant in Lonely's opinion. She hadn't stalled like some of her sisters did, though she did get angered easily when teased. She appeared to dislike Rokomi a lot. Despite that, she had made sure all decorations were set perfectly, nothing out of place.

The second youngest was Onnanoko Shikomi, a peppy, air-headed ganguro girl who nearly destroyed one of Lonely's furniture earlier with her hyperactive nature. Thankfully, Chikomi restrained her before she could do further damage. Even with her destructive nature, she helped Chikomi set up the decorations by swinging everything around carelessly, but made the lobby much more lovely than it already was.

Lastly was the youngest sister, Onnanoko Dokomi. Also known as Dotty to her sisters. As cute as she looked, she was definitely a fox; cunning and very sneaky. She was assigned to help Rakomi cook tomorrow, but she also gave Lonely other stuff such as cute napkins and flower arrangements for the lobby to look more presentable.

Lonely was a gentleman who would never ever hurt a woman, so he kept his cool even as Dokomi "accidentally" set one of his plants on fire, and Chikomi and Shikomi's rough-housing resulted to one of the paintings in the hallway to fall down. Though Jyushi seemed a bit terrified of Rokomi and Dokomi, he didn't seem to be scared of Sokomi or Rakomi. Maybe it had something to do with Sokomi and Rakomi being the to eldest sisters, and Jyushi having a big brother back at Flag Corporation. Besides, Sokomi and Rokomi did show to be fond of Jyushi's childish nature, commenting that he was rather cute and they'd want him for a baby brother, causing Dokomi to pout.

 _If Sweets needs a big brother figure for now.. I can fulfill that role. Hm, but Captain Katana might get angry and accuse me of replacing him.._

"Sir?"

Lonely snapped out of his thoughts. Whoopsies. That was rather rude of him. "Thank you ever so much for your work. I do hope to see you lovely ladies for tomorrow's party. Please do wear your best dresses and do not forget the masks. It is a must." Lonely bowed politely after finishing his sentence. Jyushi was holding onto his hand for balance, with Kiiro-kun hugged close to his own chest. Still, he turned to Jyushi with a soft smile, patting his head fondly. "Sweets, I think you should say bye too."

"Oh! Um, bye bye! See you all tomorrow!" Jyushi squeaked out, bowing as polite as he could, even though he stumbled a bit. Lonely could hear Sokomi and Rakomi's silent gushing over how cute he was, with Dokomi crossing her arms and turning away with a huff. Heh, she was obviously pouting about the fact that she wasn't the cute one in the area today. Still, Rokomi was giving a creepy smile at Lonely and Jyushi, both of her hands cupped around her face as steam literally went out of her ears as if she was a kettle.

Lonely expected to see the ladies just climb in their truck and call it a day for now, but Sokomi and Rakomi suddenly slung their arms around him. Even with his mask on, it was obvious he was confused. "Soooo.. mysterious lonely guy. You're actually good-looking.. well, for a guy with a mask and all. You'd probably even be more dashing if you remove that." Sokomi started. "Y'know, money's cool and all, but we get enough just from doing our job and helping people out! So instead.. why don't you pay us with something else? Something more valuable than money."

Oh god, Lonely wished they weren't implying what he thought they were implying. Jyushi was still beside him, still the naive sunshine boy he was and tilting his head in confusion. Chikomi and Shikomi were just on the back of the group of sisters, happily playing rock-paper-scissors. Rokomi was now smiling widely at the fact that Lonely and Jyushi were holding hands, while Dokomi had a catty grin on her face, directed at Lonely. Lonely tried his best to keep his cool again, tightly holding onto a clueless Jyushi's sleeve-covered hand.

"Yeah, introduce us to some hot guys tomorrow, will ya!" Rakomi loudly said with a playful punch on the side.

 _..What._

"Some sweet eye-candy of course! The best kind! You look like you know what gentleman look like, so the least you could do is find some gentleman for princesses like us!" Dakomi stomped her foot on the ground repeatedly. "We work so hard, but for some reason, none of us sisters have ever gotten a boyfriend before! And you're going to change that! We worked so hard to make sure your mansion is all pretty and I'm cooking with Rakomi-neesan tomorrow, so I'm expecting you to get at least one hot guy for us to gush over tomorrow!"

 _Are you serious right now. Maybe the reason you ladies don't have a suitor yet is because you all are practically insane._

"What's this lil' guy's name again?" Rakomi asked, hands on her hips as she kneeled a bit to Jyushi's level. "Ya call him 'Sweets', don't ya? Cute name, really. You guys don't really want to be called by your real names, huh? You prefer your nicknames? That's fine too. I mean, he's really cute, but we're going for a guy older than twenty, if possible. We want a guy that can catch up to us! Unless he fits the criteria?" She grinned evilly. "Shikomi loves the color yellow too. His eyes are so cute. Don't you like yellow, Shikomi?"

Shikomi, still playing with Chikomi, turned to face her older sister. "Yup! Yellow's nice!" She chirped, before resuming their game of rock-paper-scissors. It seemed as if they were betting bobby pins with each other.

Immediately, Lonely's head snapped towards Jyushi. Worry wasn't obvious in his features thanks to his mask, but his voice was obviously concerned for the younger male. "Sweets, how old are you?" He asked quickly.

"Um, I'm nineteen."

"Good."

"Eh?"

 _That means you're too young for their tastes. And thank goodness you don't have to deal with six demonic girls all at once. I would surely get killed. I cannot harm a woman, sad to say, Sweets. If my enemy were a woman, I would have failed to protect you._

"What? He's too young for us then.." Sokomi sighed in disappointment, shaking her head. Her sisters nodded in agreement, with the exception of Rokomi, who was reading some sort of book. "What a shame! Well, you're a cute kid, so you definitely deserve a cute girlfriend your age! Leave the older, mature women to the older, mature men! Not to say you're not mature but-"

"You're still a growing kid, Sweets! Sokomi-nee doesn't want to get arrested now, does she?" Dokomi interrupted, a sweet smile on her face, though her eyes were dark with malice and mischief.

Sokomi glared at her youngest sister, gritting her teeth. Sensing something was about to happen, Chikomi stepped in between them, Shikomi following her older sister around happily. "We should go. These two have a lot of work to do, don't you?" She asked, rolling her eyes at her sisters who were glaring at each other in the background.

Lonely nodded, grateful for the fourth sister being much more mature compared to the rest. However, Rokomi had looked up from her book and was now grinning, nose bleeding. "Chikomi, of course they're busy! They still have," She grinned like a madman. Jyushi tilted his head in confusion, and Lonely felt him cling to him. He couldn't necessarily blame Jyushi for being scared, especially since Rokomi looked like a maniac. "A lot of work to do, right? How rude of us to interrupt!"

Jyushi bit the inside of his cheek."I don't get it-"

"She means we still have to let you pick a nice suit and a mask for tomorrow, my dear Sweets." Lonely told him, raising a gloved finger and speaking in a fast manner so none of the girls would interrupt him.

"Oh!"

 _Not really, but your brother will surely kill me if I were to tell you anything else._

"Well." Rakomi clapped her hands together, grinning. "Gotta go! And remember, Lonely; hot guys for us gals tomorrow, aight? Atta boy!" She gave him a hard slap on the back, before turning on her heel and running towards the truck. In heels.

Though the second eldest had dropped her shades as she sprinted towards the truck and climbed onto the driver's seat. "Ah! Neesan, wait up! You dropped your shades, neesan!" Shikomi cried in distress. "Hey, Chikomi-neesan! Let's go!"

"Alright. How 'bout you three?"

"We're gonna catch up later, Chikomi." Sokomi waved her hand dismissively. "I'm just gonna wait 'til Dotty decides it's time to run with her tail between her legs." Dokomi's glare on Sokomi intensified. "As you usually do, eh Dotty?"

Chikomi scoffed, following Shikomi to the truck. Rokomi politely bowed at the two males in the area before scurrying after her sisters. Eventually, Dokomi blinked repeatedly after realizing she was still glaring at her eldest sister without blinking. With an indignant huff and a red face, she stomped on the snowy ground as she ran towards Rokomi, whining as loud as she could before she tripped on the snow. An ear-piercing shriek cut through the silence in the forest, and Lonely had to cover Jyushi's ears before he went deaf.

"Sheesh! My sisters, lemme tell ya! Especially Dotty, she's a handful to deal with! Bratty little doll, that's what she is! She's always been such a spoiled little girl, and we're sextuplets! Same age! Hmph." Sokomi clicked her tongue. "Well, see you tomorrow, Mr. Lonely. You too, Sweets-kun." She grinned at him. Much to her surprise, Jyushi grinned back at her. What a sweet kid, she thought. "And be careful when walking, okay?"

"Okay! Thank you so much, Sokomi-san!"

Lonely watched as Sokomi walk back to the truck with her sisters, jumping on the passenger's seat as Rakomi put on her shades for a cool effect, rolled up her sleeves, and started the truck. Once it started making a lot of noise, Lonely frowned, but tried not to comment on it as he might accidentally make Jyushi upset again. Once the truck decided to finally leave the open area and beep their way towards the exit of the forest, Lonely gave a sigh. "Truly a noisy bunch."

"Yup! They're scary! Girls are scary! Ichi-niisan always told me, that if I were to get a girlfriend, he had to check if she was strong first!" Jyushi said in agreement, happily flapping one sleeve. "Hey, Lonely! Let's find a nice suit for you now!"

The masked man thought for awhile. "Hm. I think.. I'll wear what I usually do. This suit happens to be my favorite one, though I do have ten others similar to it. The mask and necktie are one of a kind, though. Still, they make a rather excellent combination. Not too extravagant, if I do say so myself. Though a cape would seem like a nice addition to my attire. What do you think so, Sweets?"

Jyushi seemed unaffected by the vocabulary Lonely had been using, because he merely smiled. "Sounds good! Lonely is already cool with his mask! You'll look cooler with a cape! I want a cane to match mine!"

Lonely chuckled, ruffling his hair. "Let's take a look at the props I have. Maybe we'll have one that matches one of my many suits. Do pick one that catches your eye, Sweets. I'm sure you'll manage to be more eye-catching than the other decorations we have at the lobby. Though not too much. We don't want my enemy swooping you away now due to you being the star of the attraction now, do we?" He offered a free hand to Jyushi. "My dear Sweets, I doubt you have wandered in my manor with your disability. Would you care to do so with me? It shall help us pass time."

Jyushi accepted the hand without hesitation. "Okay! Lead the way, Lonely!" When Lonely opened the doors of his mansion to reveal the beautifully decorated lobby and the bright lights, the duo had prepared to step inside. Jyushi suddenly felt something cold brush against his skin.

 _..Maybe the winter breeze? I mean, we are outside.._

What Jyushi failed to realize was that he felt the coldness coming from inside the manor.

"Lovely! I am so happy to find out that the advertisements weren't wrong! It's not that often I get to call people from the city to assist me!" He cried in delight, and Jyushi giggled in amusement. It was an out-of-character moment for someone so seemingly stoic like Lonely. "Though they are a noisy bunch, it matters not anymore. They did an outstanding job. I do wonder if I am able to keep my promise with them. Come, Sweets. Let me show you around the manor. I apologize in advance, but the hallways are decorated with papers similar to the ones in my study."

"I don't mind! They're really interesting to read!" Even though Jyushi couldn't understand what those papers actually meant. He disregarded the sudden coldness he felt in the room. It was probably just a side-effect from staying outside in the cold for so long, he kept telling himself. "You must be forgetful, Lonely!"

"Hm? Why do you think so?" He asked as he and Jyushi walked around the lobby. Unlike Jyushi, he didn't feel any sudden coldness. It was either because he was wearing a thicker layer of clothes, or it was only because Jyushi himself felt it.

Even though Jyushi was disturbed at the sudden change in temperature, he didn't really voice his thoughts. Just a side-effect, he kept saying in his head. "Well, those are a lot of notes, for one. And they're in every hall, if I remember correctly." Jyushi could remember anything important within seconds after listening or reading it, but no matter how many times he convinced himself that wrapping a scarf around his neck on a cold day was just as important as the files at Flag Corporation, he just couldn't remember it.

"That's not necessarily the case. See, I- Sweets." Lonely suddenly stopped moving and turned to face Jyushi. Still, his eyes were covered by that white mask he always donned. "You.. are you okay? You're sweating. And your hand.." Even with a glove on, Lonely could still feel the sweat from Jyushi's palm. "It's.. so cold. Are you sure you're okay?"

 _It's cold._

"Eh? Of course I'm fine Lonely! Why do you think I'm-" He felt something in his head. Then for a moment, he could swear that the lights in the room just blared a bit brighter, because Lonely's face was suddenly obscured in a white light. "Um. Just a bit.. tired, I think?" The lights were going brighter, and it was hurting Jyushi's head so much. "Okay, maybe I'm a little bit sick. I think I'm sick. Lonely, everything's too bright, I can't see you. And it's so cold, Lonely."

Lonely held both of his shoulders to keep him balanced, as Jyushi seemed to be swaying. "Sweets? Are you okay? You feel cold? Oh no, I should have gotten you a scarf or a coat. Your top was made of thing fabric.."

 _Why does.. this lobby look so familiar now? I've never been here before.. right?_

"Lonely.." Jyushi's eyes were half-lidded now and his voice was soft. "I think I.. can see stuff."

"See.. things? Such as?"

 _This lobby.. people have danced in this area before. They had a party with these much decorations too. One of them wore a pretty long dress and everyone in this lobby couldn't help but stare at her. She wore a really nice dress.. a yellow one with purple frills and bows. The lady who wore it looked so pretty, if I remember. She had a yellow and purple flowers as a flower crown on her hair.. I think it was black..? And her eyes.. they were yellow._

Jyushi's eyes widened.

 _They were yellow.. like mine._

His shoulders started trembling and his breathing became ragged.

 _She was.. holding my hand.. and Ichi-niisan's too.. as she danced and twirled and spun around this lobby with grace. Because.. her partner.. didn't dance with her because he said he was too busy with work. So Ichi-niisan and I.. danced with her because we both love her and she always protected us from.. "him".._

His yellow eyes suddenly went dull, as if Jyushi himself had just left the world.

 _She was my mother._

He suddenly gripped Lonely's shoulders as he started screaming, almost as if he were in pain. Lonely, shocked by Jyushi's sudden panic, hugged the younger male close to his chest as Jyushi's screams were muffled against his shoulder. "Sweets?! Sweets, are you alright?!" He rubbed Jyushi's back in an effort to comfort the yellow-eyed male. Lonely couldn't truly understand why was Jyushi panicking so much, but as Jyushi's friend..

 _I have to help him._

"Sweets." His voice was much more hushed now. Jyushi stopped screaming, but Lonely had just realized that tears were streaming out of Jyushi's dull eyes. "Ssssshh. Everything's going to be alright, Sweets. Everything is going to be okay. Now." He held a part of Jyushi's face with his free hand, using the other to wrap around Jyushi's back to keep him balanced. It was failing, so Lonely thought it would be better to sit on the marble floor instead, with Jyushi's body leaning against his. "Tell me what's wrong, Sweets. I want to help you."

"Lonely." He sputtered out. "He's here."

At that statement, Lonely frowned. "Who is?"

"Papa." Jyushi started trembling again. He wasn't looking directly at Lonely, even as the older male tried to force Jyushi to keep his eyes on him. "Papa's here. Papa's here and he's going.. he's going to break my arms next.. and he's going to find Ichi-niisan and make him do all sorts of paperwork again.. and he'll lock me up in a room and break my bones, and-"

"Jyushi, snap out of it." Lonely tried to not make it sound so harsh, but he still needed to snap Jyushi out of his panicked state. And he had no choice but to use his real name. "Jyushi.. Sweets.. your father is dead, isn't he?"

A nod.

"As in, no longer part of this world? His soul went to heaven?"

A shake.

"No? How about hell?"

A nod again.

"Alright, good to know a bastard like him went to hell instead. So he's not here anymore."

Jyushi was having a harder time breathing now, and his grip on Lonely's clothes were loosening, his hands cold and sweaty. "You don't understand, Lonely. Even if he's dead.. he's still here." He reached out for the mask on Lonely's face. "Lonely.. he's here no matter what happens. Because.. Lonely, this manor.. this manor used to belong to him."

 _..What?_

"Lonely, I lived here before. This.. this was the mansion where I was born, Lonely. Where Ichi-niisan and I grew up at.. where we plated at.. where my papa.. hurt me.." His eyes were now closing as he tried to inhale as much air as he could. Still, his fingers managed to wrap around the mask on Lonely's face and gently try to pry it off. "Lonely.. he's here.. and he's going to.. hurt me again.."

As Jyushi lost consciousness, he didn't notice that he had successfully managed to remove Lonely's mask and reveal the face of his first ever friend. Jyushi collapsed instantly and Lonely didn't care that his mask fell to the floor. He caught Jyushi's unconscious body and tried to hold him in a way that wouldn't hurt him in any way.

Lonely's eyes were now exposed, but Jyushi himself couldn't even see it with his own, bright yellow eyes. Two scars were present downwards in Lonely's right eye, but both of his eyes were wide open, despite the pupils being smaller than Jyushi's. They were a dark green color, as green as the forest where Lonely resided. Where Jyushi and Ichi used to reside.

Still, Lonely held Jyushi's body with a shocked expression plastered across his face.

 _Sweets.. oh my god, what have.. what have I done?_


	54. Chapter 54: Echo

He didn't know why, but he was never fond of the sound of a voice echoing. Whether it be Jyushi screaming at the top of his lungs while facing a deep well for his own amusement, or Hana's loud screaming echoing in the hallways of Flag Corporation as she ranted about how deforestation was harming the environment (as if Ichi didn't already know that), Suuji Ichi had never been fond of it. It was loud enough to destroy his eardrums, and losing his sense of hearing would be a hindrance for the company.

Ichi needed to take a breather and had left his office as soon as the call ended, dismissing his worried employees who were asking him if they should repair the door or if he wanted another plate of his greasy finger food. Osomatsu was still at his office, sitting on one of the sofas while clutching onto his phone as tight as he could, eyes blank and void of all emotion. Todo and Kara were on his sides, patting him on the shoulder and getting him to say something. But Osomatsu couldn't speak. He had just heard the pain one of his brothers were going through and it had been one of the worst sounds he had heard in his entire life.

Ichi had went to Jyushi's room after leaving his office and his three supposed brothers, knowing his actual little brother's somewhat childish bedroom would calm his nerves down by a bit. Like Osomatsu, hearing the pained sound of coughing from someone that sounded so much like his little brother had been imprinted on his mind. No matter how many times he tried to shake the thought away, and no matter how many times he tried to convince himself that Jyushimatsu wasn't Jyushi, he just..

 _"..I hope that you can protect and take care of my nii-san too.. please?"_

He swore he heard Jyushimatsu's voice echoing in the elevator, and it had been like that ever since the fifth Matsuno suddenly passed out from the other side of the phone's screen. He clenched his fists, shaking his head and closing his eyes. He had a lot to take in yesterday and today, with Osomatsu being his brother from another dimension, to meeting his alternate self and the alternate self of his own little brother.

And of course, his head was throbbing, both from the loud voices from Osomatsu's phone, and from overthinking, something he usually did. Jyushimatsu's voice and Jyushi's voices were similar, so it was natural that both were ridiculously loud. So much for doing work today, he bitterly thought as he stepped outside of the elevator and entered his brother's bedroom.

Toys were neatly fixed at one side with papers of scribbles and a box of crayons on another corner, probably fixed by Fuyu and Yuki. The sheets had also been changed with a yellow fabric with cream colored paw prints, and the bright colored pillows were neatly aligned on one side of the bed. Normally, the blankets would be on the floor with broken pieces of crayon and papers with crayon scribbles everywhere, but since Jyushi was absent from the scene, everything was perfectly fixed. Even the stuffed animals were on one side of the bedroom, their cute beady eyes staring deep into Ichi's soul.

 _..I can never understand why Jyushi found those cotton-filled fabric bags so cute. Look at them. Satan spawns._

He honestly preferred sewn button eyes for stuffed animals, even though he wasn't as fond of plushies as Jyushi was. He was glad he made Kiiro-kun have buttons eyes instead of beady ones. Those honestly disturbed him to no end, even as a child.

He looked around the childish bedroom. The ceiling had been decorated with glow-in-the-dark stars, just in case Jyushi would still be terrified of the dark, even though he had a night light on as he slept. As Jyushi had the highest floor in the building, it was natural that he got to see Akatsuka City in it's entirety every single day. Ichi was somewhat amused by the fact how innocent Jyushi's bedroom looked compared to Ichi's, which had been combined with his office downstairs. While Ichi had a katana stained with the blood of his own mother and a bottle that used to contain the liquid he used to kill his own father decorating his office, Jyushi's bedroom was more innocent and less.. serious.

 _We're polar opposites, but we're brothers. And as the older brother, I should take care of him, no matter how different our views are. Because that's what a good big brother does._

He could hear the cheerful laughter Jyushi used to make whenever they played. But Ichi himself wasn't even sure if Jyushi's smiles were genuine now. He wasn't sure if Jyushi had ever been truly happy at all.

He used to share a bedroom with Jyushi back at the Suuji Manor. They were kids, so it didn't really matter much. Plus, he and Jyushi played a lot as children, whether it be by themselves or with the toys their mother got them. Jyushi loved to play hide and seek in the manor, but Ichi would often find him within seconds due to the fact Jyushi's favorite hiding spot was Dekapan's old laboratory, with the old man often amusing Jyushi's antics by promising him not to tell Ichi that he was hiding under the table, but giving Ichi an obvious hint where Jyushi always hid.

Once they moved to Flag Corporation's building as their home, Ichi had been told by Hatabou and Dekapan that he would need to focus more on work and whatnot, even though he was only thirteen years old. Even though Ichi was hesitant about not having time to spend with Jyushi, Jyushi had assured him he would be fine having a room all on his own and he wouldn't mind if Ichi started to be a bit more busy, almost like their father. Even after Ichi had set up thousands of hidden cameras in every angle just to see if there was anything that could hurt Jyushi in the middle of the night, Jyushi seemingly remained fine and well.

 _Thirteen years old and president of a large company? That's no big deal, compared to the fact I committed my first grave sin at the age of thirteen._

Again, he took out his metal pendant from underneath his clothes and clicked it open, letting out a sigh as he gazed at the picture. He wished he hadn't left Jyushi all alone for work. If he didn't leave Jyushi in Japan with some family friends of his, this wouldn't have had happened in the first place. "Jyushi.." He murmured, running a thumb over the picture. A pleasant memory indeed. He wished he would have let Jyushi take more pictures with him instead of always being a stick in the mud. They really needed a new picture together. "Please be okay. I promised mom I would protect you no matter what.. and I vowed to keep that promise, through hell and high water."

 _Because it's the only way I can remain sane in this rotten, filthy world where no one would accept scum like me. You, however, still have a chance at society.. if you were mature enough to understand how rotten your older brother is._

That was a silly thought. Jyushi couldn't be considered a proper adult by society's standards no matter what he did. He hadn't received a proper education, and it had been Ichi to teach him everything he learned in school. And not even Ichi went to college as soon as he finished high school. He immediately started focusing on the company. Attending a university was a waste of time, Ichi thought. He was smart enough as he is, and his future had already been set the moment he was born.

If he didn't want Jyushi to be this corrupted company's president in his absence, he had to shoulder these burdens all by himself. If he didn't want Jyushi to truly experience how shitty the world was, he had to keep Jyushi from becoming the president. He'd give the position to Hatabou, Yuki, hell, even Hana or Homura. But Jyushi?

 _I will never let you suffer my pain. I will never let you see what this world truly is. I will never let your dreams shatter at the sight of this reality we live in. Because you're my little brother._

He shut his eyes. He could remember the sounds of agony Jyushi had made all those years ago. They were echoing in his mind.

But he couldn't even focus on work. Not when the thing most important to him was probably suffering somewhere. Jyushimatsu was a reminder how painful it had been to see Jyushi so traumatized at the sight of his mother's dead body. And his tears were a reminder of that particular day.. that day where Ichi had come back from school only to find his little brother crying and his legs in a position that weren't supposed to be possible. Ichi had always told Jyushi to wear long socks afterwards, seeing as the bruises were a permanent reminder of how shitty their childhood had been.

 _I had failed to protect you once.. from our monster of a father. And now.. a criminal's out to kill you? As if I'd let him go through me. I won't fail to protect you again Jyushi,.. and.._

As much as he didn't like them, he knew he had no other choice but to accept the truth that had been in front of him this whole time. Whoever Lonely's enemy was, they better watch out. Ichi had a katana and had already killed a man once. He wouldn't hesitate to do something like that again. Even if his hands would be permanently stained with the blood of the people whose deaths he had caused.. if it was to protect Jyushi, he would gladly walk to hell all by himself, only comforted by the thought that his little brother would be safe until death claimed him as well.

 _I'll protect you until my last breath. With Lonely. With Katsuna. With Kyabarie. And.. with Matsuno._

They had the same goal, even though they claimed to want different things. Lonely.. Kodoku Choro wants to end the crimes of his enemy. Todo and Kara want to help Osomatsu get back home, but in order to do that, Osomatsu said he had to have all five of his brothers' alternate selves, as well as the other him. Osomatsu had no choice in this matter. He would also have to protect Jyushi.

But first.. he glanced at the picture in his pendant, staring at Jyushi's smiling face. He then closed the pendant and slipped it under his shirt again, turning his head to the side to stare into the city of Akatsuka. Afternoon huh? It was time for lunch, it seemed.

 _Jyushimatsu, was it? Heh. I would never accept promises that I know I cannot keep. But just this once.. I will accept your request._

Jyushimatsu was lucky that he was such a nice brother, Ichi thought with a small smile on his face. Adjusting his coat and his glasses, he turned on his heel and once again entered the elevator and exited the room of his little brother. He had time to cool off, and even though he fucked up more than once by trying to hurt his other brothers, he would try to make it up to them.

His feet clicked against the floor of Jyushi's room, but this time, it didn't even bother him that the sounds were echoing and bouncing on the walls of the room.


	55. Chapter 55: The Ugly Truth

Night had arrived sooner than everyone thought. The day went on as normal, with Fuyu and Yuki doing basic paperwork instead of doing what they usually did because of Jyushi's absence, and Hana and Hatabou both had to deal with half of Ichi's workload due to their president's apparent business with the other three clones. Homura was still getting used to being the boss of one department, and though she stuttered every single time, she had done her best to assure Ichi that she was indeed worthy of this position.

As for clients, it was a rather slow day, so they didn't really sell much information for the day. Either that, or Ichi had ordered all employees to reject every customer for the day in favor of saving Jyushi first and planning things out with Lonely. Still, Ichi just let his workers do their jobs as well as their paperwork, while Osomatsu had stayed in his office the entire day with Kara and Todo. Surprisingly, the eldest Matsuno hadn't uttered a single word after the video call. While he did let Todo pry the phone off his hands and let Kara spoon-feed him a bowl of porridge as his lunch, he didn't say anything. He just blankly stared at a wall.

It was only an hour before Lonely would arrive, and like last night, Ichi had his employees set up candles at the top of the hotel to call for the masked man. Kara had decided to help them out, so it was only Ichi, Osomatsu, and Todo who had remained at the office of Flag Corporation. Kara had Todo promise that he wouldn't start a fight with Ichi if something were to happen, though Todo assured him that he'd behave. Ichi knew that Todo's eyes hid a thousand lies, but he didn't know if the promise he made to Kara was one of them. Still, Todo hadn't tried anything funny with Ichi. He just held Osomatsu's rather cold hand as he worriedly watched his older brother stare blankly into a wall.

"Osomatsu-niisan. Snap out of it. Lonely's gonna come here in an hour, and didn't you say he was the alternate version of the brother closest to you? C'mon. Stop staring into nothing. It's your chance to tell Lonely what's going on. And maybe he'll tell us the name of his enemy too." It was already embarrassing enough for Todo to show that he actually cared for Osomatsu's well-being, especially in front of someone like Ichi. But for now, he would have to set his pride aside for Osomatsu's sake, his poor older brother (who was younger than him in this dimension) whose thoughts had been occupied by nothing but concern for his younger brothers.

However, Osomatsu blinked, and the shine in his eyes came back once again. As expected, his eyes suddenly spilled tears, though he was trying his best not to let out a sob. "Todo.. I.. I'm trying my best, aren't I..? I.. I did my best to make sure I was a good older brother. But I can't.." His fists were clenching now. "I can't even remember how I got here.. and now.. you saw what happened. You two heard what happened." He stood up from the sofa, and it looked like Osomatsu was angry now. "Whoever got me here in the first place.. didn't they think of what could happen to my little brothers?! How they could have suffered in the absence of their eldest brother?! Whoever that bastard is, I'm gonna pummel him to the ground-"

"Can you at least calm down a bit? You're in my office, and you even had Katsuna break my door earlier. You're lucky I still haven't kicked you out yet." Ichi spoke up from his desk, surprisingly calm. Even Todo looked a bit panicked at Osomatsu's current angry state. "I understand the worry you may have for Jyushimatsu, but I can tell you being angry's not going to do a thing."

Osomatsu couldn't think properly with his rage clouding his mind. "What do you know about this. You only tried to kill me and Todo." He growled, his eyes darkening.

 _Ooh, snap._

Even though Todo himself hated Ichi for attempting to murder him twice and would have agreed with Osomatsu any day, he still decided to defend him. All because Osomatsu was blinded by his own anger, and Todo had to admit, he was being irrational.

 _And it wasn't Osomatsu's job to be irrational._

"Being the most irrational person in the room is my job, Osomatsu, you fucking idiot." He stood in front of Ichi, which shocked the latter. "And of course he knows what you feel. His little brother has been kidnapped by the guy we're trying to help! All because he claims he's protecting him! Geez, I made a promise to Kara that I won't pick a fight, but you're the one being stupid here!" He then calmed down a bit to give a deep breath. "Please. Think of Jyushi and Jyushimatsu. One of them is sick, and the other is not with us at the moment. Even though they're from different dimensions, they're still the same person. If you wanna go back home and help Jyushimatsu, you gotta help us save Jyushi first."

That statement thankfully shut Osomatsu up. His features suddenly seemed a bit more relaxed, and he turned to Ichi with a pitying look. Pitying in Ichi's opinion, but to Todo, it was apologetic. He would probably be sincere with his apology too, especially since he just said harsh words to the alternate version of one of his little brothers. "..I'm.. I'm sorry for saying that, Ichi. I.. I was just.."

 _Huh. I guess being blunt does have positive effects sometimes. Sorry for the bluntness, Osomatsu-niisan._

The purple-eyed male scoffed, adjusting his glasses. "I've heard worse insults, Matsuno. That's the tamest thing I've heard all day, in all honesty. Unless that wasn't supposed to be an insult? No matter. I understand how you feel, and I know it hurts to hear someone so dear to you in pain." He stood up from his desk, sighing. "We should head to the hotel soon. Let's hustle before the driver leaves for the night. Oh." He gave Todo a pat on the shoulder. The pink-eyed delinquent flinched a bit and expected a fight to break out, but Ichi just remained calm. He didn't even look like he was going to throw a punch. "Thanks."

Todo raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What for?"

"For preventing your brother from tearing my face off, as well as calming him down. Now, let's go." Ichi walked out of the room, ignoring the mess of tools on the floor of his office. The door really needed to be fixed, he thought with a frown. "As much as I resent that Lonely person, he has vowed to never lay a finger on my little brother. Plus, it was actually nice of him to consider protecting him from some unknown specimen. You know, it could have been easier if he just fucking told us his name so we could hunt him down." He spat the last sentence with sarcasm.

The trio walked down the now-empty halls of the one-hundred-and-thirteenth floor of Flag Corporation. Once they got in the elevator, the phone in Osomatsu's bag started ringing again. Immediately, the eldest Matsuno took it out and answered it, and Choromatsu's face was the one in the screen. "Fappymatsu?! You came back home after all!"

 **"Osomatsu-niisan! Glad to finally see how you're doing! Wow, Ichimatsu was right. You look like a mess. And judging by your reaction to see me.. I presume you know about the fight yesterday between me and Totty?"**

"Why wouldn't I? Ichimatsu told me everything. You expect me to believe that you willingly gave him the chance to speak to me? He sounded as if he was forced to talk to me, y'know."

 **"Never mind. We came home to find Ichimatsu trying to wake Jyushimatsu up. Needless to say, Jyushimatsu's gonna have to stay at Dekapan's instead of the house now. Considering Karamatsu-niisan and I often go to Dekapan's, he won't be completely alone. However, Ichimatsu volunteered to stay with Jyushimatsu as long as he's at Dekapan's. We.. we found out where his illness came from, though what it will do to him is still.. to be determined, I guess?"**

Todo and Ichi noticed Osomatsu's eyes suddenly fill with fear. "What?! Why?!" He asked, clutching the phone tighter. The green-clad Matsuno looked away, and even in silence, Osomatsu could hear the strumming of Karamatsu's guitar on the background.

 **"Osomatsu.. not even Dekapan knows why Jyushimatsu's like this. Dekapan, as eccentric as he is, is one of the world's greatest scientists, as well as Japan's greatest scientist, inventor, and doctor. We're lucky enough to have someone as smart as him on our side, yet.. the sickness Jyushimatsu's suffers from.. it's literally out of this world, Osomatsu-niisan. Medicine can somehow tame his pain, sure, but completely cure him? Not really."**

They walked out of the elevator and Ichi instantly snapped his fingers when he saw a few remaining employees pack up for the day. They immediately bowed at his presence and understood the gesture; they needed a ride. Todo glanced worriedly at Osomatsu, hoping that Choromatsu could give them an explanation. Even though Todo didn't know Osomatsu's brothers personally, he was worried for them too. Especially after the dreams and hallucinations he experienced, a side effect from the syringe.

"Choromatsu, what really is going on? I know you told me you'd explain everything to me as soon as I got back, but.. this can't wait any longer. Is Jyushimatsu's condition related to my disappearance in that dimension?" He asked.

As he feared, Choromatsu nodded grimly.

 **"I.. I hoped that it wouldn't have had come to this, Osomatsu-niisan. I thought it would have been easy, but seeing as our other selves are troublesome like us.. I had hoped that you'd get home immediately, so we wouldn't all have to suffer like this. I won't be there to calm you down if I do tell you how you got there, because.. Osomatsu, I know deep down, you're scared of losing us. And none of us will be there if you suffer from a panic attack once you remember how you got there. I'd hate to see you scared, Osomatsu-niisan. We all are."**

"Choromatsu.." He felt two hands on both his shoulders. One from Ichi, and the other from Todo. He glanced at both males, who had nodded in understanding. Todo's pink eyes were serious, and Ichi's purple eyes, though dull and seemingly uninterested, were also carrying the same determination Todo's eyes held. "Todo..? Ichi..?"

"Choromatsu, was it?" Todo spoke up, his usual rough voice causing Choromatsu to flinch from the other side of the screen. He honestly did not expect Todomatsu's other self to look like a delinquent, no matter how many times Osomatsu texted him about Todo. "We're as curious as Osomatsu is. I know some of Todomatsu's memories, and I know how it feels like to see your eldest brother in pain. But we're here. Tell us how Osomatsu ended up here in the first place. Who knows, maybe we can find a way to help Jyushimatsu too."

"I am here as well." Ichi added. "Jyushimatsu may not be Jyushi. He may not be the same brother I had always protected as a child. He may not be the same brother who gave me a reason to keep fighting. And.. he may not be the same brother that I swore to defend with all my life. But Jyushimatsu is also Jyushi, isn't he? The way he talks, the way he thinks.. there's a little bit of us in your brothers too, I can feel it." Ichi himeslf understood why Ichimatsu contsnatly trash-talked earlier, and even if he didn't know the others just yet, or how Todo managed to get one of Osomatsu's brother's memories, he knew Todo felt the same with Todomatsu. "Jyushimatsu made me promise that I would protect Osomatsu. And I will. So please. Tell us what really is going on. This is for Osomatsu's sake, for Jyushimatsu's sake.. you want him to go home, don't you?"

Choromatsu seemed stunned, as his breath had hitched. He had heard from Osomatsu about Todo's inability to admit he truly cared for him, and Ichi's apparent stubborn nature and how he didn't trust Osomatsu. But those two were telling him that they would understand what they, brothers by blood, were going through? Even though they weren't truly related to Osomatsu? Choromatsu was sure that Osomatsu hadn't even injected Ichi with the syringe yet, but maybe..

 _Just maybe.. Jyushimatsu's kind nature mirrors Jyushi.. it would make sense for Ichi to accept something Jyushimatsu asked him to do. Because Jyushimatsu and Jyushi have the same heart._

When the limo had arrived, the trio instantly rushed over there and huddled around the phone as the limo drove away to the hotel. Even with their hands off his shoulders, Osomatsu could still feel their determination radiating from their bodies. "Choromatsu. I'll be fine. I nearly got shot days ago, didn't I? Hell, Hatabou tried to sic guards on us too. But I'm still here. No matter how many nightmares I went through, no matter how many panic attacks I've suffered.. I'm still me. So please." He clutched the phone tighter again. "Tell onii-chan what's going on."

Silence followed, before Choromatsu took a deep breath.

"Osomatsu-niisan.. you're.. a really kind brother, you know that? You'd do everything for all of us to stay together forever. You'd tease us about what we liked, but you'd support us, no matter how weird or perverted some of us are. You'd accept us no matter what. You'd protect us, no matter how painful the consequences may be."

 _Because you're my little brothers. And I'm the eldest. I have to protect you all._

 **"And I'm sure that's the reason.. you let yourself become the bait instead of us. I'm sure that's the reason.. you sacrificed yourself to Kamimatsu."**


	56. Chapter 56: At The Mercy of Emptiness

It would have been a normal day where they all just complained about boredom.

Winter was indeed a lonely season. But for the Matsuno Sextuplets, even the fifth brother who loathed the coldness of winter, it was a season where they could finally feel like children again and remember the times the six of them waited for Santa Claus, who was actually their father in disguise, to leave a colorful present for each brother. With them frequently doing things together and barely keeping secrets from the other, they knew if they were going to end up Santa's naughty or nice list. Now, as adults, only one of them still believed in Santa, and Matsuzo's place as Santa had been given to Ichimatsu.

Still, that didn't mean they couldn't have other winter fun besides checking their socks to see if their parents had placed another pair of socks for the year. Putting a pair of socks inside a bigger sock had always baffled Choromatsu.

They always teamed up to create a large snowman, the biggest in their neighborhood, and would tie their scarves together to make a long scarf for their big snowman as a finishing touch. They would frequently compete with Chibita and Iyami in making the biggest snowman, though both parties would usually end up running to the Matsuno Household to get a cup of hot cocoa and share stories with each other, laughing as they did so. And the snowman outside, though unfinished, would still be admired by people who passed by.

There was also sledding, and it consisted of three teams; Osomatsu and Choromatsu, Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu, and Karamatsu with Todomatsu. It usually ended up with the three teams suffering from bruises they got from crashing onto trees, but nonetheless, it was fun, even if Osomatsu had suffered splinters numerous times and Karamatsu and Ichimatsu ended up at the hospital for broken legs, with Choromatsu and Jyushimatsu staying with the other two to offer them company, and to prevent Ichimatsu from killing a painfully grinning Karamatsu in his sleep.

Lastly, there was ice skating. Only Karamatsu and Todomatsu knew how to skate without falling on their butts, in contrast to the rest of the brothers, with Jyushimatsu always managing to literally break the ice and accidentally drag Ichimatsu with him as they fell on ice-cold water and probably freeze to death which ends up with the rest of the brothers taking care of them both if they get a cold. And Osomatsu would get frostbite sooner or later, with Choromatsu always fussing about their health and staying off the ice at all costs.

This year, they decided to do something different.

It would have been normal if they just stuck to their daily routine.

Normally, Jyushimatsu hated the cold unless he was going to go play outside with his brothers. But he surprised everyone and made a suggestion, a new game for them to play; Winter baseball! Instead of baseballs, they were going to use snowballs! The rules were simple; each brother took turns swinging one of Jyushimatsu's many bats. Whoever managed to hurl a snowball back at one of the brothers within two minutes scored a point!

The Matsuno Sextuplets always made their own versions of games, so this one wasn't a surprise. They donned their hoodies, colorful color-coded scarves, and coats as they left the household with a box of Jyushimatsu's baseball bats and ran towards the park as if they were children. Matsuyo and Matsuzo knew their children weren't even children anymore, but they couldn't resist not seeing them off and waving them a goodbye, with Matsuyo adding that they should come home before dinner.

It started out just fine.

It would have been normal if they didn't decide to go to the park to play. The beach, the city, anywhere but the park.

Osomatsu wasn't used to handling a baseball bat unlike Ichimatsu or Jyushimatsu, so the fifth brother didn't mind teaching the eldest how to properly swing a bat. Todomatsu thought it would be a great time to take as many selfies as he could with his brothers to share to the world; from making a small snow fortress with Ichimatsu, to taking a selfie while Jyushimatsu encouraged Osomatsu to swing the bat with all his might, to watching Choromatsu furiously drag his fingers on the surface of Jyushimatsu's bats to check if it would cause any splinters, and to just taking a picture of Karamatsu building a snow statue of himself.

It was just a casual winter day for the Matsuno Sextuplets. Nothing to worry about.. right?

It would have been normal if "he" hadn't interfered.

"Alright! I think I got the hang of it guys!" Osomatsu chirped, swinging a bat with full force. Jyushimatsu, who was beside him, started cheering loudly and flapping his sleeves together in happiness. Pride swelled in Osomatsu's chest at the praise he got from the fifth Matsuno brother, and he started swinging the bat repeatedly, laughing alongside his little brother as if they were drunk.

Choromatsu shrieked and stood from his spot, running towards Osomatsu and accidentally knocking over the box of baseball bats. "Hey! You stupid eldest brother, you're gonna hit Jyushimatsu with the bat!" He scolded. Todomatsu huffed, but proceeded to take a video of Choromatsu scolding Osomatsu, who was now grinning and ruffling Choromatsu's hair, Jyushimatsu still cheering him on. Ichimatsu crawled out of his snow fortress to join the other brothers, and Karamatsu left his "perfect" snow statue.

"C'mon everyone. Osomatsu-niisan, you keep your arm around Choromatsu-niisan like that. Ah, Jyushimatsu-niisan. Lower yourself a bit, and you too, Ichimatsu-niisan. Karamatsu-niisan, strike a pose now." Todomatsu raised his phone above his head, which meant he was about to add another picture of them in his phone. "I literally need more proof that you guys exist. I don't even know how to use photoshop."

"It's simple, my dear brother." Karamatsu said from the back, striking a pose so painful Todomatsu swore he felt something crawl up his spine. "I will teach you how to do so later-"

"No thanks." Todomatsu cut him off. "Now, say cheese!"

After the picture had been taken and the brothers went back to what they were doing before, Osomatsu started stretching his arms alongside Jyushimatsu, while Ichimatsu and Choromatsu gathered the bats on the floor. Karamatsu had been the one to hold up the box, while Todomatsu was preparing to post their new picture online.

And then, someone in white had approached them. But the brothers were having so much fun, they didn't even notice.

 _Typical of them to not notice someone besides a pretty girl or their own brother. I will destroy your so-called "brotherly" bonds._

He raised an arm over his head. Still, none of the Matsuno brothers noticed his presence. Even as a glowing white light emitted from his palm, they still hadn't taken the time to notice. The white light grew brighter as a another man, this time in black, went beside the man in white and watched as he made gestures with his hand, supposedly aiming at one of the brothers.

 _Matsuno Osomatsu. The eldest son. The leader of this band of brothers. He's truly a problem that must be rid off. Because what kind of older brother hurts his little brothers and doesn't apologize to hurting them, acting as if everything's the same? But even so.. he's the best fighter in the group._

The eldest Matsuno had picked up the bat again and started swinging it wildly, laughing without a care in the world which irritated the man in white. Osomatsu then gave the wooden bat back to Jyushimatsu, stating that he'll pick his own bat from the box. In reply, Jyushimatsu started to recite his chant of "Muscle, muscle! Hustle, hustle!" and swing the bat the same manner he taught Osomatsu.

 _Matsuno Jyushimatsu. The second youngest son. Also the most childish and mentally, the baby of the bunch. Not too much of a threat because of his incompetence, but he happens to have supernatural abilities and strength. Dangerous when angered, which is pretty hard to do._

Ichimatsu had taken one of Jyushimatsu's baseball bats from the box Karamatsu was holding up. When he was asked by Choromatsu why he picked that one in particular, Ichimatsu simply said in a monotone voice that it was the same bat he was tied to every morning, the same bat Jyushimatsu would pick whenever he "trained". Choromatsu looked irked at that, and Karamatsu didn't seem to care, happy that his brothers "bonded" daily.

 _Matsuno Ichimatsu. The fourth son. He's already dangerous, though if something were to trigger his bad side, he would be beyond insane and possibly, even more dangerous than all of his brothers combined. Will not hesitate to kill his enemies through gruesome means.. which I learned from experience._

Next was Todomatsu, who had just finished posting his picture online. He stuffed his phone in his pocket and walked over to Karamatsu. From the box, he pulled out a plastic baseball bat with few dents, possibly one of Jyushimatsu's bats as a child. Still, as he often recorded Jyushimatsu when he practiced, he knew how to swing a bat just by watching. A plastic bat was easier to handle, though.

 _Matsuno Todomatsu. The youngest son. Doesn't look much, but is actually strong. He has amazing aim and is able to use menu boards to attack someone, as well as darts.. oh, and a scythe too. He's the sneakiest, but getting rid of him is easy enough, as long as you threaten his brothers in front of him._

Karamatsu had put down the box to pick a bat of his own, and for some reason, one of the bats had been decorated with glitter glue. Blue in color too. Naturally, Karamatsu's eyes sparkled at the sight of the bat and he started claiming it as his son, not noticing Choromatsu struggle to keep Ichimatsu from hitting him with his own bat.

 _Matsuno Karamatsu. The second eldest son. Appears to be narcissistic and.. "painful", but, similar to Jyushimatsu, will become dangerous when angered, especially upon seeing his brothers hurt. Third best fighter, with the second being Ichimatsu, and the first being Osomatsu. Do not underestimate._

Finally, Choromatsu had stopped trying to tell his brothers to not hit each other with their respective bats. Reluctantly, he grabbed a plastic bat similar to Todomatsu's, except it was in better shape. He then left his spot and rushed to his brothers, who were now deciding who should go swing the bat first. Of course, swinging the bat meant the other five would gang up on the batter and hurl snowballs at him.

 _Matsuno Choromatsu. The third son. Also Osomatsu's second-in-command. He's the smartest brother, despite his hypocritical nature, and the fact that he can't talk to a woman to save his life. Still. He has his uses, as well as the other four. I shouldn't dispose of them as soon as Osomatsu's out of the picture._

"When are you gonna do it." It was more of a statement or a demand rather than a question, especially since it came from the man in black. The man in white glanced at him with his golden eyes, a frown forming on his lips. The man in black didn't seem to care. He just wanted the show to begin, it seemed. An impatient spectator, the man in white concluded. "Hurry up."

 _But of course. I didn't go through all the trouble of finding you for nothing._

He directed his palm at Osomatsu's direction. Osomatsu had pointed to himself with his thumb, claiming that he would go first, since he was the eldest. No one seemed to argue with that fact, and Choromatsu and Ichimatsu were already making snowballs. Jyushimatsu pouted for a bit, but Karamatsu had convinced him that he would be the batter after Osomatsu, gently leading him to the opposite side, where the third and fourth brothers were making their snowballs. Todomatsu was about to start the timer on his phone, a catty grin on his face.

The light on his palm shot straight to Osomatsu's direction, like a beam of light. He was sure he'd hit Osomatsu, since the eldest was so distracted. It was sure to hit.

That was, until he saw Jyushimatsu suddenly pull his arm away from Karamatsu's grip and rush towards Osomatsu, dropping his own bat and outstretch his arm towards the eldest Matsuno.

"OSOMATSU-NIISAN!"

"Jyushi-?!"

And Jyushimatsu managed to reach Osomatsu and push him out of harm's way, and Todomatsu scream cut through the cold air. The beam came in contact with Jyushimatsu instead, and a loud blast blinded him, the man accompanying him, and the brothers. His view had also been obscured by the smoke that was also a result from the blast. He could only hope that Osomatsu had been burnt to crisp and the smoke was proof of that.

 _What?! I was sure I'd hit him..! Damn, the fifth brother! Such a nuisance!_

"JYUSHIMATSU!" It was Osomatsu who screamed, furiously using his bat to clear the smoke. The man in white's hopes were crushed. Osomatsu survived, but how about the brother who had shoved him out of the way? He was the same brother Osomatsu had hurt before, why would Jyushimatsu save him? Especially since Osomatsu hadn't apologized before. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"Osomatsu! Jyushimatsu! Where are you?! Are you two okay?!" It was Karamatsu now, who had apparently dropped his cool-guy persona in order to ask about his brothers' conditions. Karamatsu dropped his baseball bat and despite the smoke, he relied on his other senses to lead him to where Osomatsu and Jyushimatsu were. He could see Osomatsu's silhouette through the smoke, but before he could reach out to him, he felt as if he kicked something. Looking down, he noticed it was Jyushimatsu, curled into a ball and whimpering. "Jyushimatsu! My little Jyushimatsu!"

"What was that?!" Todomatsu shrieked, holding onto Choromatsu's arm and hiding behind him, using his phone as a flashlight. It wasn't the best option, but at least Osomatsu could see Todomatsu and Choromatsu. Todomatsu and Choromatsu knelt down beside Karamatsu as soon as they noticed his hunched figure. On his arms was an unconscious Jyushimatsu, who was now clinging to Karamatsu's blue hoodie. "Oh my god! Jyushimatsu-niisan!"

"Choromatsu, you get Todomatsu and Ichimatsu out of here!" Osomatsu barked out orders. "You too, Karamatsu! Carry Jyushimatsu! You and Choromatsu protect them, I'll get that fucking bastard who did this." He growled, grabbing Jyushimatsu's bat from the ground. "Hurry up! Ichimatsu, use your cat senses to lead the way!"

Ichimatsu, who was trailing behind Choromatsu and Todomatsu, nodded. He seemed panicked, but Osomatsu knew Ichimatsu would listen to him. "Alright. Follow me."

"But what about you, Osomatsu-niisan?!" Choromatsu asked the eldest brother worriedly, stopping Ichimatsu from leaving the area.

"I'll confront whoever tried to kill me. Easy as pie. I mean, he hit Jyushimatsu. If it was me, I would have let him off with a warning, but one of my little brothers? Nope." Osomatsu clicked his tongue, putting the bat over his shoulder. "Don't worry about nii-san, alright? I'm the eldest. It's my job to protect the younger ones. And avenge them if someone dares to hurt 'em. I'll be fine, so you and Karamatsu get the younger three to a safer place. Or run away."

"You expect us to leave you?!" Todomatsu asked in disbelief.

"Look." Osomatsu looked at them intensely, which made even Ichimatsu think twice about arguing with him. They could see two figures approach them, but they couldn't necessarily see their faces through the smoke. "This is dangerous. You could argue that's a bigger reason to not leave me behind, but you see what it did to Jyushimatsu? The thing after us is not human." He tried to force a smile. His usual, cheeky grin. "Trust me. Big brother knows best. Now get out there. Karamatsu, Choromatsu. You're part of our older-brother trio. Protect the other three, 'kay?"

"But-!"

Karamatsu grasped Choromatsu's arm, using his free arm to hold Jyushimatsu up. "Brother. Let's go. Before that.. thing can get any of us." He glanced back at Osomatsu. "Please come back in one piece."

"Who the hell do you think I am?" Osomatsu turned away from his brothers, getting ready to swing the bat. "Get outta here, you losers."

And they did, though hesitant. Relying on his instincts alone, Ichimatsu closed his eyes and ran towards the direction which would hopefully lead them to somewhere safer. Todomatsu followed behind, with Karamatsu next, still holding onto both Jyushimatsu and Choromatsu. Osomatsu didn't bother to look back, knowing that if he dared to look back, his enemy could be standing in front of him at any moment.

When he couldn't feel their presences anymore, Osomatsu took a deep breath. Damn, the smoke from the explosion was thick, almost like a fog. He squinted his eyes as if it could help him see better.. and it did. The silhouettes of the two figures were a few meters away from him. "Where are you." He growled. "I'd be asking you why you tried to kill me, but I'd have to rip your arms out first for hurting my lil' bro."

"Osomatsu-niisan. It's nice to hear from you again."

Osomatsu's eyes widened, but his grip on the bat became tighter. "That voice.. you're.."

He heard fingers snap. In an instant, the smoke seemingly vanished thanks to a gust of wind that came out of nowhere. Osomatsu struggled to keep his balance, using the bat to stick against the snow as if it were a sword. When Osomatsu opened his eyes again, he was glad that the smoke wasn't giving him such a disadvantage. Much to his relief, his brothers were nowhere in sight. Good. That probably meant they ran away, as he told them to.

When he finally noticed the figure on the other side of the park, he felt his soul leave his body. The person's face was a bit like their's, same shape and all. Even his haircut was similar, and like Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Ichimatsu, and Todomatsu, two cowlicks were popping upwards. However, instead of the black eyes the Matsuno Brothers possessed, he had golden eyes. He was also wearing a hoodie similar to their's, except his was white in color. The Matsuno Symbol wasn't green either. It was a dull gray color.

But those golden eyes were all too familiar.

"K-Kamimatsu?!"

Kamimatsu had been standing beside another figure, also wearing a hoodie. Except his was black, but the Matsuno Symbol was present, bloody red in color. The figure had his hoodie up, so Osomatsu couldn't see his face. Though Osomatsu could see that the figure was wearing a finger-less glove on his right hand, while his left palm had bandages wrapped around it.

Kamimatsu made a sweet smile, though to Osomatsu, it was far from genuine. "How have you been doing, Osomatsu-niisan? Have you been watching over the others like a good big brother? Is Todomatsu-niisan still the only one with a job? How about mom and dad? Didn't they always want a retirement? How about the girl Jyushimatsu-niisan liked? Did she return his feelings, or did she never return? Ichimatsu-niisan? Did he finally get real friends?"

 _Okay, Kamimatsu. What the fuck._

"Were you the guy who shot that beam of light?" He asked, pointing the bat at Kamimatsu's direction. Never mind that the guy who supposedly died was now standing a few meters away from him. Kamimatsu was acting differently, and his words were seemingly mocking and toxic, rather than questioning. He wasn't being genuine. "Were you the one who hurt Jyushimatsu?"

Kamimatsu pouted. "Osomatsu-niisan! I would never dream of hurting Jyushimatsu-niisan! Actually, I was aiming for you, not Jyushimatsu-niisan." As if that made Osomatsu less pissed off. "But the pest just had to go and ruin my plans, huh?"

 _.."pest"?_

"Jyushimatsu-niisan really is such a bother. I can now understand why you kicked him in the stomach."

"Okay, now hold up." Osomatsu glared at Kamimatsu. "I won't let you talk shit about my brother. Or any of them, for that matter. And stop calling me 'niisan'. I like that title, but getting called the big brother of some sort of entity who made me and my real brothers looked bad isn't really the greatest." He snarled, gripping the bat tightly. "Why did you want to kill me anyway?"

"Oh, that?" Kamimatsu then grinned. Osomatsu could say with pride he preferred Karamatsu's painful grins. Or Ichimatsu's scary ones. "Well. I told you I've always been with you and the others, right? I am made from the kindness you and the others dropped. I am the embodiment of your goodness as a human being, Osomatsu. So," He outstretched his arms, exposing his palms to the cool winter air. A small light was emitting from them. "I know all the good, the bad, and everything in between. And after taking some time to reform my physical form, I just realized that I never truly gave you all what you wanted!" He chirped.

 _What we.. wanted?_

"Remember? I gave you my betting slip! When I won, I gave it to you, so you'd have nothing to cry about! I gave Choromatsu-niisan a ticket for Nyaa-chan's meet-and-greet! I polished Karamatsu-niisan's shades and guitar! I gave Ichimatsu-niisan a room full of cats! I spent time playing baseball with Jyushimatsu-niisan! And I introduced Todomatsu-niisan to a lot of pretty girls he could date! But I just realized.." His palms curled into fists, and Osomatsu could see light coming from them. "I never really gave you what you wanted! A winning ticket? For a gambler like you, you could get one anytime, Osomatsu! What you truly wanted couldn't be achieved through natural means, you know?"

 _What.. I had always wished for.. what I.. "truly" wanted..?_

His eyes suddenly widened.

 _It can't.. possibly be.._

"You know it too, don't you, Osomatsu?" Kamimatsu grinned. "You always said.. you wanted to be an only child, right?"

 _No. No I didn't. I was just drunk, and stressed, and.._

"I can make that happen. It would have been easier with the beam though." He frowned. "It would.. cause you a lot of pain, sure. The usual stuff, like nausea, lost of appetite, body pain, and whatnot. But unfortunately, your brother decided to play hero and save you instead. It's hard to charge a beam like that, but oh well. Time for Plan B, I guess. The beam was supposed to weaken you, and I'd rid of you myself. Just to give you what you wanted, Osomatsu! I can take you to a place where you are an only child! And in exchange.." He gestured to the figure beside him, who was now preparing to remove his hoodie. "He'd take your place."

The figure removed his hoodie, revealing scruffy black hair and deep bags underneath his red eyes. But even with the scruffy hair (which was miraculously messier than Ichimatsu's), Osomatsu could see he also had two cowlicks popping out of his hair. His eyes were a dark red color and black, wide-open as if he had witnessed something disturbing to the point he could no longer blink.

But Osomatsu couldn't ignore the fact the figure looked like him.

"Who the hell is he?!" Osomatsu shrieked in panic. He could accept the fact he had five younger twins, as well as the fact the embodiment of their mixed kindness, had looked exactly like him. That was why each brother had been mistaken for him in the past. But this one.. there was something about him that made Osomatsu know he wasn't another look-a-like. There was something about him that made Osomatsu sure he wasn't someone like Kamimatsu. "Where.. where-"

"Oh, you wanna know his name?" Kamimatsu pat the other's head. "Funny story, really. His name is Matsuno Osomatsu."

 _WHAT?!_

"Just like you. But this Osomatsu has no brothers." The light on Kamimatsu's palms glowed brighter. "He comes from a world where he was born an only child. Poor guy had difficulties growing up, with very few friends too! Even with Chibita-san, Iyami-san, or Totoko-chan.. this Osomatsu never felt as if he had someone to be with. And that's where you come in!"

Osomatsu stepped back. The sky was darker now, and he could feel as if a blizzard was coming. The red scarf around his neck had now been blown away by the strong wind, but Osomatsu wasn't backing down. "What..?"

"You're an ungrateful idiot." Kamimatsu bluntly said. The light from his palms now disappeared, but suddenly, a large hole tore open in the sky as soon as the light had vanished. Osomatsu's eyes widened at the sight. Did Kamimatsu just rip a hole through space and time?! "You mistreat your brothers. You hurt them. So, I'll do you a favor. And them as well. Osomatsu.. the one beside me, will surely treat them better! And in return, you could take his place in his world as an only child!"

"Isn't that grand." The other Osomatsu finally spoke up, his voice somewhat raspy and weak, but similar to Osomatsu's nonetheless. "Oh. And to avoid confusion, you can just call me Oso if you want. Not that it matters."

"You really are a pessimist." Kamimatsu sighed. He snapped his fingers.

Osomatsu was suddenly enveloped in a white light, and Kamimatsu raised a finger, sending Osomatsu flying. "What the?! P-put me down!" He struggled, kicking his legs furiously. He had dropped the bat as soon as Kamimatsu raised him up in the air. "Kamimatsu! You can't do this! My younger brothers need me!"

Before Kamimatsu could reply, Oso spoke up for him. "Are you sure? I think you meant it was you who needed them."

"Well said, Oso!" Kamimatsu clapped his hands together, though it didn't affect the fact Osomatsu was still up in the air. "You're a selfish scumbag, Osomatsu. Your brothers don't need you. Even Jyushimatsu can be independent. You're the one clinging to them, not the other way around. Besides. I'll bet my own soul that if Oso here takes your place, they won't even notice. And I'm just giving you what you always wanted!" He was now using his ability to lift Osomatsu closer to the hole up in the sky.

Osomatsu shut his eyes.

 _This can't be. I can't. I still can't. I promised.. I promised I would be the last to leave the house. I promised I'd wait until they all managed to become fully functional. I can't.. I can't go like this..!_

"OSOMATSU-NIISAN!"

His eyes snapped open, and he saw Choromatsu on the ground. Karamatsu too, Jyushimatsu still on his arms, unconscious and barely breathing. Todomatsu, despite his crybaby nature, had also gotten Jyushimatsu's nailed bat from somewhere, and was now holding onto it tightly, glaring at Kamimatsu and Oso from the other side. Ichimatsu now had about twelve cats with him, all hissing and ready to attack. As for Ichimatsu himself, he had his hands on a large metal rod, and Osomatsu could only guess how he got such a thing.

"You idiots!" Osomatsu roared from above. "I told you to run!"

"Kamimatsu, you fiend!" Karamatsu had yelled, ignoring Osomatsu. Even with Jyushimatsu on his arms, he didn't seem burdened. "You claim to be the embodiment of kindness, the perfect brother! Yet, you hurt the eldest son of the household! Unhand our brother at once!" He demanded.

Kamimatsu only smirked, waving a finger around. "And.. there."

From the ground, white strings suddenly emerged and grabbed them all by their legs, almost like vines that were preventing them from moving any further. Karamatsu kept a protective hold on Jyushimatsu despite the vine-like tendril holding him as if he was a prisoner. Ichimatsu instantly grabbed all of his cats and threw them to a safer part of the park, where the strings couldn't grab them. Todomatsu and Choromatsu screamed in fear, both out of shock from the vines and out of fear for Osomatsu.

"Planned to save your brother? Too late." Kamimatsu waved his hand dismissively. "You're all stupid at this."

Oso frowned, harshly grabbing Kamimatsu by his shoulder. "Kamimatsu. You said you wouldn't do anything to them."

 _"Them"? Does.. does he mean Choromasu and the other four?_

Kamimatsu clicked his tongue. "Tch. I'm not hurting them. Just holding them still, so the black hole can't suck 'em in as well."

"Why are you doing this?!" Choromatsu cried. "You're a monster, Kamimatsu! Let Osomatsu-niisan go!"

"Me? A monster?" If there was only thing genuine about Kamimatsu, it was the tone of his voice when he sounded offended. "How dare you? Not once have I laid a finger on any of you, in contrast to that boorish man you all call the eldest brother of your little team. He has done nothing but hurt you all. He had ruined Todomatsu's reputation at Sutabaa, did he not? He caused Karamatsu to fall off a bridge too! He had humiliated Choromatsu in front of his idol! He had eaten all of the snacks Ichimatsu reserved for his cats! And he kicked Jyushimatsu straight at his stomach, causing his smile to falter! Osomatsu, no matter how much you all try to hide it.. he's a bad brother!"

"Shut up!" Choromatsu snarled. "You.. you don't know him.. you don't know Osomatsu-niisan as much as you claim you do!"

"Who the fuck even cares about that anymore?! He teases us and makes a fool of himself a lot?! Big fucking deal!" Todomatsu roared. "I don't care about my reputation! Aida and Sachiko probably would have thought badly of me if they knew what my life truly was! Let Osomatsu-niisan go!"

"My clothes can be replaced, and so can my group of Karamatsu girls, but my brother cannot!" Karamatsu added. As painful as the line was, no one felt the cringe up their spines. "Bring him down! He and my brothers are my only true supporters in this world!"

"Nyaa-chan probably thinks of me as a weirdo anyway!" Choromatsu grabbed the white strings around his legs and was trying to pull them off as if they were nothing more than weeds. "But for Osomatsu-niisan?! We're all weirdos! Nothing new!"

"Osomatsu-niisan.. as well as my other brothers.. they're the only ones that can actually understand what it's like to feel alone." Ichimatsu's voice wasn't soft as it usually was, and he was clenching his fists. "And if one of us disappears, of course we'd fucking notice. No one can replace him."

"Osomatsu-niisan.." Karamatsu's arms suddenly felt Jyushimatsu move. To everyone's relief, Jyushimatsu had cracked an eye open, despite the injuries he got from the blast. "Osomatsu-niisan.. he cares.. he cares for me.. for Ichimatsu-niisan, and Karamatsu-niisan, and Choromatsu-niisan and Totty.."

"So give up, Kamimatsu!" Choromatsu finalized. "Despite what you say, Osomatsu isn't a shitty brother! The only shitty brother is you, and you're supposed to be perfect! You said that yourself, didn't you?!"

Something inside Kamimatsu seemingly snapped as soon as the brothers stopped screaming. "Is that so." He growled lowly. He snapped his fingers again. "Even after all that I've done.. I'm still not considered your brother?"

Oso didn't seem to be as pissed off as Kamimatsu. "Kami." He addressed the other. "I.. I think we should-"

"After getting this far?!" Kamimatsu suddenly roared. In an instant, Choromatsu and the other four were suddenly trapped inside a red circle. Osomatsu's eyes widened as he saw the ground suddenly crack. Was Kamimatsu now causing the apocalypse?! "You.. Oso.. didn't you want brothers? Now's your chance. You could be better than Osomatsu, you know. You.. when I appeared in your room.. you immediately offered me something to eat, even though you know I don't need food to leave. And as I was trying to make sure my physical form was back to normal.. you still supported me. Even though you were the only one that could see me. And Oso, I believe those who are good should be rewarded."

Oso suddenly looked scared. "N-no. I'm not good, Kami. I killed a lot of animals as a child. I hurt so many people."

"Compared to what this Osomatsu has done?! Hah! Totally innocent!" He scoffed, turning back to Osomatsu. "Now, Matsuno Osomatsu. I believe that if you're going to not see your brothers again, it's only appropriate I give you a choice! It's either you stay in this dimension.. but your brothers go with Oso in his dimension. Or," He raised a finger. "You go to Oso's dimension instead. Your brothers are perfectly safe here, and Oso will be their new eldest brother. Now, how's that?"

"Don't do it, Osomatsu!" Choromatsu yelled.

"We.. we'll find a way to get back home! All of us!" Karamatsu added.

"So don't make the wrong choice! Please!" Todomatsu pleaded.

"You're our leader, so you know exactly what to do! We're gonna be fine!" Ichi had yelled, and it was the loudest Osomatsu ever heard him scream.

"Osomatsu-niisan.. please.. don't.. leave.." Jyushimatsu whimpered, clutching onto Karamatsu's hoodie tighter.

 _I can't risk it._

"Kamimatsu." Osomatsu didn't dare to look at his brothers. "I'll.. I'll take Oso's place."

"NO!" The brothers chorused, all looking desperate.

Kamimatsu finally left the ground, floating over to where Osomatsu was. Kamimatsu also bought Oso with him, and now Osomatsu could study the fact of his alternate self. He looked rather creepy, was what Osomatsu came up with. "Wonderful choice." Kamimatsu grinned, a light appearing in his fist. "Now, do you want to say bye-bye to your brothers?"

"Osomatsu-niisan!" Todomatsu would probably be in the middle of the futon without him.

"Osomatsu.." Karamatsu would be the eldest in his place, and he'd never be the same.

"Damn it, Osomatsu!" Despite the tough-guy act, Ichimatsu truly cared for his brothers.

"Osomatsu-niisan.." The eldest brother wondered if Jyushimatsu could smile again after he was gone.

"What are you doing, Osomatsu-niisan?!" Choromatsu, even though he was supposed to be the voice of logic..

"You promised you'd never leave us!"

 _I did. And I intend to keep that promise._

In a swift motion, Osomatsu grabbed Kamimatsu's wrist, the one that was still holding the small ball of light. With all the strength that he had, he twisted Kamimatsu's hand, and the other cried in pain, accidentally opening his palm and releasing the light within. Osomatsu, Kamimatsu, and Oso were then enveloped in a white light, and the strings wrapped around the legs of the other brothers were now vanishing away, like shadows in the presence of the light.

"I'm taking you with me!"

"LET ME GO-!"

"Kami, we're-!"

Karamatsu. Todomatsu. Jyushimatsu. Ichimatsu. Choromatsu. I'll come back.. I promise.

Then the three of them were absorbed into the hole Kamimatsu had made in the sky. As soon as they got there, the hole suddenly closed, and everything in the playground went back to normal.

Karamatsu was still holding Jyushimatsu, who had now passed out again and his body was as cold as the snow. Todomatsu was gripping on Choromatsu's sleeve, shaken up by the events that had just taken place. Ichimatsu was panting heavily, and his cats had jumped in to see if he was okay. And as for Choromatsu..

A scream cut through the air.

"OSOMATSU-NIISAN!"


	57. Chapter 57: Embodiment of Perfection

**"We.. it scared all of us, Osomatsu-niisan. I mean.. you just accepted Kamimatsu's offer.. only to trick him and bring him with you? It was so surreal. I didn't even think it was real until I heard Karamatsu-niisan panic over Jyushimatsu. He thought he had.. no. We were all so worried for you, Osomatsu-niisan. And what you did scared us so much. Did you know how many nightmares we all got? We kept seeing the same part over and over again.. the part where you're thrown into a portal."**

 _I know and I'm sorry about scaring you guys. I was trying to protect you guys from that maniac.. no matter what the cost would be. Welp, I guess this is how I suffer. In a dimension where Atsushi tried to shoot me, where Hatabou sicced guards on me, and where two versions of my brother try to kill me with various objects, you'd think the other Osomatsu was lucky to not be related to these guys at all._

 **"We thought that.. we thought that you died as soon as you guys were thrown in there too. Everything in the park just went back to normal, and the cats were hissing at the sky for no reason at all."**

 _We literally fought with aliens in space via baseball, it's gonna take more than that to get rid of me, Chorofappyski. And I'm sure those cats hate Kamimatsu's ass too. Good for them. I shouldn't eat their snacks next time, especially not in front of Ichimatsu._

 **"Then Ichimatsu suggested that we run over to Professor Dekapan's after we all got over the shock, since he was the same guy that made the drug for ESP Kitty to talk and whatnot, so we'd thought that he'd know more complex stuff like alternate dimensions and stuff. Besides, we all knew Professor Dekapan as children, and he's done.. weirder stuff, so it wasn't really hard to ask him of such a thing. Professor Dekapan was really nice and understanding about it.."**

 _For once, Ichimatsu actually suggested something that won't kill any of ya. Professor Dekapan is the most amazing human being in the entire universe, besides us sextuplets, it seems._

 **"As for your condition.. you were apparently stuck in some sort of blank dimension, while Kamimatsu and the other Osomatsu were unaffected and had been transported to the dimension where you're currently at. You were stuck there in the blank dimension, unconscious for a whole month, Osomatsu-niisan."**

 _Longest nap ever. Longer than the one I took for a week after drinking way too much, ahahaha. That freaked out everyone for a good while, and I wasn't allowed to sleep for two months straight. Damn you, Fappymatsu._

 **"The other Osomatsu had been living his life as what that dimension considers normal for him to do, but when we finally found a way to wake you up from your stasis, the other Osomatsu's life sign suddenly vanished.. and you ended up really taking his place and teleported to his place, on his futon."**

 _He better run. After what he and Kamimatsu did.._

 **"We still can't find him, nor figure out how he vanished completely. But the day after you ended up there, you finally awoke and realized you were in some place different. Plus, you forgot everything that had happened prior to ending up in the other Osomatsu's house. And a week later.. well, everything's unfolding now, isn't it, Osomatsu-niisan? A week later, and here we are. Are.. are you sure you're okay?"**

 _What the fuck do you think._

Osomatsu had been listening to Choromatsu's story, with Todo and Ichi on both of his sides. Thankfully, no one interrupted Choromatsu as he tried to explain everything, from the beginning of the day to the part where Osomatsu disappeared alongside Kamimatsu and Oso.

The trip to the hotel was rather quiet as they huddled over the phone Osomatsu was holding, displaying Choromatsu's face on the screen. As he told the story, Osomatsu could see Karamatsu leave the room, but not before giving a gentle wave to Osomatsu from the background. Todomatsu left a few minutes later, and Osomatsu could hear his sniffling in the background as well. Now that the other two had left, it was only Choromatsu in the room. And the third brother looked absolutely upset.

"So you.. you guys still haven't found Kamimatsu yet." He spoke up. Todo looked at him and wondered if he as going to say anything else. But no. Osomatsu stayed on that topic. "Kamimatsu and the other me. You said you still couldn't locate the two? Like, you don't know if they're alive or not?" It would be really bad if Osomatsu's other self was dead, since that would mean Osomatsu wouldn't be able to go back home.

 **"Unfortunately."**

He clicked his tongue. "Alright then, Choromatsu. Thanks for being honest with me 'bout this. I'll.. I'll call you back later, 'kay? Call me if something happens. I just.." He rubbed his own forehead with his hand with exasperation. "I need to absorb everything you just said. And I'm also meeting up with your alternate self later. I still have to tell him who I am, so I can inject him with the syringe. Take care of yourself.. and tell the others to not stress themselves over this as well. We don't need another brother getting sick. I'll be fine."

So much for promising he'd be fine with hearing the story, even if he didn't have any brother with him to comfort him. The moment Choromatsu had finished the story, Osomatsu instantly remembered every single thing; from the swinging of the baseball bat, to the sound of laughter, to the feeling of having something around his neck, and finally, the agonizing screams of his brothers. It was horrifying to remember such things, and to see his brothers scared while trying to hold their own against Kamimatsu was just..

 _If he had touched any of my brothers, I would have done more than just break his hand._

 **"A-alright.. I'll go ask the professor what he knows about the beam that hit Jyushimatsu. Maybe we can find a way to.. uh, reverse it's effects, maybe? Um, and have a nice evening, Osomatsu-niisan. Don't forget to sleep on time."**

"Too late for that now. I'm headin' to the hotel now, and your other self likes meeting up with people during the night. He probably believes he's Batman. Anyway, good night to you too, Choromatsu."

 **"Thanks. For being a good brother and all, even though some of us don't like to truly admit it.. y'now, just in case you were having doubts about yourself. You're a great brother, don't think otherwise. See you later, I guess."**

Then Choromatsu hung up, the screen flickering to the list of applications. Osomatsu sighed and put the phone back in his bag, crossing his arms. He was wondering how to express his frustration without having to deal with Todo punching his teeth out. Or Ichi aiming a katana at him. He was with two dangerous individuals in a limo, and he didn't want to hurt any of them. He let out a deep breath and slumped over his seat. "I may seem calm on the outside, but I actually want to punch something right now. Something with Kamimatsu's face."

"I volunteer. We all look the same anyway. Punch me 'til I bleed."

"Thanks for the attempted sacrifice Todo, but I'd rather punch a pillow and flush it down a toilet than try to fight you and lose and end up getting you in trouble with Kara. Also, I'm pretty sure you don't want me to punch you. I can kick your ass if I put all my hatred into it, but I'm at a disadvantage, since you're my brother and I love you." He simply stated.

Todo shrugged, his arms behind his back as he leaned against the seat cushions. "Eh. Your loss then, Osomatsu. But I won't judge ya if you wreck the hotel room later. That Kamimatsu guy who got you in here sounded so much of an asshole, even more so than me or Atsushi. Huh. Dude claims to be your perfect brother?"

Ichi's scowl deepened. "An embodiment of perfection?" He scoffed. Osomatsu and Todo watched him as he wipe his glasses with his coat with an irritated expression. "Bullshit. There is no such thing as perfection. And the fact he was able to experience jealousy towards the respect you get from your little brothers was proof of that. If he truly was an embodiment of kindness, he would had forgiven you for summoning some sort of demon to rid of him. Kindness is a virtue, yes, but kindness has limitations too. Take a look at Jyushi for example." He bit his lip. "He is capable of hating someone, no matter how nice he is."

"He hates someone?" It was like saying Kara was capable of forgetting Rosa for a day, Todo thought. "I didn't even think it was possible. I mean, your little brother's just so.. nice." It was hard to imagine someone so sweet like Jyushi not liking someone. Especially since he was the same person who trusted Todo and pretty much saved their asses from Hatabou! Heck, he even gave Osomatsu his important ring because he trusted them to return it to him! To Todo, Jyushi was one of those rare people that barely hated anyone with every fiber of their being!

 _Though Kara's kindness has limitations as well.. so it's only fair for Jyushi to have the same kind of behavior too._

"We both hate that particular person, so it's no surprise he hates that person as well. He mostly evades any topic regarding that individual, so it's not considered a deep hatred of some sort. It's more of fear, and it gives him panic attacks to remember such horrid memories, so we prefer to not talk about that bastard much. Anyway, back to our topic now. This.. Kamimatsu person.. even as he claims he is the perfect brother, there is no such thing. If he truly was perfect, he wouldn't have done such a thing such as separating you from those you hold so dear. He would have let you be happy and enjoy your life." Ichi pointed out. "You were right to never consider such a monster like him your brother."

"Though we did kill him-"

"You summoned a demon. The demon killed him, not you, nor your brothers. You guys couldn't even lay a finger on him, you said so. Because each time you did, a part of your 'goodness' would fall out and he'd become stronger. I'm surprised you actually had enough common sense to stop trying to kill him with your own bare hands." Todo interrupted. "So in a way, I guess it's not your fault?"

"The demon was the embodiment of our own shittyness. And he was bigger than Kamimatsu." Osomatsu interrupted. "Did I mention his name? It's literally Akumatsu."

Ichi and Todo looked at each other in shock. Osomatsu honestly wasn't surprised by such a reaction. It was the same way the Matsuno Sextuplets reacted when Akumatsu suddenly popped out of the ground with his eyes glowing red, except with less screaming from Karamatsu and Todomatsu, and less violent reactions by Ichimatsu.

 _I mean, it's not everyday someone successfully summons a demon out of their own shittyness with their five younger twins._

"Wow. You guys are pretty damn shitty then." Todo murmured under his breath, but the other two males heard. "Honestly, how could you guys break the laws of reality like it's no big deal?!"

Osomatsu shrugged. "What? Jyushimatsu was able to bend the laws of reality by turning everything into text, and Ichimatsu was the only one who was able to force him to turn everything back to normal. Likewise, Todomatsu took a scythe out of nowhere, and it's the same scythe he tried to kill Kamimatsu with. Hm, and Karamatsu can physically hurt us with his horrible fashion sense, but that's the most normal thing in the household. And Choromatsu has his 'awareness' so high, it's practically chaotic. Oh, and did I mention Ichimatsu can turn into a cat?" The looks of the other two were hilarious. "..Now that I think about it, we live in a pretty weird-ass neighborhood."

"Are you normal? Your brothers sound weird as hell, so you're probably an alien too." Ichi pointed a finger at him. "Because if something manages to go wrong, I'm instantly blaming you. Or Kodoku."

"..I summoned a large baseball bat. With my brothers. To fight against aliens-"

"I've heard enough fairy-tales for today." Todo honestly didn't know how much more could he take. "Let's continue this conversation some other time. We're here."

The door opened, and the three of them stepped out of the limo. Some employees of Flag Corporation were lined up outside, and they bowed the moment Ichi started walking towards the entrance. The president didn't seem to care, since he kept walking with his coat flowing in a way similar to a cape's. Todo followed behind him, hands stuffed in his pockets, but he didn't go any faster than Osomatsu and kept close to him. Osomatsu held onto his sling bag as he and Todo followed Ichi.

Osomatsu looked up at the sky. His eyes widened as he saw a hang glider soar across the sky and head towards the same building they were heading at. Ah. So Lonely had arrived.

 _We're a weird bunch back in my dimension.. but I hope it doesn't get any worse._


	58. Chapter 58: Leaving the Past

_So basically, the Suuji Family has been.. around for a long, long time. They are involved with the founding of Akatsuka City and whatnot, so I guess they really are important figures in this city. Which might also be the reason why the brothers are to be feared and are born in a high position, with Suuji Ichi being a president of a company despite not attending college after he graduated high school. As for Suuji Jyushi.. he is an unexpected surprise to the Suuji Family, but nonetheless, he has his own role to fulfill._

Lonely had been worried over Jyushi the entire afternoon, and he would be lying if he said he didn't care for his well being. Once he carried him back to his study and covered him with a blanket, he decided to use his spare time to research the history of the manor he was living at. Jyushi hadn't been lying when he said the mansion did in fact belong to the Suuji Family, and it had been there before the grandfather of Jyushi's father was even born. It might also explain the paintings of multiple people that decorated the halls, which were now covered with newspapers thanks to Lonely littering all over the place. The manor was now abandoned because Jyushi's older brother decided to abandon his past along with it, taking Jyushi with him.

Well. They were rich, so it was natural for them to live in a mansion, but Ichi had wanted to leave everything behind, with the exception of Jyushi himself and a few significant items with him.

 _It may also explain one of the many rooms.. which have a lot of old weapons and some letters decorating the walls._

He could only guess that the room was the study of Jyushi's father. When Lonely first found the mansion, he didn't bother checking the books on the shelves or anything of the like, because he knew the place was empty of people and he was free to live in it no matter what. But now that he decided to actually look around instead of using the halls and rooms as places to stick his notes at, he could clearly see that the mansion was older than him or any of Jyushi's recently passed relatives. Besides the weapons ranging from different kinds of swords to an actual collection of guns, there were also letters from the ancestors of the Suuji Family that were framed and hanging up on the walls.

Most of the letters were directed to the future generation of the Suuji Family, which happened to be useless pleads to fulfill the true wish their family had for decades now. But Ichi and Jyushi were the only ones left in the family, meaning they are the future and were in charge of which direction to go. It was up to them if they wanted to fulfill it, though.

 _So the Suuji Family used to have a lot of warriors fighting back in the day, huh? That'd explain the weapons. It's hard to think that such a cold and brutal family such as the Suuji Family has a member so sweet and kind. As far as I'm concerned, Suuji Ichi and Suuji Jyushi are the only ones to rebel against the family by going against what is considered their laws and traditions. I wonder if both brothers are planning on continuing their family line. And Suuji Ichi is the only member of the family to actually have a baby sibling who doesn't happen to be a girl that was given away._

Lonely absolutely loved history, so reading deeper about the Suuji Family had been quite a wild ride. The books on the shelves were helpful, and it didn't take Lonely long enough to fully understand what the family had lived and worked so hard for. It wasn't justice or freedom for one's country (as most

 _Absolute power and perfection was what they wanted, and power over all of Akatsuka, and possibly, all of Japan, was what they desired. Of course, back in the day, there was discrimination against women due to the fact people believed men were far superior and women were just pretty damsels. Thankfully, we live in a modern era where both genders can terrorize a city and it doesn't even matter. Hence why the only females in the Suuji Family happened to be wives and mothers. Things such as aunts or sisters don't exist, so no wonder the brothers don't have any uncles, aunts, or cousins. They would usually only have one child as well, so we have the mother to thank for giving birth to Suuji Jyushi despite the traditions. Hm, but I guess the father didn't take that lightly._

But even as he worried, he knew nothing good could come out of it. It was his fault for not even wondering why a mansion was in the middle of the forest and just deciding on settling on the place! No wonder Jyushi found the place so familiar and had no problem looking for Lonely earlier! Lonely knew that guilt-tripping himself was even worse, so he just decided to focus on the problem at hand. Jyushi awoke two hours later, but much to Lonely's shock, Jyushi couldn't remember what had happened.

 _"Lonely? Why're you so worried? Has something bad happened?"_

That was a matter he needed to discuss with Ichi. Instead of showing Jyushi around as he promised, he decided it would be best if Jyushi remained bedridden for the entire day, seeing as how the mansion could affect his mental health more than it already has. Besides, Jyushi already forgot what happened, so Lonely felt no guilt about not going along with his promise. It was for Jyushi's sake after all.

So after cooking up a quick meal and eating dinner, as well as feeding Jyushi with a spoon, he decided to head to the hotel and picked out costumes that he would lend to Ichi and the rest. He stuffed them all in a plastic bag and prayed that they weren't heavy enough for the hang glider to crash while he was soaring through the sky. He then patted Jyushi goodbye, as well as giving him Kiiro-kun to ensure he was safe from nightmares. And of course, he didn't forget to put his mask back on.

 _I'll be back when you awake in the morning, Sweets. And I hope you get better soon._

And now, he had just landed at the top of the hotel thanks to the green candles signalling that he was allowed to land. Kara was there, arms crossed with fingers tapping impatiently and looking anxious, but that was probably due to the fact Lonely had a large plastic bag while he was hang gliding, which was a dangerous thing to do. "Um.. good evening, Lonely." Kara greeted. Lonely could see Chibita, Iyami, Hana, Homura, and Dekapan were present. But the other three, Osomatsu, Todo, and Ichi, weren't. "We just got a call from Ichi. They said they'd be here soon, so I do hope you don't mind waiting for them as well."

"Ah, no worries about that, Karat Cake." He noticed Kara's awkward smile falter a bit upon hearing the nickname. He heaved the plastic bag on his shoulders, before flinging it in front of him. "It's fine if they're late. As for this, it's the outfits I've chosen for all of you. I have labeled them, so there is no need to worry about mixing them up with the other. As for the women.." He frowned. "I do apologize. I was able to provide masks for Fall and Summer, as well as Kyuujitsu Fuyu, but since I am a male, I do not have dresses in my closet."

"Oh, it's fine, Lonely-san! Homura-chan and I have our own collection of dresses to pick from! We'll just find one that matches the mask you gave us!" Hana grinned brightly, arms behind her back, before she looked at a confused Iyami with a mischievous smile. "But I guess you forgot to mention that Chibita-kun doesn't have his own suit, Lonely-san?"

 _Oh? Now how did she know such a thing.._

Iyami just understood the joke. He let out a snort. "Pffft. Me thinks you're a great comedian, Hana."

"Oi! Just because I'm the smallest one here.." He huffed, crossing his arms. Lonely could see a blush on his face. "You're just as tiny as me, missy. Whatever, I'll just borrow one of Hatabou's suits, damn it. And Iyami, don't get so cocky 'bout your height just because you're taller than all of us, damn it. I'll reach up to ya one day, and you better mark my words, you idjit."

 _Oh. Of course. He is rather small, of course none of the suits I possess would fit him. Summer is truly observant for such a doll-like girl._

Kara checked the contents of the large plastic bag as Lonely pushed it to him. It looked like Lonely just shoved a bunch of crumpled bed sheets in there. Kara reminded himself to iron them out with Iyami later, but making such a statement in front of Lonely was rude. Besides, the outfits looked nice, even though they were crumpled."Oh. These look rather nice, Lonely. Thank you so much." Kara had never worn formal outfits much, besides when it came to graduating high school and anything related to school at all, but he was honest when he said they looked nice.

"Um." Everyone turned to Homura, who was the one that squeaked out and caught everyone's attention. She seemed to be focus on the pastel orange cellphone on her palm with a cute keychain of a teddybear, before lifting her head up. "If anyone's wondering about Ichi-san.. it seems Ichi-san and the other two will be here in-"

And for the second time today, Todo kicked down a door, and Osomatsu marched in whilst yelling the loudest he possibly can, dragging a tired Ichi along with him. "Sorry for being late, everyone! The elevator was broken, so guess who had to march all the way up here?! Crazy!"

Ichi raised a finger tiredly. Sure he could last long in a fight, but stairs were his worst enemy. There was a reason he preferred elevators more than stairs. "Dekapan, I want you to prepare a cup of coffee before I collapse. Now."

"..a few seconds." Homura uttered meekly, snapping her phone shut and watching them worriedly from afar as Hana seemed to laugh without a care at their current state. Dekapan gave Homura a small pat on the head before he left his spot and left the area, presumably to prepare the coffee a tired Ichi asked him for. Well, he was the president of their company after all. Disobeying him wasn't a good idea, especially since he was a good fighter.

Lonely watched as Kara drop the plastic bag gently and run off to the other three, then proceeding to scold Todo for kicking down an innocent door again. Lonely still hadn't understood why Ichi and Jyushi looked so much like him, and he was even more surprised to see Jyushi's friends have the same face as him. But of course, the five of them didn't know that little fact, and Lonely wondered if fate was just lazy enough to create humans with faces that differ from the other.

He was a chatterbox yesterday (though he wasn't the same level as Hana's), but for now, he remained quiet as he watched them interact. Friendships weren't a thing he was used to making, and seeing people with different personalities get along was.. interesting. As interesting as learning about different things from the past, and maybe as interesting as aliens. If they exist, Lonely thought.

"Todo, we can't afford to pay for that!"

"Ichi'll do it for us, Kara. No sweat."

"In your dreams, Katsuna. Isn't Matsuno your eldest brother? Go cry to him about that, Kyabarie."

"I'm broke as fuck, Ichi."

"Get a job then. Don't expect me to pay for anything Katsuna breaks."

"Todo, why did you even kick down the door?"

"We were late. Osomatsu was panicking that Lonely must have left by now."

"Oi, don't pin the blame on me, Tater Tot."

 _Well. They could chat later if they are acquainted in such a way._

Lonely was a busy man, and he promised Jyushi he'd be back soon. He already brought the costumes as promised, but he was still going to ask something to his first friend's big brother. "Suuji Ichi, I do wish to discuss an urgent matter with you." Ichi's head snapped to him upon hearing his name instead of a stupid nickname his equally stupid brother from another dimension suggested. Lonely adjusted his gloves a bit, before putting them behind his back. "Besides our plans for tomorrow, naturally. While I do know you are strong enough to protect your brother, there is a thing I would like to discuss with you which regards your.. emotional health?"

Ichi frowned. He never liked it when he got interrupted. He was just in the middle of an argument with Todo, and he was sure he thought of a better nickname than "Tater Tot" to insult Todo with. But what Lonely said just sounded so vague, so it was natural that Ichi would find him suspicious. Lonely was the same man his precious little brother was with! "Which is?"

"The venue of the place. I did say it was in the forest, right?"

"You did. The forest used to be full of people who went to picnics and stuff, and even went out for fishing and boat trips. Beside that, the forest is usually empty, unless someone in Akatsuka wants to be the new mayor and they start doing their speeches there and whatever." He cringed at the memory of multiple people in Akatsuka trying to convince the population that if they were to vote this particular person for mayor, the forest would be "saved". From what, exactly?

 _There is literally nothing threatening the forest. Or the city. Or Japan. What even is the use of those kinds of things? Flag Corporation's job is to ensure Akatsuka City will improve, not go downhill. The forest is in absolute zero danger, like, when was the last time someone actually dared to cut a tree down from the forest without the fear of me going there myself to cut their heads off? The forest is a precious place here in Akatsuka.._

"I do have a question regarding the mansion in the heart of the forest. I presume you know about that?" While Lonely usually preferred to beat around the bush for his own enjoyment, he was actually serious when it came to the health of his enemy's supposed victims. Jyushi was one of them. "I think you are familiar with that place?"

He noticed Ichi suddenly stiffen. That was a good thing, since that meant Lonely was right. The other three look-a-likes looked at Lonely in confusion. "Well, you did tell us you were having the party at a manor." Kara murmured. "And doesn't the forest have other buildings too? An abandoned chapel, an abandoned stage for concerts, abandoned cabins for fishermen.."

"In case you did not notice.. every single building within the forest happens to be abandoned. Whether it was destroyed by a natural disaster, or simply abandoned, one way or another, it's empty. Although in the heart of the forest, there is a mansion. You could say it's mine, but in all actuality, it really isn't."

Osomatsu tilted his head. He didn't notice Ichi's hands curl into fists. "Lonely, you're really not making any sense in here. What's your question anyway?"

"..Deepest apologies, Matsuno Osomatsu. But what I want to tell Suuji Ichi is that the mansion where I'm keeping his brother at is the same mansion that he and-"

Lonely's sentence was cut off when Ichi, from out of nowhere, pulled a katana out and was now pointing it at Lonely with that deadly glare at his eyes.


	59. Chapter 59: Snow Rain

"Ichi, what are you doing?! Stop that, you're gonna hurt him!" Osomatsu cried. Damn, Ichi was faster than Todo! Osomatsu didn't even notice Ichi leaving his side! Also, where the hell did he get his katana?! Osomatsu didn't even notice Ichi bring it with him! "Are you seriously thinking of fighting Lonely?! He's the guy protecting your brother!" Osomatsu tried to run towards Ichi to stop him, but Todo grabbed his wrist and held him in his place. Before Osomatsu could argue with Todo, he saw Todo's other hand was holding onto Kara's, who look as terrified as he was. Iyami and Chibita stepped back, but making sure that Homura and Hana, who were both clasping onto each other's hands, were behind them.

 _Iyami and Chibita are protecting Homura and Hana if something were to happen.. and Todo's protecting both Kara and I. But if Ichi and Lonely were to fight.. I wonder who's the weaker one between both of 'em. I mean, Ichimatsu's dangerous and Choromatsu's a threat when you anger him, but Ichi and Lonely are as different from them as Todomatsu is to Todo.._

Lonely wasn't screaming or doing anything to indicate he was panicked, but his breath hitched to show his state of shock. "Suuji-"

"Kodoku Choro, you better shut up, unless I tell you to speak! How on earth did you find my mansion?! How long had you stayed in there?!" Ichi ignored Osomatsu's yelling as he pointed the katana at Lonely's throat. Osomatsu couldn't see if Lonely was scared, since Ichi was blocking his view. "I locked all doors when I left, and I swear to god all the keys are with me. Duplicates are with Dekapan and Hatabou, and even those keys are in their personal vaults! How in fuck's name did you open it?! How did you get in?!" He was going completely insane at this point, and Osomatsu was glad it wasn't him in Lonely's position, because he was sure he'd wet his pants at the spot. "Do you know how much that could affect my little brother?! Do you know how long it took for him to finally smile?! Even though it's fake, at least he no longer remembers the horrors he had gone through! But in a place like that?!" The katana's blade was so close to piercing through Lonely's neck. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT COULD HARM HIM?!"

 _Oh my god. Ichi's going to scare the shit out of Lonely-_

Wait.

Was that.. laughing?

Was Lonely, the alternate self of the normally logical Choromatsu.. laughing at the fact he had a katana pointed to his throat? Which would normally scare any normal human being?

 _Lonely gets here by a hang glider for god's sake, that should have been enough proof that he's not normal. He's a freakin' psychopath._

Todo's grip on his arm tightened. "Back up a bit, Osomatsu, Kara. Don't let yourselves go any further than me. Iyami, Chibita." It was the first time Osomatsu heard Todo address Iyami by name. "You two.. lead Hana and Homura out of here. I can sense it's getting dangerous. Get them to a part of the hotel with many people. And stay with them 'til things in here cool down a bit." Todo didn't look behind him as he spoke, but he heard Hana nearly argue with him before Homura gently coax her into following them, as well as a shuffling of footsteps. He then heard the silent pleads of Chibita and Iyami to stay safe.

Kara was honestly terrified judging by the way he was sweating and the fact that his hands were sweating despite the cold, and Todo wished he had told Iyami and Chibita to bring Kara alongside them. For now, Todo and his other two brothers were slowly backing away from two deranged maniacs who probably shared the same face. Todo already knew that Ichi was a good fighter, but Lonely was a new character on his book. He never faced him before, and judging by his reaction.. Todo probably didn't want to have Lonely as an enemy.

"Oh, you do scare me so much, Suuji Ichi. You scare me so much, I probably won't go to bed without a nightlight on." Lonely said as he finally stopped chuckling. His mask was starting to fall off again, and Lonely regretted not going with his small idea of gluing it to his face earlier. Oh well. Lonely loved dramatic things. And with a scene like this, what else could possibly add more drama to this little play of his? There was no need to think about it. Lonely already knew how to make this play even better. Plus, he had an audience! Todo, Kara, and Osomatsu. He wondered if any of them loved magic tricks. "As if I'm scared of a little toy like that."

Ichi gritted his teeth. "The fuck did you just say-"

Then Lonely forcefully pushed Ichi off him, and Ichi fell on his back with a cry. Todo would have rushed in to help him, but he couldn't leave Osomatsu and Kara unprotected. The three of them, and Ichi who just regained his senses and picked up his katana, watched as Lonely suddenly take something out of his pocket.. a white cloth? "Now, now. I believe the audience should stay where they are." He put the cloth over his hand. "Would any of you like to see a little magic trick? It is my absolute favorite, ever since I was a young boy. My father was a magician himself, and as his son, it was natural that I would have an interest in such things. Keep your eyes on this little handkerchief of mine, alright? Now.. watch." When he pulled the cloth off, there was something in his hand.

Ichi's eyes widened as his eyes focused on the object, and so did Osomatsu's. It was a rapier.

 _Where the hell did he get that?!_

 _Dear god, he's definitely not normal. He's a fucking magician with a sword. Please let him swallow it._

Lonely used his sword to make a small line on the snow, seemingly for his own amusement. His weapon was far lighter than Ichi's, but it wasn't fragile just because the blade was thinner. "If you believe aiming a sword at someone is a great way to answer their question, I believe it's only polite to do the same, my dear 'friend'. I do not take such threats lightly. But maybe, just maybe, if you put down your weapon, I might do the same and we make amends. And I will let you take your well-deserved rest so we can rid off my devil of an enemy tomorrow, and then-"

"Shut your fucking mouth, Kodoku! I can't believe I trusted you to protect my brother!" Ichi roared, running towards him with his katana. "I'll push you off this building and send you straight to hell!"

"Ichi, don't!" It was Kara who cried and tried to stop him, but Todo let go of Osomatsu's hand to restrain his best friend. Not even Osomatsu could move out of fear for both individuals.

Lonely sighed, brushing a few strands of his hair that were dyed green. His mask was starting to fall now. If he were to move, his mask would completely fall.. now that was such a dramatic scene now, wasn't it? "What a shame. I thought you were a gentleman, Suuji Ichi. Your brother talks so fondly of you, how he admires you so! But I guess nothing is perfect, hm?" He pointed the rapier at Ichi's direction and awaiting the perfect time to strike. Such a movement finally caused the mask on his eyes to fall off. And it felt damn good to feel the cold wind brush against his rather sweaty forehead. "Now let us begin the main show!"

 _Fucking hell, that's the most painful thing I've heard all week! Lonely, you piece of shit!_

Lonely jumped out of his spot before Ichi could stab him, and he landed behind Ichi, still pointing his rapier at him. Ichi quickly turned on his heel and lunged towards Lonely again, who was now dodging with absolutely zero effort. Osomatsu's eyes were glued to Lonely, who was inhumanely fast, almost as if he could teleport out of his place and into another. Ichi was already faster than Todo, who could give Osomatsu a hard time if they were to fight, but Lonely? Was he even human? "For fuck's sake, just stay still so I can end your miserable life!"

"What seems to be the matter, Suuji-san?" Lonely said cockily, grinning like a madman. Ichi could swear his green eyes were practically glowing at this point. "Can you not hit me at all? Or am I being too fast?" He added before he started laughing loudly again.

Ichi growled, accidentally running over Lonely's discarded mask and snapping it in half. Still, that didn't stop him from leaping onto the air and trying to stab one of Lonely's green eyes with his katana. "Shut up! Just go to hell already! I shouldn't have trusted you from the fucking start! I knew you were dangerous to Jyushi!"

Osomatsu watched in horror as Lonely dodge each of Ichi's attacks, and Lonely was trying to pierce Ichi with his own sword, similar to how Ichi was trying to stab Lonely with his katana. "Good fuck, they both have swords.." He gasped out, turning to Todo. "Todo, we need to stop them!" If one of them dies, not only will Osomatsu be unable to go home, but having someone die isn't really good for Osomatsu's poor heart. Especially since they're the alternate versions of the brothers he loves so much. Plus, if Jyushi loses his brother or hears about his brother killing someone..

 _We don't need any more traumatized people around here. I'm already one, and it's hard enough keeping a facade. But Jyushi? It's already hard to see Jyushimatsu crying.. but seeing Jyushi traumatized will absolutely destroy me._

"Osomatsu, are you fucking blind?!" Todo grasped his wrist again, as Kara had calmed down. Todo's loud voice had cut Osomatsu off of his own thoughts. "You do know they're fighting with two sharp-ass weapons, right?! That can possibly go through us if we try to interfere?! Dear god, did you not think I'm worried for them?!" Todo's voice was now barely audible with the sound of metal clashing against each other, and Osomatsu could see that Ichi and Lonely were having a duel as of now. "Besides the fact that both of them still have swords in this fucking era, we're at a damn rooftop!"

"It would be easier to handle if both of them.. or at least one of them, was using a gun." Kara murmured. "Because.. you have the self-defense program on your phone, do you not, Osomatsu-niisan?"

 _Wait. The phone..?_

"I have an idea." Osomatsu zipped open his sling bag and started looking for his phone. "You two keep watch." Even with the sound of metal ringing in their ears, his two younger brothers heard the order and listened, praying that none of them would fall off the roof. Meanwhile, Osomatsu finally fished his phone from his bag and pressed on one of the applications. "C'mon.. pick up, pick up, pick up."

And to his relief, Choromatsu answered within the first two rings. And judging by the background, he was outside, probably taking a walk. Karamatsu and Todomatsu were trailing behind him, carrying some things in their arms.

 **"Osomatsu-niisan? Wait, is that.. the sound of swords-"**

"Where are you headed right now, Fappymatsu?"

 **"Hey, don't call me that! I'm with Karamatsu-niisan and Totty, we're headed to Professor Dekapan's place. Since Ichimatsu's staying with Jyushimatsu at the professor's for some time, we thought it'd be better if we bring their clothes there instead of having Ichimatsu walk all the way to the house every single day for clean clothes. Plus, we're bringing some of Jyushimatsu's toys, toiletries, some of Ichimatsu's questionable magazines-"**

"Yeah, yeah. Head there a little faster. And once you get there, give the phone to Jyushimatsu."

 **"What?! He's resting-"**

"Choromatsu, listen!" Even though he raised his voice, Ichi and Lonely were still dueling in the background. He glanced at them worriedly, seeing as none of them were willing to give up. "Jyushimatsu's voice was able to stop Todo and Ichi from having another fight earlier. And Ichi's having a fight with the other you! And they're both using fucking swords!"

 **"I still don't get why-"**

"Chorofappyski, listen to your older brother! Don't you get it?!"

 **"Get wha- Oh! Ohhhhhhh! So that's what you meant! Alright, gotcha! Oi, Karamatsu-niisan! Totty! Hurry up, we need to get to Dekapan's immediately!"**

 _Thank god._

The sound of Kara's scream cut through the air, and Osomatsu turned away from the phone to see Lonely pointing his rapier at Ichi, who was now hanging on the edge, his glasses missing and probably fell down as soon as Ichi ended in that position. His katana was lying carelessly on the ground, and Osomatsu was more shocked at the fact that Ichi, someone who could match Todo's strength, had been defeated so easily.

 _Not necessarily defeated, but if Lonely were to just push Ichi off the edge.. he'd die. No ifs or buts there._

"ICHI!" Osomatsu tried to run towards him, but Lonely quickly turned to his direction and glared at him with his green eyes. He looked so much like Choromatsu, with the exception of his two scars on his right eye, and Osomatsu couldn't even comprehend that someone like Lonely was the other self of Choromatsu, the brother Osomatsu was closest to. After Todo spread out his arms as if to protect Osomatsu and Kara from Lonely, Lonely merely grinned and went back to pointing at Ichi with his sword.

"Hmph. You were a worthy opponent! I dare say you were a great, short-time, rival!" Lonely chuckled. "But I'm afraid this play is about to reach it's conclusion, Suuji Ichi. What a shame this story will end badly."

"Lonely, you're not serious about this, aren't you?!" Kara cried. "Think about Jyushi!"

It was either Lonely didn't hear Kara, or he chose to ignore him. Either way, his eyes looked more insane than Ichi's earlier, and while they were small before, his eyes were shaking with insanity. "I love tragedy novels, you know. I love them similar to how I love historical books. Let's say you're the anti-hero, Suuji Ichi. And this novel is coming to a close, with the villain, I of course, getting rid of you."

"Are you seriously killing the older brother of the man you swore to protect with your life?!" Todo clenched his fists. "What in fuck's name is wrong with you?!"

"Matsuno! Don't.. don't worry about me!" Ichi yelled. The coldness wasn't helping his poor hands, which were bound to let go sooner or later. He closed his eyes as he started screaming. He had wanted to die with even the slightest bit of dignity, but then he remembered the man going to kill him was the same person that was going to "protect" his brother from some sort of psycho. What a hypocrite Lonely is, Ichi thought bitterly. "Protect my brother! Protect my brother with your life! Please, I swore to my mother I would never let anyone hurt my brother again!"

 _Ichi, no..!_

Lonely's smile was honestly terrifying. "Fare thee well, Suuji Ichi." He said as he raised his rapier over his head, preparing to pierce through Ichi's hands and let him fall to his death.

 **"..chi.."**

Lonely suddenly paused. Osomatsu stared at the source of the sound. It was his phone. He checked the screen, and he saw the fifth brother lying down on a white hospital bed with some cables practically attached to his arms. Beside him was Choromatsu, who was holding the communication device up to display everyone in the room. Ichimatsu was sitting on Jyushimatsu's bed, holding his younger brother's hand. Karamatsu and Todomatsu were standing up, holding piles of clothes. Even Dekapan was there, worriedly watching Osomatsu. Nothing could be heard besides Jyushimatsu's weak voice, and the breathing of everyone else in the room.

 _Everyone..! Choromatsu, did you guys sprint all the way there?! I salute you!_

 **"Ichi... Alternate Ichimatsu-niisan.."**

Ichi's eyes snapped open and they widened upon hearing the raspy voice that was a bit similar to his brother's. "J-Jyushimatsu..?"

"Jyushi..matsu?" Lonely whispered under his breath. Who was "Jyushimatsu"? Why was his name like a fusion of Osomatsu's and Jyushi's? More likely, what is with the phone Osomatsu was holding? Why was this Jyushimatsu-person's voice similar to Jyushi's?

 **"You.. I told you to protect my onii-san.. but.. that doesn't mean.. you shouldn't protect yourself as well.. please, I'm already worried for my brothers in this dimension.. please don't make me worry for them in that dimension too.. I can't.. I can't protect any of you in my current condition.. I'm sorry... I'm normally strong, but.."**

 _Jyushimatsu, I.._

 **"Alternate Choromatsu-niisan.. Kodoku Choro-san, was it?"**

Lonely flinched. That man speaking sounded so much like Jyushi, but didn't he leave Jyushi at the mansion earlier?!

 **"Please.. don't fight. Don't fight with my other nii-sans.. don't.. don't hurt them.. brothers.. don't hurt each other.."**


	60. Chapter 60: The Green Magician's Secrets

When Dekapan finally came back with the cup of coffee Ichi requested for, he dropped it at the moment he saw what saw going on. Osomatsu had his phone outstretched towards Lonely's direction while Kara was beside him, and Todo had left the other two to help Ichi, who was currently being pulled upwards to avoid falling onto his own demise. Dekapan also saw the broken colombina mask and the two swords lying on the ground, the pieces of the puzzle were put together and Dekapan rushed to Ichi's side, ignoring the voices coming out of Osomatsu's phone.

Speaking of Osomatsu's phone, Lonely's eyes were glued to the screen and he didn't seem to be planning on continuing his and Ichi's duel, seeing as how he had dropped his rapier. Despite his rather small eyes, he could clearly see what was being displayed. More look-a-likes, as well as a clone of Dekapan were present. They were all huddled into a hospital bed, with the supposed patient being the owner of the voice that was similar to Jyushi's. Except it was a bit more raspy and soft, and Lonely could only guess it was because he was sick.

 _Jyushimatsu, was it? His name is similar to Osomatsu's.. but he's Jyushi too? Strange.._

 **"Did... did I do good, Osomatsu-niisan..?"**

Osomatsu turned the phone back to him and made a small smile. Jyushimatsu was still tired-looking, but at least he wasn't sick enough to not speak a single word. Who knows how Ichi could have ended up if Osomatsu wasn't brilliant enough to think of such an idea? Now that he had finished stroking his own ego, Osomatsu made sure he didn't look so worried. He didn't want to make everyone feel worried for him the same way he was worried for them. "You did great, Jyushimatsu. Thanks for saving Ichi's life. And.. and don't worry about the bit about you not protecting anyone. That's fine, you're the second youngest, so you don't have that much to worry about. Heh." He heard the relieved sighs of his brothers and Dekapan. They must have been really worried.

 **"I'm.. I'm really glad I helped you..! I.. can't move much for now, but.. I'll.. do my best to help you, Osomatsu-niisan.. with Ichimatsu-niisan's help.. and Choromatsu-niisan's, and Karamatsu-niisan's, and Totty's, and Professor Dekapan's too.. we'll all work super hard to bring you back home with us, Osomatsu-niisan.. I'll work super hard.."**

"I know you will. Muscle hustle, yeah? Don't rush trying to get better though. I did that once, and I ended up feeling more like shit. Don't want to compete with Ichimatsu in that department, eh?" Osomatsu chuckled, and he saw Ichimatsu pull the finger at him from the background, though the fourth brother was careful to make sure Jyushimatsu didn't see it. Nonetheless, Osomatsu was amused. "And Choromatsu, Karamatsu, Todomatsu. Thanks for listening to me."

 **"Well duh! We're not there with you, so of course we know you're not pranking us! Especially when you bring someone sick into this, Osomatsu-niisan! Also, Choromatsu-niisan told us to run like hell, and so we did! Who knows what could have been happening in there?! You got Choromatsu-niisan and Karamatsu-niisan worried about you and our other selves! Gah, of course we'd listen to you! Who knows what could have been going on over there?!"**

 **"Totty, my dear youngest brother! You were just as worried as we were! Don't pretend-"**

 **"Fine then, Karamatsu-niisan! I was very worried, okay?! Who wouldn't be worried?! Especially after hearing my alternate self trying to kill him-"**

 **"You two, stop bickering right this second! Geez, and in the professor's lab too, and while Jyushimatsu's trying to rest! Ichimatsu, stop glaring at them, that's not gonna solve anything either! Argh, whatever.. Osomatsu-niisan, is the other Ichimatsu fine now? Or is there something else we should be worried about?"**

Osomatsu glanced at Ichi. Well, Dekapan somehow had another pair of glasses, as if he knew Ichimatsu would somehow break his glasses again. Todo was now glaring daggers at Lonely's back, but Kara was probably watching him to prevent a murder from happening. "He's fine, yeah. Uh, the other you looks like just like you if you witnessed Nyaa-chan's skirt get flipped up." He heard Choromatsu suddenly bark out something with Todomatsu and Ichimatsu snickering in the background, as well as the weak comment of Jyushimatsu stating that Choromatsu was an idol otaku. "Wrong choice of words, don't get angry at me, Fappymatsu. The other you doesn't know yet. But I'm guessing I should let him know by now?"

 **"You should tell him before someone attempts to kill you again."**

 _Thanks for your overwhelming support guys. Really helps a lot. Especially your lack of faith in me. Truly amazing._

"Alright, alright. Geez, you guys are so serious. Lonely here looks like he just pissed his pants anyway. It's best to let him know about that, right? Well. Take a nice long rest, Jyushimatsu. Nii-san hopes you get better soon. Ichimatsu, watch over him for as long as you stay there, but don't you dare stay up late, or I'll kick your ass. You three, don't get into any petty fights anymore, or I'll find a way to rip through this dimension to ours. And thanks for taking care of my brothers, Professor Dekapan." After hearing their joined goodbyes and wishes for him to have a nice evening, Osomatsu hung up and let out a sigh. At least Ichi didn't fall to his death.

 _And I got Lonely to stop too without having Ichi stab him with his katana, so it's pretty much a win-win situation._

When Lonely suddenly regained his senses and blinked, he nearly tripped over his own words. He was unable to voice his opinion on the entire matter. "I.. I have never.. I have never been so.. baffled in my entire life. I am a perfectly functioning adult, but this? This is something I cannot comprehend." He put a hand over his forehead. "I am probably just dehydrated or tired after such a long day. Maybe I should have eaten more." He mumbled to himself, kneeling down to pick up his rapier, as well as pulling out the same white handkerchief he used earlier. Again, he placed it over the rapier, but in an instant, it disappeared into nothingness. "I am rather curious about that unexpected character suddenly interrupting such a dramatic fight, Pine."

 _He's trying to kill me with his painfulness. I just know it._

"Maybe you are. But there's something I'd like to ask of you before you do the same to me. I mean, you're the weirdo here, not me." Osomatsu put the phone back in his pocket. It seemed Ichi was now fine, and Dekapan was still fussing over him. Todo was now sitting cross-legged, so he probably didn't have his guard up. Except he was glaring daggers at Lonely. "First of, how'd ya do that?"

Lonely blinked and tilted his head. It would have been a little cute if Lonely wasn't such a weird creep, in Osomatsu's opinion. "Do what, you ask? Be specific, Pine. I do a lot of things, such as breathing, walking, existing in general.."

 _You're really lucky you look like Fappymatsu, y'know. Otherwise, I would have punched your face so hard you wouldn't even look like us anymore._

"The sword. Where the fuck did you get it? Like, it just appeared from the handkerchief or something?" Osomatsu had never been the "straight man" when it came to hijinks he and Choromatsu got themselves into, but in this dimension, Choromatsu's other self was either painfully naive about the fact he got a sword from nowhere, or he was just acting stupid to piss Osomatsu off. He was obviously being the "idiot" in this routine.

It was probably the latter, since Osomatsu swore he saw Lonely's dark green eyes flash with mischief before he spoke up and crossed his arms in a sassy fashion. Yup. Lonely was being an ass. "The sword? Pine, my dear sir, it is called a rapier-"

"I know what the fuck it's called, and you don't want me to break your sword with my bare hands. I literally watched anime with Risingfappyski before, and thanks to his stupid fantasy animes, I know a lot about weapons that people use in those stupid little RPGs he likes to play so much." Osomatsu's eyes darkened. Another thing he didn't like was when one of his brothers were being cheeky brats. Mostly Todomatsu, but Lonely wasn't an exception to this, even if they weren't related by blood in this dimension. "Don't play games with me, Choro. If you do, I'll swear you'll need a mask for another reason besides hiding your identity."

And the cheeky bastard wasn't even fazed by Osomatsu's threat. He just licked his lips, and made an amused smirk. "Why, you're actually quite the feisty one, aren't you? I thought you were the timid type, seeing as how quiet you were last night." He murmured. "But a magician never reveals his tricks, Pine. So I do apologize, but I am not allowed to tell you such things."

 _So much for that. Your painfulness exceeds Karamatsu's, Choro. I'm impressed._

"Fine. I have better things to ask you anyway." Osomatsu huffed, deciding it was better to ask something else than waste time trying to interrogate Lonely for answers. "You said something about Ichi's mansion being your place?" He noticed Dekapan looked confused, so Ichi whispered something in his ear. It was probably about their supposed conversation earlier.

"Not necessarily? I mean.. I just found it one stormy night while casually flying on my hang glider as I usually do every night-"

"That doesn't give you the right to just break in and stay there! What were you even doing, flying in a hang glider in a stormy night?! You're trying to get yourself killed, you absolute moron! I wished you had died!" Ichi roared. Dekapan flinched upon hearing Ichi's voice suddenly raise in volume. "Do you have any idea how much time I wasted making sure everything was locked in there?! I even had to give my staff different jobs around the city and make sure they can't contact me anymore, just to ensure their safety after I fired them! I even had to bring Jyushi to therapy, and he couldn't sleep on his own bed two weeks after we moved in Flag Corporation's building!"

Lonely frowned, pressing one of his fingers against his cheek and tapping on it as a sign of irritation and impatience. His frown was more of a pout now, and he was glaring at Ichi the same way Todo was glaring at him. "As I was saying before I got interrupted by some rude, pompous brat.."

"You cheeky fucker, you're lucky you have Jyushi with you and I'm not killing you yet for that reason alone." Ichi grumbled under his breath. "As if you're not a pompous ass yourself, you damn hypocrite."

"Ah, and I'm pretty sure we're all around the same age too.." Kara meekly raised a finger to make his point, though it seemed only Todo payed attention to what he had said. "Um-"

"I found it. It was abandoned at the forest, and seeing as a certain someone didn't even leave any note about not going in the manor.. I decided to clean the place up a bit. No worries, everything is untouched and unmoved. Though there are newspapers all over the place. And as of now, party streamers. And some broken furniture. But nothing else." He clapped his hands together, ignoring Ichi's dark glare. "Now, I am sure those are all the questions you wanted to ask of me, Pine?"

"Where'd you get the scar?" Todo finally spoke up. "Is that what you're trying to hide behind your mask-"

"Now, I don't remember asking you, Katsuna Todo." Lonely snarled, but he still maintained his cheeky smile. "But since you asked so politely, I guess I could tell you. But then I remembered." He dropped his cheerful smile. Osomatsu could now see the obvious similarities between Lonely and Choromatsu, besides the small eyes. With his stoic expression, he looked exactly like Choromatsu once someone (minus the brothers) managed to piss him off and get on his bad side. "It's none of your business."

Todo's eye twitched, and he clenched his fist. "Why you.."

Kara glanced at him. "Todo, no.."

"And as much as I'd love to ask questions to dear Pine, I'm afraid I must bid you all adieu. It's late for now and I promised Sweets I'd be back soon." He walked over to pick up his hang glider. "Put on the costumes tomorrow, and do not forget to put on the masks. Suuji Ichi and Katsuna Todo are capable of fighting, though I do have to ask Sweets' older brother to bring his katana with him. Suuji Ichi definitely remembers the route to the mansion, so be there before the sun sets. I'll meet you once the party guests have arrived and I've made my introduction. And don't worry about Sweets."

 _We have like a thousand reasons to worry about Jyushi right now._

"Tomorrow, we will commence the masquerade of solitude."

And just like that, Lonely soared through the air like a bird, leaving nothing but a broken mask behind. Dekapan was still watching Ichi worriedly, who had now put on his new pair of glasses and picked up his katana. "Ichi.."

"Dekapan, get four cups of coffee. Oh, and you're dismissed as soon as you get our drinks."

"As you wish, Ichi."


	61. Chapter 61: Life Lessons

Though Lonely told them to be there before the sun set, that automatically meant spending the entire morning and afternoon getting ready for later. While Ichi had no issue with that, it was a different case for Osomatsu, his two brothers, and his two friends. Hatabou had dropped off a suit for Chibita earlier, and as for Iyami, he was given by Yuki a different suit, since Lonely's clothes probably wouldn't fit Iyami, since he was taller than his other companions. After eating breakfast and taking turns getting baths, Kara and Chibita had helped everyone get ready, with Chibita helping Iyami, and Kara helping his childhood friend and his brother.

The three of them had similar suits, though the neckties were different colors. Kara also noticed that their masks were similar to Lonely's, except they had two colored feathers popping out at both sides. Kara thought they were rather pretty though; his mask was a bit glittery, and the feathers were a lovely deep blue color. Todo's mask was black instead of white, and the feathers were pink from the top, but fading to black at the bottom. Osomatsu's mask had red lines on the side, and the feathers were red, as expected. Kara had set them on the side for now, since his two brothers were still getting dressed.

At least, Osomatsu was getting dressed in the bathroom while Iyami's necktie was still being tied by Chibita. Todo wasn't doing anything, however. Todo was only wearing black pants and nothing else, besides his underwear underneath his pants. He was sitting on his bed with a towel over his neck, his headband resting on his head to keep his pink hair out of his place. Todo was also drinking a can of beer that he got from the hotel staff earlier, and he seemed to be liking the taste. Kara didn't, however. "Todo, my dear friend, please put on the polo already. I still have to help Osomatsu-niisan with his hair later. Oh, and we need to change your bandages too. Remove them."

Todo grumbled about something, but nodded anyway. Of course he'd listen to Kara. "Fine." He set down the can of beer on the shelf and started unwrapping the bandages around his left arm. The cuts weren't too deep, so they were bound to disappear sooner or later. Still, Todo thought it'd be best to hide them for now. Plus, he looked like a delinquent, so people would assume he just got in a fight with someone who pissed him off. And the blazer could hide his bandages. Once he removed all the bandages, he disposed of them and watched as Kara pull out the first aid kit from under his bed.

"Alright, it'll be a bit more loose now, since those cuts of yours seem to be healing. Stretch your arm out please." Todo did as he was told, and Kara smiled upon seeing the healing cuts. "Wonderful progress! And only in two days! They won't be getting worse as long as you don't get yourself into yet another accident! I should get you a happy meal for not doing anything else to hurt yourself." He heard Todo snort.

"Another can of beer would be rather nice-"

Todo suddenly yelped as Kara tightened the bandages around his wrist with a tug. He glared at him icily with his blue eyes staring deep into Todo's soul. It was a stern look, one similar to what a mother would give to her rebelling child. "No. That is a disgusting product, and as much as I love you as you are my dear childhood friend and younger brother from another dimension, I will not be tarnishing my reputation by buying another can of beer. I learned the first time, and that was when you got fired from Sutabaa. Buy your own, I'll give you money, but I will not be caught dead holding yet another can." He scoffed. "I fear I have to wash my hands with holy water for touching such a vile thing, if I ever touch one ever again."

"Eh. I tried. Chill out though, it's just a can. Just because you get drunk easily.." It was amusing to see Kara immediately stop being nice at the mention of beer, something he hated so much with every fiber of his being. That's one way to piss him off, Todo thought with a smirk. "Can you not make those so tight? I need my wrists too."

"Ah. Apologies. Here, it's much looser now, isn't it?" Once he finished wrapping the bandages, he grabbed the neatly folded white polo from his bedside. "Here. It's similar to the one you wear underneath your leather jacket. Please do make sure all buttons are buttoned. You have to put on a button-up vest as well. Lonely seems to fancy these kinds of classy outfits."

"He likes it 'cuz he's a pompous ass. Can I skip the vest?"

"No."

"Come on. I have to act as a spy. I need to move a lot, Kara." Todo whined. He didn't get the point of layering something that was going to be layered on anyway. What was the point in putting on a button-up vest when it was going to be covered by a blazer? At least Jyushi's supposedly favorite outfit somewhat made sense, since he wasn't even wearing a jacket when he first met him. Reluctantly, he started buttoning up the polo in order to prevent Kara from giving him a lecture.

"It will not limit your movement, I promise. Also, don't use your job as a spy as a reason to not wear a button-up vest, Hana's job is also being a spy, and she is wearing a dress and will probably wear heels. You can never run in heels, and if you can, you are not human and you should be a candidate for Japan's next president." He distractedly said. "Oh, take off your headband too. We're putting gel on your hair to make it look nicer." Kara pulled out a bottle of gel from his shelf and took off Todo's headband, setting it on the side of the bed. "Don't complain. I'll be putting gel as well, and so is Osomatsu." He popped the bottle open and prepared to apply some to his hand.

Planned to, at least. Because a certain someone's voice prevented him from doing so. "No I'm not!" Osomatsu's voice came from the bathroom, and it was more of a whine than anything else.

Kara sighed in exasperation. He honestly felt like he was taking care of two children who didn't want to dress up neatly. He was doing this for their own sakes! Lonely was unpredictable too, so who knows how would he react to someone not dressing up properly! He might straight-up stab them himself! "Yes you are, Osomatsu!"

Osomatsu finally left the bathroom, and as Kara expected, he was dressed sloppily. Some of the buttons of the polo were unbuttoned, the button-up vest wasn't present, and the blazer was hanging off his shoulders like a cape. His pants were also unzipped, and where on earth was his belt?

 _Wait a minute.. Osomatsu-niisan's socks don't even match! How did that even happen?! I only gave him one pair of socks! Is this the power of a NEET who still lives with his parents despite being twenty-one years old?! So powerful!_

Kara was absolutely horrified at the sight of someone dressing so sloppily! Especially since that someone was his own older brother.. "You can't make me, Kara! I'm the eldest brother, and you have to listen to me!" He cried, pointing a finger at Kara.

"In another dimension, yes, you are my dear older brother. But in here? You're one of my closest friends that I consider an older brother of mine even though I'm actually older than you. Now please.. how did you mess up so bad?" He calmly asked, trying his best not to freak out. "Geez, you're a hopeless case. How did you even get another sock when I only gave you two white ones.." He murmured. "Hm, allow me to collect your vest from the bathroom before I assist you in making you look less of a mess than you actually are, my dear brother."

"I'm a natural mess, Kara. Good luck fixing that."

Kara glanced at him with a deadpan look. He was tired from having to deal with such childish self-claimed adults early in the morning. He hadn't even had his first cup of coffee yet! "I mean your outfit, not your life." He said, walking off to the bathroom to grab Osomatsu's vest from the bathroom.

"Yowch! That probably burns him from the inside, Kara." Todo smirked and watched as Osomatsu give him a pitying look. "Payback for all the times you called me 'Tater Tot' in front of many people, Osomatsu."

Osomatsu only snorted in response as Kara started to look around the bathroom and process the mess Osomatsu made while he was taking a bath. "You got a point there, though. I'm one hell of a mess. I do plan on fixing that once I get back home, though. Y'know, to prevent something like this from ever happening again."

Before Todo could make another snide comment, Chibita spoke up from the other side of the room. At least he was done, all he had to do was put on the mask and the gloves Hatabou had loaned to him. "Eh? You've honestly learned nothin' from this, Osomatsu?" He asked in disbelief, still struggling to fix Iyami's tie. "You idjit.. thing is, when you get into some sort of shitty situation, you don't wait 'til it's over to fix your shitty habits, damn it. Sometimes, you gotta learn how to fix 'em before you head home and continue livin' your life."

Osomatsu tilted his head in confusion. It seemed that Todo was also interested in what Chibita had to say. "Eh? What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? You don't get it at all?" Chibita clicked his tongue. "Osomatsu, you're an idjit. As idiotic as our Osomatsu. I don't mean to discourage ya, but.. your chance of gettin' home isn't always a hundred percent guaranteed." He saw Osomatsu look more confused. "Look. We have Todo here, yeah? Thing is, Todo hurt himself days ago. Who knows if he's fully recovered from that. Kara's a swell guy, but not even swell guys are safe from whatever destiny has in store. Jyushi got kidnapped, and who knows if our plan for tonight succeeds. Ichi might get assassinated sooner or later. And Lonely could get into an accident which involves him fallin' off his stupid hang glider or somethin'."

"You know what that means?" Iyami asked, turning a bit to glance at Osomatsu.

"Hm? I'm aware Todo can hurt himself, more so than he has already done to himself." Osomatsu murmured, looking down and playing with the cuffs of his polo. "And I'm aware what kind of accidents Kara, Choro, or Ichi can get into, especially someone as influential to Akatsuka as Ichi is. I'm aware of the consequences of what will happen to Jyushi.. or any of us could suffer as a result from failure." He looked at Chibita, then Iyami. "Are you guys trying to tell me that I should become.. more paranoid?"

 _Are you fuckin' kidding me._

 _Sheh! Is he really that stupid?!_

Silence followed, and Kara walked back in with the vest on hand. Judging by his rather quiet demeanor, he must have heard what they were talking about, since he just quietly jabbed at Osomatsu's side and pointed at his vest, signalling Osomatsu to raise his arms a bit so he could slide them in. The silence lasted for a good while, until Chibita had finally finished tying Iyami's tie before letting out a sigh. "Now I'm done with your stupid-ass-tie, Iyami. Go for it, ya idjit."

And Iyami did. Via his favorite gag. "Sheeeeh!"

Kara suddenly hid behind Osomatsu out of shock, and Todo fell off the bed with a rather girly shriek. Osomatsu's eyes suddenly widened. "O-Okay?! What was that for, Iya-"

Iyami then pointed a finger at Osomatsu similar to how Osomatsu pointed at Kara earlier. "Osomatsu! You may have been a pain to the other me's side for so long, but me is a quality human being, so!" He leaned in close to Osomatsu. "Me shall explain to you why you haven't learned a single thing from this!" Grabbing the eldest Matsuno by the back, he twirled him as if he were in a dance. Thankfully, Osomatsu had done ballet before, so this wasn't anything new. Kara and Todo were watching the scene play out with interest while Chibita watched with arms crossed.

Once Iyami stopped twirling Osomatsu, he let him take a few deep breaths and recover from the nausea that spinning caused him. "Alright.. uh, I don't think we dance 'til later, Iyami-"

"Shoosh! Let me, your long-time friend Iyami, talk! After all, you are tired from all the adventures you went through recently, yes? And you have a big role to do later! So unleash your burdens, Osomatsu! Don't wait until you are dying to spill out all your troubles!" He now gripped Osomatsu by the shoulders before he started to shake him furiously. "Because what Chibita meant to say was.."

"You should fix your bad habits as soon as possible, so it doesn't get in the way of your goal?" Kara meekly interrupted. "Um, is that what you two were trying to say?"

"Yes!" Both Iyami and Chibita cried in unison. "Someone got what we're trying to say! We're not surrounded by dense idiots after all!"

 _Ah. I'm right? That.. actually feels kinda nice, being praised._

Osomatsu tried to speak up again. "So, uh-"

"If your life is a mess, then do something about it! We don't know if your plan to get home will actually be successful or not after all!" Iyami interrupted. "So instead of just trying to shove your problems for later, why not try dealing with them now?!"

Kara was too busy internally screaming at the fact he was, in a way, referred to as someone that wasn't an idiot, because he didn't seem to notice or care that Chibita and Iyami were now doing a happy dance around a confused Osomatsu. Todo sat up on the floor and crossed his arms, wondering why he let himself hang out with such weird people.

 _Hm.. even if Iyami and Chibita aren't as active as we are when it comes to running around for Osomatsu's sake.. I gotta admit, without them, all of us would be lost._


	62. Chapter 62: Dusk and Dawn

"Sir, your ride is here, jo. Fuyu, Yuki, Hana, Homura, and Dekapan are all waiting for you, jo." Hatabou had walked in with his uniform on, neat and spotless as always. Though Ichi didn't question how or why, his flag wasn't there or waving proudly as it usually did. Ichi briefly wondered if the incident days ago had damaged Hatabou's self-esteem greatly, and he hoped his words hadn't been too harsh on him. Hatabou was a childhood friend of his and Jyushi, but Ichi always thought it had been perfectly valid to get angry at Hatabou whenever he did something against his orders. Even if they were friends. "And I lost rock, paper, scissors, jo. So it is apparently my job to fetch you from your office, sir." He sighed.

Ichi could see the mask on Hatabou's hand, so he quickly grabbed his from his desk. It hadn't been a struggle putting on the outfit, seeing as it was very similar to what he usually wore. A simple black suit and a purple tie, and the mask was a bit odd, but thankfully, not too flashy. It was a simple mask similar to Lonely's, except it had two purple feathers on both sides and a single purple flower on the right side. It looked like one of those things Jyushi could make when he was left all alone in his room with some art materials, so Ichi didn't question it much.

Ichi grabbed his katana, which was lying on the sofa. He then handed it to Hatabou, who carefully held it. The katana was an important family heirloom, and Hatabou knew that it was the same katana that Ichi and Jyushi's father used to murder their mother. Hatabou just didn't understand why Ichi kept it. "Alright then. Why don't you go ahead, Hatabou? I'll catch up with you. I still have some things to finish. It won't take too long. Bring this down and give it to me as soon as we get to our destination, okay?"

"As you wish, sir, jo. I'll see you downstairs, jo."

Hatabou bowed and left him without questioning his motives, and Ichi decided it would be best to calm himself before he went anywhere else. As Hatabou shut the newly-built door, Ichi paced around the room, trying to release all of his worries with each step he took. He was going to have to visit his old house again, and he didn't know how exactly he would react to such familiar surroundings that had permanently scarred his little brother. He may seem in control of his emotions, but Ichi knew himself better than anyone. He knew that his own emotions were as unpredictable as his little brother's, and he didn't really like losing control of them. Especially in front of Jyushi, Hatabou, or Dekapan.

 _Jyushi did say I can be a bit scary when I'm.. overwhelmed with emotions. He doesn't deserve to see me like that ever again._

He glanced at the other things on top of his desk. The empty bottle of poisonous liquid was present, and so were the wilted flowers inside the rather expensive vase. His laptop was also there, and his telephone looked like it had been dusted. His locket, which would have usually been underneath his outfits, was laying carefully on the desk. Ichi didn't want to bring it with him, fearing that he might accidentally lose such a precious picture at his old manor. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, not even the files and paperwork on the table, which he would have finished by now if he didn't spend the entire day worrying and getting ready.

The sun was going to set soon. And for some reason, the sun reminded him of his yellow-eyed little brother, who smiled so much to the point he was able to bring happiness to Flag Corporation just by existing. The sun setting.. it reminded Ichi so much of his mother and his little brother. When his mother was alive, she used to tell stories to Jyushi and Ichi, though Ichi was too mature to actually believe in such fairy tales. Jyushi, however, believed in every single word his mother had said, especially since she said them with such happiness and charisma.

One of the stories he remembered from her was a story she made up on the spot when Jyushi had asked her why he got so sleepy once the sun had set. She used to say that the reason Jyushi got so sleepy once dusk came around was because he was connected to the sun. The sun sleeping meant Jyushi would sleep as well. And Jyushi believed her.

 _If I was less of a serious asshole back then, I probably would have believed her too. I mean, she is probably the reason Jyushi still believes Santa Claus exists. He's like nineteen for god's sake.. thank goodness Dekapan is nice enough to pretend he's Santa every single year._

Still, if he was going to freak out, he might as well spare Osomatsu from worrying about him. He knew Osomatsu would worry lots, because judging by his reaction from his fight with Lonely last night, he was the kind of guy that'd worried over the smallest things. Plus, he was Osomatsu's brother in the other dimension, right? And he cried so much at the sight of his little brothers. He probably reacted the same way when he met Kara or Todo. But at least Osomatsu had his phone to calm him down whenever he lost control of his emotions. He could contact his brothers any time, and Kara and Todo were always following him as well.

 _Oh well. I have no other option, I guess. Jyushi is the only one that can calm me down, so.._

He quickly grabbed his locket from the desk and stuffed it in his pocket, thinking it was better than to just leave it hanging. He walked out of his office and carefully shut the door, as well as made a mental reminder to leave a sign with Todo's face in it, crossed out with a large X. No way in hell was he paying for his door to get fixed again. Especially since someone like Todo was bound to break every door in Akatsuka City.

Once he got down and met up with his other subordinates, he climbed in the limo and sat next to Dekapan and Hatabou, while Fuyu, Yuki, Hana, and Homura were across them. Dekapan, Hatabou, and Yuki all had black-colored masks that didn't have any feathers, which Ichi kind of envied. He would have preferred something simplistic rather than something that looked like it came out of a bad musical. As for the girls, their masks were white with a bit of glitter, but nothing else. Similar to their suits, the ladies wore similar white dresses with frills and ribbons, except Hana's was light blue, Homura's was red, and Fuyu's was yellow.

But even with the formal attire, Hana still chose to wear her hair into two twintails as she usually did. Ichi wondered if she was wearing them for her own amusement, or she was wearing them to impress someone. Definitely not the latter! Hana was too much of a tomboy to pay attention to what guys her age would like, Ichi thought to himself. He was sure his intuition was correct; Hana was probably just doing this to amuse herself. The day Hana would get a boyfriend is the day Ichi would retire from being Flag Corporation's president.

"Sir." Ichi's thoughts were then cut off by the voice beside him. He turned to Hatabou, who was fiddling with his mask. "Is it a bad time to discuss the plans for tonight, jo?"

"Not at all. Go ahead, Hatabou. Lonely was too vague with his explanations anyway, and Osomatsu's notes are absolute bullshit." He shrugged. "I'm helping out with knocking random people out either way. But let's hear your plan first before you head on to our's. Lonely'll probably lead us, though you four will only have yourselves to count on."

"Alright. So we have cameras packed at the trunk. With Lonely's permission, we're installing them in every corner of the mansion." Ichi noticed Hatabou dropped his verbal tic as he talked. He glanced at the people across him, and he was glad that Hana was listening. That girl was so reckless, she could cause a problem for this plan if she were to go against Ichi's orders. "We decided to set up some of the computers somewhere near the mansion, sir. Just in case something were to happen, one of us could rush in there. Do you have any ideas where we could set the computers?"

Ichi thought for awhile. Something near his mansion? His ancestors had always been picky with having buildings close to their mansion. They were such egotistical maniacs, Ichi thought. "How about the abandoned church? It was always there ever since I was a child. Mother did say something about the old church being haunted or something, so no one dared to do anything to it. They feared that the ghosts haunting the church would get angry if someone were to tear the building apart."

He saw Homura flinch, the color draining from her face. "G-ghosts, you say?" She stuttered. Her voice was much more shaky than usual. "Dear me.. Hana-chan, you don't think they're real.. do you?"

Hana grinned, and despite the mask covering her eyes, Ichi was sure they were glistening with mischief. "They're real! Saw one myself when I was a lil' girl, yup! They're probably all over the church, Homura-chan." Hana giggled, kicking her tiny legs and making a catty smile. "I heard that someone in that church was murdered! Interesting stuff, huh?"

"That.. didn't happen." Ichi deadpanned. While he had no idea how long the church had been there, he was awfully sure a murder didn't happen there. "Stop making up stories just to scare Homura, Hana. Ghosts aren't real." He waved a hand dismissively.

Hana puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms, though Homura looked relived and silently mouthed her thanks to Ichi. "Maaaaan. You're a stick in the mud, you know that?"

"Hana-chan, you know how Homura-chan is easily scared by those kinds of things." Fuyu chided like a mother. Ichi knew that Fuyu and Yuki had been married for some time now, and he was wondering if they were planning on getting a child and starting a big family. Fuyu could be an amazing mother, one that could match Ichi's mother. And Yuki could be a great father. At least, greater than Ichi's father, the young president thought to himself. "She is important to this mission too.. I do suggest not scaring her, so she could carry out her duties with diligence, as she usually does."

"Phooey! Fine! But I get to tell Homura-chan ghost stories after all this is over!" Hana pouted.

"Um.. sure, Hana-chan. Just not right now, okay?" Homura awkwardly laughed. Her best friend was odd, sure, but still. They were best friends and nothing could ever change that. Not even Hana's obsession with ghost stories.

Hatabou coughed to regain everyone's attention. "As I was saying.. we'll set up the cameras at the mansion, and the computers will be set up at the abandoned church. In case something were to happen to the mansion, either Warai-san or I will rush in on the scene. As for the ones acting as spies.." He turned to Ichi then to Yuki. "I guess we'll give headphones and microphones to work with. That way, you can patrol all the areas with the cameras, and we can tell you guys if something seems wrong."

Yuki nodded. "That seems incredibly logical, sir. However, I do have a suggestion to make this plan of ours less dangerous."

Dekapan spoke up for Hatabou. "What is it, Yuki?"

"Do you think we should patrol areas in groups or pairs? Unless something horrible happens and we're forced to split up, that is." Yuki raised a finger. "But it seems safer to go in pairs, don't you think? If it's a manor, there is a chance we could get lost as well.."

"You and Hana could get lost, as well as Katsuna and Tsuyoi. I, however, will not get lost so easily." Ichi pointed out. "I may have left that hellhole, but I still remember my old house and how pathways work. So if we're going by pairs.. you and Katsuna should go together. Hana, you and Tsuyoi team up as well. Am I understood?"

While Yuki wasn't really fond of Todo that much, he didn't want to disrespect Hana or Chibita by accidentally losing track them, seeing as how the other two were shorter individuals and he could easily lose them. Plus, Yuki himself knew that Todo was physically stronger than him, while Yuki was more strategic. It made sense for them to go together. "Understood sir. I shall inform Todo-san about this plan of ours later."

Hana didn't seem to mind that she wasn't paired with the pink demon. In fact, she was happy about it. "Alrighty! I'm teamed up with Chibita-kun! Nice!" Hana chirped, before saluting. She was still kicking her legs like a child, Ichi was a bit paranoid she'd accidentally kick her shoe off and it would hit him right in the face. "I'll tell that idjit about the plan as well, sir! Nothin' to worry about!"

 _Well at least they had nothing to worry about. I, however, have way too much bullshit to deal with._

"I think it'd be best to continue discussing the plan once we pick up Matsuno and the rest." Ichi turned to Hatabou. "Would that be fine with you, Hatabou?"

Hatabou nodded. "Of course it will, sir."

 _Good. I really am not in the mood to plan things out, especially since it's all gonna take place in my house._


	63. Chapter 63: Numbers' Reunion

The first ones to arrive at the mansion were the six demonic girls that Lonely had hired to help him set up the party yesterday. For now, Dokomi and Rakomi were busy cooking food, with Rokomi assisting them. Shikomi and Chikomi were planning on putting up little magic shows in order to keep the guests entertained, since Lonely came up with a lame excuse why he wouldn't be staying in one place to guard the lobby, as he would be busy scurrying around the mansion with Jyushi and a rapier in tow, as well as some more people that would run around like mice being chased by one rather large cat.

He decided to wear a long cape tonight, and Jyushi had liked it the moment Lonely had pulled it out of the box where he usually kept some of his other masks and accessories. Lonely was also a bit upset that his previous mask had been broken due to his fight with Ichi, but he had a replacement, thankfully. Nothing too extravagant, because Lonely himself wasn't planning on being killed due to how flashy he naturally was. Besides, he had a few tricks up his sleeve to show to his arch enemy. He certainly did not want to be the one that stood out the most, because things like that could get him killed.

 _My flashiness does have it's limits._

Jyushi was the only one that looked a bit different, but that may be because he was the only one wearing shorts. His outfit was similar to one of his many outfits, which consisted of a white polo, a button-up vest, black suspenders, plaid shorts, striped socks, boots with pom poms, and a plaid scarf. This time, however, his outfit was a white polo, a black button-up vest, black suspenders, black shorts, black socks, black boots with white pom poms, and a short black cape with white pom poms similar to his boots. As for his mask, it was similar to Ichi's, except the feathers and the flower were yellow in color. Since Jyushi still had difficulty walking, Lonely decided to give him a ball-tipped cane which was more of a prop than anything else.

 _But hey. If it helps him walk, who is to say it is not rather useful?_

Lonely and Jyushi had decided to stay outside for the time being, greeting everyone that arrived and patiently waiting for Ichi and the others' arrival. While the girls were busy inside the mansion, guests started appearing, greeting the duo and heading inside, chatting with one another. When Lonely was sure there were already over fifty people inside the mansion, he saw a limo pull up and Jyushi's eyes sparkled at the sight. "Ah! It's my nii-san's car! Driver-san is a mess when he drives, but I know it's him! And my nii-san is there!" He tugged on Lonely's sleeve gleefully, while his other arm was wrapped around Kiiro-kun. "My nii-san is really here, Lonely!"

 _Why wouldn't he? I'm pretty sure he threatened the pilot of the plane to hurry it up once he was informed of his brother's supposed kidnapping. He has enough money and power to do such things after all._

Lonely ruffled his hair in response, making a small smile. Jyushi's happiness was too contagious. "I told you he was here." He chuckled. "Your nii-san really does care for you, it seems." Ichi was cold to him, which was understandable, but he seemed cold to Osomatsu and Todo as well. He wondered why. Was it because of that weird video last night? Lonely was rather curious what was going on, but he would need to ask questions as soon as they were done. He didn't need to think of anything else for today, besides protecting Jyushi of course.

As soon as the car pulled up, the door slammed open and Ichi jumped out, sprinting towards Jyushi and accidentally dropping his mask in the process. As he ran, his glasses fell to the snow as well, but Ichi didn't seem to care as he ran towards his little brother, who was sitting on a rocking chair that Lonely had taken out and had set beside him. "JYUSHI!"

Jyushi's eyes brightened even more. "Ichi-niisan-" He was cut off when Ichi managed to lift him off the rocking chair, spin him around with so much energy, which caused Jyushi to suddenly burst out laughing, tears streaming down his cheeks. While it made sense for Lonely to see Jyushi so happy and giddy at the presence of his brother, Lonely was shocked that Ichi was acting.. so out of character. He was spinning someone around, for god's sake! "Ahahaha! I'm so happy to see you too, Ichi-niisan!" He giggled, not noticing the other people running towards them.

The spinning session was halted by Hana, who jumped and was practically hugging Jyushi's back with a wide grin. She must have been rather heavy if Ichi suddenly stopped spinning his little brother around. Then there was Fuyu and Yuki, who ended up joining the hug by wrapping their arms around the younger individuals like frantic parents. Then there were Osomatsu and Kara, with Osomatsu clinging to Jyushi as soon as he got near, and Kara doing the same, except to Jyushi's other side. While the seven of them were busy laughing in their large bear hug, Hatabou, Dekapan, Homura, Iyami, Chibita, and Todo all watched with amusement.

"Ahahaha! Group hug! It's been a long time since you joined in one, Ichi-niisan! Everyone's so strong, they're able to carry me, ahahaha!" Jyushi giggled, hugging his brother tighter. He then looked up and looked around him. Seeing so many familiar faces made him smile brighter, especially since he saw Osomatsu's and Kara's joining in. "Ahhhh! Hana-chan! And Fuyu-san, Yuki-san.. and Kara-san and Osomatsu-san!" He saw the others watching. "And it's Homura-chan, Hatabou, Ookina-san, Iyami-san, Chibita-san, and even Todo-san! Everyone's here!"

Even Lonely had to let out a chuckle from how cute it was to see genuine happiness in such a place with a dark past. Still, it was quite disturbing to see such a violent megalomaniac like Ichi dropping his serious facade and going full-on big brother mode. Or doting-brother mode, who knows. It was just pleasant to see Jyushi smiling so bright, especially after what happened yesterday.

Jyushi seemingly remembered Lonely's presence in the area, because in the midst of his laughing, Lonely swore he heard his name. "Lonely, everyone's here! You brought everyone here, Lonely!" He turned away from his brother to give a bright smile to Lonely. "Thank you so much, Lonely! My nii-san is here, and so is my family at Flag Corporation!"

 _Why.. is he thanking me? It's natural to bring them here, it's part of the plan. But.. why am I being thanked? What am I being thanked for? And.. what is this feeling in my chest? Why does it feel so.. bubbly? Ick. Gross._

"Oh my god, you're fine. You're really okay." Ichi murmured repeatedly, absolutely refusing to let go and refusing to acknowledge the amount of people surrounding him. He didn't even seem to care that the man who tried to kill him last night was a few meters away from him, nor did he seem to care that his old manor was right in front of him. "You're okay.. you're really okay.. thank god, you're okay. I don't... I don't know what I've could have done to myself if you were hurt, Jyushi. But.. it's okay now. Nii-san's here, Jyushi.. there's no reason to be scared.."

"I wasn't scared at all, Ichi-niisan! Lonely was really nice to me! I just missed you so much, Ichi-niisan!"

"You're such an energetic ball of sunshine, Jyushi-san! Glad to see you're okay! You got everyone at Flag Corp worried! You even got our serious president act all teary, and Shonouske-san was tearing his own hair out when you disappeared! Lucky you, you little rascal! You had everyone so worried and riled up, but I'm glad to see that Mr. L over there didn't lay a finger on you! If he did, lemme at him! I'll pummel him!"

"Ah, Hana-chan! You're as chipper as ever! Nice dress!"

"Oh my goodness, are you sure you're okay, Jyushi?! Yuki and I could bring out the first aid kit if it's needed!"

"Fuyu-san! You're still a worrywart, ahaha! But there's nothing to worry about! I'm perfectly fine-"

"A-are you really?! We have sweets back at the car in case you feel nauseous from being spun around, lemme go get them first!"

"Ah, it's not necessary, Yuki- and he's gone.. Yuki-san sure is fast at running. And.. he tripped over a rock. Is he okay though?"

"My dear Yuki will be fine, Jyushi! He's worried about you, like we all are! Of course he's going to be fine! Isn't that right, honey?"

"M'fine, Fuyu!"

When Hana, Fuyu, Osomatsu, and Kara finally pulled away, Jyushi realized that Ichi was still holding him, lifting his feet off the air. Realizing that he just did such an embarrassing stunt, Ichi's face flushed red and he carefully placed Jyushi down on the ground, helping him stand. "Erm. That was a rather.. awkward display. Terribly sorry for that everyone." He murmured, trying his best to ignore Todo, who was snickering on the background. He resisted the urge to throw his katana at him.

Jyushi giggled in reply, now clinging to his older brother's arm for balance. He had dropped the cane Lonely had given him earlier when Ichi suddenly picked him up, as well as Kiiro-kun. "I'm sure that's fine with everyone, Ichi-niisan! You're a really nice nii-san!" He turned to Osomatsu, who was smiling at him. Jyushi then remembered that he couldn't call Osomatsu his older brother yet, because Ichi probably doesn't know about Osomatsu being from another dimension. "Ahaha! You're here too, Osomatsu-san! We're all going to have a party, isn't that great?!"

Osomatsu outstretched a closed fist towards him, and when Osomatsu slowly uncurled it, Jyushi saw his silver ring on Osomatsu's palm. The younger male then remembered that he gave his ring to Osomatsu the day he was kidnapped. "Welp. You said I should return it as a sign of our friendship." Osomatsu took one of Jyushi's arms and unrolled his sleeves, exposing a gloved hand. Osomatsu then pulled off the glove and slipped the ring on Jyushi's index finger, before putting the glove back on. "There you go. Safe and sound."

Jyushi smiled at his glove-covered hand. He missed the feeling of cold metal on his index finger. Todo finally approached them, hands stuffed in his pockets. "Are you sure you're okay? He didn't threaten you into being quiet, did he? Do you need me to punch some sense into him?" He glared at Lonely, which made Jyushi frown a bit. Kara placed a hand on Todo's shoulder as a gesture of comfort, which made Todo take deep breaths. "Alright. I'm not gonna punch him. But did he do anything to you?"

"Lonely's a nice person." Jyushi grinned. "I don't see why any of you think Lonely could harm me! He showed me what a bath bomb is, and he even gave me cake! Mushy cake from a plastic bag, but cake all the same!"

Osomatsu, Ichi, and Todo gave looks to each other, while Kara sighed in relief. "Well, at least we know Lonely's not truly dangerous. I am ever so glad to see you fine, Jyushi. You were quite upset when we were having dinner.."

Before Jyushi could say anything about that, Lonely walked over to them. "I do offer my deepest apologies if I am disturbing such a heartfelt reunion, but there are still some things to be done. My arch enemy will certainly not find this scene as beautiful as I do, and he will certainly not care about such a wonderful family being ruined by his own hands." He placed a hand on Jyushi's shoulder. "Dearest Sweets, in this plan of ours, you will have to stay with me, Kyabarie, Matsuno, and Shiirudo. Your brother will be.. doing something else, along with few of your dear friends." He glanced at Ichi. "Suuji, is there anything you'd like to add to the plan?"

Ichi nearly forgot about the plan. Jyushi seemed so confused upon hearing that statement. Ichi remembered that Lonely only explained the basics of the plan to Jyushi. "Hatabou has stuff he wants to discuss with you, along with Fuyu, Dekapan, and Homura." He gave Jyushi a pat on the head. "But it's best if I go too. Katsuna, Tsuyoi, Yuki, Hana, and I will be joining you shortly. As for Matsuno, my brother, and Shiirudo, I expect you to inform them later. We will need to discuss this somewhere private." He then turned to Osomatsu. "Matsuno, watch over my brother for the time being. You too, Kyabarie. I will be discussing important matters here with Lonely and the others."

Lonely gestured to the mansion. "Feel free to enter the mansion for now. Oh, and don't forget your masks. Hiding your identities are important. Feel free to socialize with the other guests. Oh, and do not interact with any of the ladies that have black ribbons in their hair." He shuddered at the thought of the sextuplet sisters. "They will eat you if you happen to be older than twenty."

Osomatsu blinked. He was beginning to wonder if Lonely was delusional or just plain insane. "Oh, um sure." He grabbed Jyushi's arm. "C'mon, Jyushi. Let's go inside. Kara, Iyami, c'mon."

Kara and Iyami followed Osomatsu as he lead them inside the mansion, while everyone else remained outside. Hatabou and Dekapan were now holding suitcases that contained the cameras, Yuki had came back with a jar of candy and three boxes that contained their other equipment, and Fuyu, Homura, Todo, Chibita, and Hana were just standing there. Todo still had a killer glare directed at Lonely, but the latter brushed it off. "Anyway.. I do hope this plan of ours succeed. We can't be completely optimistic, though. There is a chance that some of us.." He looked away. "..will not make it out alive."

Hana stomped her foot the moment Lonely spoke up, and Homura's face lost color once again. Homura was going to have a heart attack if she hears one more scary thing today. "You can't just say things like that before we do something that could kill us!" Hana barked.

"Eh? But I thought being realistic is the key to win." Lonely placed a hand on his cheek, almost as if in thought. "Being realistic will surely bring us to victory, yes?"

Lonely could see a vein appear on Todo's forehead. "There's a difference between realism and pessimism!" He screeched.

"Oh, there is?"

Everyone watched as Hana and Todo suddenly lose their cool. Even Chibita was impressed by how short their tempers were compared to his. "Of course there is! You basically just said that if we failed, some of us could die! You're an asshole!" Todo pointed a finger at him. "I mean, was that supposed to inspire us?! You're an idiot!"

Lonely thought for awhile, before clapping his hands together in realization. "..Oh! You two are absolutely correct!"

"Of course we are!"

"That was embarrassing." Lonely chuckled nervously. He was glad Jyushi wasn't here to hear such an embarrassing thing! "Oh well. Deepest apologies, everyone-"

"That doesn't change the fact that some of us could get killed!"

* * *

 **I know I don't post author's notes here most of the time, but I just want to say thank you to everyone that has read this story so far. I really am sorry if I can't reply to some of you, but most of the time, I'm on Ao3. Still, I appreciate every single one of you! Thank you all so much!**


	64. Chapter 64: The Magician's Ballad

While everyone else was discussing the plan outside, Osomatsu, along with Jyushi, Kara, and Iyami, were free to wander the mansion all on their own. Of course, they could chat with other people if they wanted. At times like these, Osomatsu would, without a doubt, drop his shame and shamelessly flirt with every pretty woman he sees. But for some reason, Osomatsu wasn't in the mood to deal with such things at the moment. He first thought that it was because of the fact that every woman in the room was wearing a mask, but then it dawned to Osomatsu what the true reason was.

It just.. wasn't fun without his brothers. Osomatsu shamefully admitted to himself that Oso and Kamimatsu were right; it wasn't his brothers who needed him. It was him who needed his brothers. Wait, scratch that thought; while Osomatsu himself could admit that he was nothing without his brothers, as they were him and he was them as well, he was positive that he had at least some impact in their lives.. right?

 _I can only hope that my existence isn't that shitty to have my own brothers hate me._

He wished that was the case. He still hadn't formally apologized to Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu for lashing out at them, and he had been lucky to only face Karamatsu that evening instead of Ichimatsu. Ichimatsu was scary when angered, something Osomatsu had to admit. But he was sure the reason why Ichimatsu wasn't the one to stop Osomatsu from hurting Jyushimatsu further was because the fourth brother knew his own strength. If Osomatsu and Ichimatsu were to get into a serious fight, their poor parents would have to deal with two sons at the hospital for weeks.

 _But as the eldest, I should never hurt them.. so why did I?_

It was probably because of his bitterness, Osomatsu kept telling himself. It certainly wasn't envy, seeing as how he hated jobs and would want nothing more than to keep living like the little NEET he was. He had always wanted to stay with his brothers, but with each passing day, his fears grew bigger. That was why he was trying his best to understand them more. Not just to be a good older brother, but to make their remaining time together as memorable as possible.

He would bother Choromatsu as he did when they were children, he would go fishing with Karamatsu and discuss their uselessness as older brothers in a joking manner, he would try his utmost best to understand Ichimatsu and get him to open up, he would play every single game Jyushimatsu would suggest for them to play, and he would try to understand Todomatsu's justification for being a social climber. All for the sake of them being together as long as they would live.

 _But that's selfish. They will all leave eventually.. and by some miracle, I managed to prevent that from happening. But in the future, they will actually leave to truly become independent. No buts or what ifs in that one._

He briefly wondered if Kamimatsu had actually done some good by tossing him in this dimension, where he would have no brothers to fuss over. They could all live without him, right? That was why the Osomatsu in this dimension was an only child, right?

Because Kara was independent and could live on his own, with his only problem being the fact he was so gullible and patient with people who didn't deserve it. Because Todo was able to survive in a world where probably everyone would want him dead, with his only problem being his unwillingness to trust the people who tried to show they cared for him. Because Jyushi, though disabled, had Ichi, who could control people with money and power, with Jyushi's problem being his incapability to literally get around, and with Ichi's problem being the object of assassination. Because Lonely- no, Choro, who had been doing things alone at his own pace for god knows how long, with his only problem being his lack of companionship to ensure his safety.

And even Oso.. who had left this dimension in order to switch with Osomatsu. Osomatsu didn't know how Oso could have lived his twenty-one years of his life without brothers.. but Osomatsu was honestly impressed he was able to live "normally".

Then Osomatsu realized something.

 _One way or another.. my other self.. and the others.. they're all lonely, aren't they?_

It was true. Kara couldn't have lived normally without Todo to make sure no one messes with him. Todo couldn't have had lived this long if he didn't have a reason to live. Kara needed Todo to live his supposedly normal life, even with his roommate being an ex-yakuza who broke tables once a week. Todo only had few friends, and Kara was the person he was closest to, the person he swore to protect.

Ichi was a lonely president that was stressed out with his job at Flag Corporation, but his motivation to keep on going and doing his best was Jyushi. Jyushi, someone who believed he couldn't amount to anything, always did his best to smile for the employees and his own older brother. If one of them didn't exist, no doubt that the other wouldn't have even lived this long.

And Choro.. it was self-explanatory. He was lonely as well. Did he seek companionship, or was he truly trying to protect Jyushi?

 _But the fact that they're all lonely deep down.. that's kind of sad._

Osomatsu took a deep breath. He didn't need such stressful thoughts. He needed happy thoughts. Like.. the nicknames Lonely came up with. Or better yet, the annoying mask covering his eyes.

Osomatsu honestly found the mask a hindrance to his sight. The feathers were tickling the sides of his head, and he wanted nothing more than just to remove the mask, but that might result to Lonely suddenly appearing from out of nowhere and stabbing his eyes out. Even Jyushi seemed bothered by the mask, as he was occasionally adjusting them with his sleeves. Kara and Iyami didn't seem too bothered about their own masks at all, since Iyami was more concerned about his overbite rather than anything else. Kara was just worrying over what Todo could do to anyone outside, since his childhood friend had such a short temper.

Iyami tapped his foot impatiently, complaining that Lonely was probably stalling, hence why the others were taking too long. He left their spot five minutes later and was currently chatting with middle-aged men, or at least, that's what it looked like in Osomatsu's opinion. Jyushi's right arm was linked with his, but Jyushi's left arm was linked with Kara's, and Osomatsu could tell that Jyushi was really happy to have both of his older brothers with him. Kara was chatting with Jyushi too, and Osomatsu was glad that Kara was nice enough to not mention anything about Lonely having a literal duel with Jyushi's older brother last night.

Jyushi seemed to really like Lonely, so he must not know about how dangerous his "friend" may be. Jyushi talked so fondly of him, it made Osomatsu and Kara guilty about even thinking badly of Lonely, due to Jyushi's kindness towards him. He had such an innocent view of the world. "He calls me 'Sweets', because I like sweets a lot! What does he call you, Kara-niisan?" Asked Jyushi curiously. He wasn't as hyper or literally bouncy as Jyushimatsu was, but Osomatsu was sure that if Jyushi's legs were perfectly fine, he'd be vibrating on the spot out of excitement.

Kara thought for awhile. "He calls me 'Karat Cake'. I'm positive it's a sugar-coated version of carrot cake." He had to admit that it was a better nickname than Tater Tot or Captain Katana, something that his two brothers were so unfortunate to be bestowed upon.

Jyushi didn't seem to care. He liked the nicknames Lonely came up with; they were fun and interesting to listen to! He wished Lonely would have picked a cuter nickname for himself. He wasn't lonely after all, was he? He was Jyushi's friend! "Sounds cute, Kara-niisan!"

Osomatsu was about to be an asshole and interrupt their conversation by whining about the mask, when he felt someone tap his shoulder. When he turned around, he saw yet another person wearing a mask similar to the ones Lonely had loaned them, but judging by the hot pink dress with cyan accents, the hot pink heels, the tied brown hair with few curly strands, and the lipstick.. also by the nice legs, Osomatsu could clearly see that the one who had tapped his shoulder was none other than a female.

 _Wait a fucking minute. Did an actual woman just tap my shoulder?! Holy shit, Fappymatsu is gonna freak out! He's probably gonna leave me to die in this dimension if he finds out!_

He felt as if he graduated from being a NEET just by that simple tap. The lady's hand didn't leave Osomatsu's shoulder, and if she wasn't wearing a mask, Osomatsu could swear that she was probably staring deep into his soul. "Oh, uh, may I help you?" Shamelessly flirting was out of the question, because besides the fact he wasn't in the mood to get rejected and laugh it off as he usually did, he was sure Jyushi would latch onto every single word that would come out of his mouth. If that were to happen, Kara would scold him and Jyushi might tell Ichi, which would, without a doubt, result to Ichi throwing Osomatsu off Flag Corporation's building.

"Osomatsu-kun?" She spoke up, voice soft and as girly as Osomatsu thought it would be.

 _Okay, what the fuck. That voice is.._

Jyushi and Kara stopped chatting once they saw the woman approach their eldest brother. Jyushi's yellow eyes widened out of curiosity, and he clung to Osomatsu's arm even more, letting go of Kara in the process. He wasn't terrified of girls, but if they were anything like the sextuplet sisters from yesterday.. Jyushi shuddered. It wasn't good to think about scary people who were meters away from you, not noticing your presence as you used your older brothers as shields. "Is she a friend of your's, Osomatsu-niisan?" He asked. Wasn't Osomatsu from another dimension?

"I guess you could say that." The girl replied, taking off her mask, something that Osomatsu and his two brothers tried to stop her from doing. Still, she removed it from her face and brushed away a few strands of her hair, blinking her brown eyes to get used to the light. "But it's been awhile, hasn't it, Osomatsu-kun?" She made a catty grin, a devious one that could rival Todomatsu's. "You haven't told me that you were finally graduating from being a NEET by finally getting up and leaving that little boring town of ours."

 _A nice dress with an equally nice body. Brown hair and brown eyes. And a girly voice whose words are literally daggers and are painfully blunt to my heart, but too realistic and makes me question my life within seconds. Could it be..?_

"...Totoko-chan..?"

* * *

Lonely sighed, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall as Hatabou, Fuyu, and Chibita went inside the mansion to install the cameras, with Dekapan and Homura heading to the abandoned church to set up the computers that would display everything the cameras would see. He was left with Ichi and Todo, with the latter being in charge of bringing the heavy boxes that contained the computers and letting Dekapan and Homura do everything else. He had just returned from the church, and he was still outside for some reason.

"Well?" Lonely made sure Todo knew he was talking to him and not Ichi. His voice was more annoyed now, since Ichi and Hatabou's plan was too complex and fussy for his own tastes. This was why Lonely preferred working alone; he hated planning and hearing someone complain about his plans and attempt to improvise it. "Are you not going inside just yet, Tater Tot? Your dear friend must be waiting for you."

The pink demon gritted his teeth, before biting his lip and letting out a huff. He would make Kara so proud by not starting a fight, he told himself. "No. Jyushi wants me to keep an eye out for ya. Just in case one of us tries to kill you or something." He was honestly itching to just throw a punch at Lonely. That guy was so pompous, it made Todo regret not meeting this guy at high school; he would have no problems kicking his ass then.

"Been there, done that. Drawing my sword on our supposed comrade will not do us any good. Especially if my dear little brother considers him a friend." Ichi murmured, taking a good look at his old mansion as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'd hate to see Jyushi so upset after all.." He was amazed that it was still in good shape after all these years, but then again, he had Lonely to thank for that. If Lonely even cleaned the place at all. Ichi frowned as soon as he finished staring at it. "Tch. I should have burned this place down when I had the chance. It's giving me a headache just by looking at it."

Lonely raised an eyebrow. "I think it's a rather nice building. It would have been a shame if you burned it down in the first place." He sighed. "I do admit it's nice enough as my new home. But if I knew it would cause a reaction out of Sweets.."

"New home?" Todo seemed interested, so he pulled a nearby chair and sat on it, crossing his legs. "What happened to your old one?"

Lonely would have just made a rude remark, but he realized being irritated at Todo would cause nothing but five seconds of satisfaction. So instead, clapped his hands together, slightly frowning. "Like this manor here.. it's full of bad memories. Ones I prefer not going back to. If I knew this mansion would cause such a reaction out of Sweets, I would have never even considered living here. Seeing people suffer.. who likes watching that? Such sadists in this world we live in."

 _No need to make it sounds so dramatic, you pompous ass._

"I think about four of us here has so much problems in our past.. no wonder we're so fucked up." Todo clicked his tongue in annoyance at the memory, the other two nodding in agreement. "My parents literally just dropped their heaviest burden- me, at my grandfather's. Dunno how those two are doing now.. probably made another kid as soon as they left me. Who knows. I probably have a little sibling I'm not aware of." He turned to the other two. "How about you two? I mean, Ichi. You're definitely not any older than thirty. How are you a president of a company?"

"My mother was murdered by my father. My father was the previous president, and I was the heir." Ichi stated simply, ignoring the shocked looks of Todo and Lonely. He frowned. "What? I'm not lying. My mom was murdered. The katana I carry around was the same katana my dad stabbed her with. As for my dad, I got rid of him myself. I was like thirteen, so the easiest way to commit a murder was to use poison-"

"You killed your own dad?! WHEN YOU WERE THIRTEEN?!" Todo screeched, before covering his own mouth. He forgot that they were outside.. crap. If people heard, Ichi was done for. And Jyushi still needed his brother..

Ichi could honestly care less if people heard, on the other hand. He had done much, much worse in the past. "So? You threw a plate at someone and you break furniture every week." Ichi sassed. "He had it coming. He was the one to.." He bit his lip, remembering Jyushi's pained face. He scowled. "Never mind. He's an asshole. End of story, that's all you two need to know. Now," He turned to Lonely. "What about you, Kodoku Choro? What's your fucked up childhood?"

"It is somewhat similar to yours, Suuji. Rather dark and.. tragic. I do feel sorry for both of you and offer my sincerest apologies.. ah, if only the past could be fixed, yes?" Lonely let out a sigh. "Too bad life does not work that way. I.. do not talk about this.. past of mine much. But if you two shared yours, it is only fair I share mine. I know it must have pained you both to go through those experiences.. and learn to live with them." He looked up at the sky, feeling the snow brush against his cheek as he did so. "My father was a magician himself, hence why I love to show tricks. He wanted people to be happy, free from life's problems. And so, I followed his footsteps."

"That's.. a pretty innocent goal. But pretty cool." Todo commented. He had never thought of doing a job that could make people happy. Maybe he should look for another job once Osomatsu gets back home.

"Magicians seem to be underappreciated." Ichi sighed. "Jyushi really loves those kinds of things. Magic, tricks, or anything that makes him think really hard. As long as it's not negative, he likes those kinds of things."

"He does? Why, I should perform sometime. I'm sure he would love it." Lonely chuckled bitterly. "Anyway, my mother was a teacher. She taught history to college students, though she also loved writing poetry. Though I was a child, I found myself interested by history.. so while I was training to be a great magician as my father, I was also learning history in my free time, as well as adding new words to my ever-so-growing vocabulary. My parents home-schooled me, so I never learned how to properly talk to individuals my age."

 _Is that the main reason you couldn't tell the difference between realism and pessimism?_

"..I'm kinda envious." Todo commented.

Lonely looked at him. "Why is that?"

"Your parents.. at least they loved you. Even if you didn't have any friends.. you had a family that loved you."

Ichi looked down. "Your father seemed like such a nice man.. I am also quite envious that you had such a wonderful father. Only my mother was an amazing parent, doing her utmost best to take care of us.. always saying that Jyushi and I were the best things to ever happen to her.. my father didn't even bother acknowledging Jyushi's existence the moment he was born."

"What a terrible man indeed." Lonely scowled. "Sweets doesn't deserve such treatment."

"Why the fuck do you think I killed him. Dad was an asshole."

"Anyway, Lonely." Todo interrupted. "If you don't mind us asking, what happened to your parents?"

Lonely was contemplating whether to continue the story or not. But he realized his interactions with Ichi and Todo weren't as dangerous as his interactions with them the previous days.. Todo wasn't glaring at him as if he were some hostile creature, and Ichi wasn't looking at him with such hatred.

And it felt nice to talk about something that pained him so much. He took a deep breath, shutting his eyes and leaning against the wall. "Murdered. My beloved parents were murdered. In such a brutal fashion as well.." He put a hand over his head as he started sweating. He wondered why he was sweating, it wasn't because of the cold now, was it? "Would you care for me to elaborate? It all happened when I was only eight years old, but I am certain I still remember every little thing."

When he opened his eyes, he saw Ichi's eyes widened. The purple-eyed male then turned away. "No thank you. I'd rather not imagine something more disturbing than my mother's own corpse when we found her. And hell, I was ten at the time my mom died."

Even Todo seemed irked, but it was a mixture of disgust and.. pity? Lonely thought it was pity, at least. Todo tapped his fingers on his arms, looking down. He had been abandoned when he was a child, but this was the first time he was chatting with people whose own parents were murdered. Well, one of them killed their own dad, but still. These two were absolutely fucked in the head, but Todo knew he was just as bad as them. Or even worse."Shit." He cursed under his breath. "I.. we're both sorry to hear that, Lonely."

 _It's this feeling again.. what is it? Such a bother.._

"No, no. It's fine." He waved his hand dismissively. "They were murdered. I.. I was at the basement at that time, my mother told me to stay there for the time being. The thing is, the basement's door is underneath our carpet, so you wouldn't see it when you walk in our living room. So I was just there, practicing tricks and reading my mother's books. I stayed there for a few minutes, before I heard my mother's scream." He was sweating even more and his breathing was harsher. "And I ran. Of course I ran, it was my mother for god's sake. But before I could open the door, her scream was cut off. Another minute passed, I finally mustered up the courage to go up."

Todo was watching Lonely's body language, and he realized he was acting similar to Osomatsu days ago, at the night Jyushi had been kidnapped. "Lonely..?"

"I creaked the door open. Just a little bit, I was as quiet as a mouse. And then.. I saw.."

"Lonely?" Todo was honestly concerned.

All of a sudden, Lonely had taken his rapier out of nowhere and stabbed the ground, plunging it as deep as he could. Ichi watched with shocked eyes as Lonely started stabbing one particular spot, almost as if he was angry. Realizing that Todo was still in a state of shock, Ichi grabbed Lonely's arm and tried to stop him from creating a crater. "Kodoku, what are you doing?! Stop that this instant, you're going to cause a scene!" Lonely started to struggle, and his mask fell off again. Ichi then saw the tears dropping from Lonely's eyes. "K-Kodoku-?"

"That is why I must protect Suuji Jyushi." Lonely growled, not looking at Ichi or Todo. He was gripping onto the rapier with all his strength. "So many people have been murdered because of the man who had killed my parents. My.. my arch enemy.. that bastard.. he would, without a doubt, do the same to your little brother.. and I am the only one that can protect him. Never again.. I will never let him kill another innocent person just for his sick hobbies.. never again.."

That statement snapped Todo out of his shocked state. "Wait, the guy we're facing off tonight is the same guy that killed your parents?!" Lonely hastily nodded, trying to regain his breath. His grip on the rapier loosened a bit, and Ichi hesitantly let go of the other's arm. "Lonely, you gotta tell us his name." Todo finally said. "Ichi, Jyushi.. Flag Corporation can help you. Right, Ichi?"

"..Katsuna is correct. We just need his name. Nothing else." It would cost a lot of money, but seeing as Osomatsu had barged in his office last night and demanded Lonely's information.. what the heck, he was going to do it for free, just because Lonely was yet another brother of their's and Jyushi seemed fond of him. "So if we may know.. and if you stop beating around the bush, we can find it easier to apprehend this criminal. Just tell us the name."

Lonely took his time to regain his breath. "You will.. really cooperate?"

"Duh." Todo put his hands over his hips. "Isn't that why we're here in the first place? Fucking moron. We're gonna help you, of course. If this is for Jyushi, for all the people that guy has killed.." He bit his lip. "Then why the fuck not."

"Very well.." Lonely croaked out, grabbing his mask from the ground. His eyes stared at Todo's and Ichi's for a brief moment, before he put the mask back on. "I do not know his last name. But I do know his first name. Will that suffice?"

Ichi nodded. "We were able to find out who you are without anything else but a first name, so that'll be easy." Ichi took out his phone, ready to call his company. "Kodoku, what is his name?"

"..Tougou. His name is Tougou."


	65. Chapter 65: Hero of The Night

"It's surely been a while, Osomatsu-kun!" Totoko clapped her hands together in what seemed to be enthusiasm, and Osomatsu could see the amount of rings that decorated her fingers, and the amount of colorful bracelets dangling from her arms. "I was getting bored of our neighborhood and wanted to take a lovely stroll, only to find out Chibita-kun hasn't opened in days! And Iyami-san hadn't been going to pachinko parlors and horse races! And you, of course! You parents told me that you left the town for a journey of self-discovery out in the big city!" She then giggled. "So I decided to follow too! Friends should stick together, hm? People said that Chibita-kun and Iyami-san left the town with you, so your parents have nothing to worry about!"

 _This Totoko-chan seems.. oddly chipper. More energetic than our Totoko-chan, that's for sure._

"Oh, um, yeah." Shit, he hadn't told Oso's parents about himself, because he didn't want the alternate versions of his parents freaking out at the thought of their only son being missing. He briefly forgot that the Iyami and Chibita he had been travelling with weren't the real ones he befriended in the past, but they were the friends of Oso. Totoko was grinning cattily at him, expecting him to say something at her arrival. "Um, nice to see you here too, Totoko-chan. I guess you got an invitation too-"

"Of course!" She interrupted cheerily. "I was working when my boss just drops in and gives me a letter. I made sure I looked absolutely stunning before dropping in here, after all! Masquerade balls are absolutely fun!" She giggled again. What was with girls and giggling? Osomatsu would have found it cute if they weren't in the same place as where a murder would probably take place. "Enough about me, Osomatsu-kun! I know you missed me, but we'll talk about me later! Who are those gentlemen behind you?"

Osomatsu realized they were all still wearing their masks, so maybe that was the reason Totoko didn't question why Kara and Jyushi looked like Osomatsu; she couldn't see their faces. Jyushi shied away and hid behind Osomatsu the moment Totoko noticed him, and Osomatsu chuckled in amusement. "Ah, Totoko-chan. These are my friends that I met in the city. This guy's name is Kara. He's a really nice guy. He has a roommate, maybe I'll introduce him to you later."

"Nice to meet an accomplice of a dear friend of mine." Kara smiled and extended his hand towards Totoko, who shook it. "As Osomatsu said, my name is Kyabarie Kara. It's a pleasure to meet a lady as lovely as you, Yowai-san."

 _Talk about a smooth talker. You're not so different from Karamatsu after all, Karat Cake._

Totoko blushed a bit at his supposed compliment, but giggled in reply, letting go of Kara's hand and covering her mouth with it. She seemed happy that her childhood friend has made a friend such as Kara! Osomatsu was glad she seemed to be enjoying herself. "It's nice to meet you too, Kara-kun! I'm Yowai Totoko, Osomatsu-kun's childhood friend! But please, call me Totoko-chan. It's fine with me, Kara-kun!" She smiled brightly at Jyushi, who hid behind Osomatsu even more. "Oh! And who is this cute little shy guy?"

Jyushi must be afraid of girls, Osomatsu thought. He was amused that Jyushi was burying his face at Osomatsu's back, holding tightly onto his blazer so he wouldn't fall, but was still trying his best to hide himself from Totoko. Osomatsu chuckled. Jyushi's eyes were covered by the mask, and that practically meant half his face was covered! What was left there to cover, his mouth? "His name is Jyushi. He's really sweet, but I guess he's a bit shy. He can't walk on his own too. C'mon Jyushi. Say hello."

Totoko looked really pretty, Jyushi couldn't deny that. He found all girls pretty after all. But there was something about her that seemed a bit off. Jyushi had read her file before, since it was his job to read the files of the citizens at Akatsuka, but somehow.. there was something wrong with Totoko. Jyushi didn't know, and that kind of scared him. The files were correct in every single detail, but there was something about Totoko that didn't seem right, something that went against her file.

Still, he peeked from Osomatsu's shoulder and smiled brightly in return, trying to make his voice cheery so he didn't upset either Totoko or Osomatsu. "Hi hi! My name is Suuji Jyushi, nineteen years old! I like sweets.. and cats! I like cats a ton! Um, nice to meet you, Totoko-san!"

"Heehee! It's nice to meet you too, Jyushi-kun!" Totoko extended her hand towards him, and the yellow-eyed male shook it with his long sleeve. She looked at his sleeve-covered hand for awhile before chuckling, and Jyushi suddenly pulled away and hid behind Osomatsu again. "You're an interesting one, Jyushi-kun. Hiding your hands?"

"Hey, Totoko-chan.." Osomatsu noticed Jyushi didn't seem like he wanted to talk to her, and Osomatsu didn't like seeing Jyushi so uncomfortable. She wasn't that scary, so why was he scared of her? Nonetheless, Osomatsu needed to talk to him about this issue. Ichi might see Totoko as a threat if he sees how scared Jyushi is around her. And he certainly did not want to see Ichi stab Totoko with a katana, Totoko was a precious friend, his dimension's or not. "Er, did you see Iyami? I think he's over there looking for something interesting to happen, so why don't you talk to him too? I think he'll be glad to see you."

Totoko blinked, before scowling. "Oh. So he's here as well. Ugh, did you know that Iyami-san owes me, like, a lot of money? He's lucky that he became my temporary manager, so I gave him a bit of a discount. But still, he owes me money-"

"Kara, I think we should see how the others are doing outside." Osomatsu gave Totoko an apologetic look. "Uh, I'll talk to you later, Totoko-chan. Jyushi's brother must be looking for him now, and Kara's friend is outside. So, uh.. have fun."

"Wait-"

Totoko watched as Osomatsu suddenly carried Jyushi with one arm, and grabbed Kara's wrist with the other. Totoko was impressed by how strong Osomatsu was, especially since he didn't seem to be doing much the past few years, with the exception of pachinko and betting on horses! Without anything else to say to his childhood friend, Osomatsu left the lobby in a rush, dragging a stumbling Kara with him.

* * *

When Lonely finally regained his composure, he pulled the sword out of the ground in an instant. Ichi was now talking to the phone and demanding Tougou's file to be delivered, while Todo was watching him, Lonely, with what seemed to be worry in his eyes. Even as Ichi yelled into the phone as if he had authority (which he did), Todo didn't spare him a glance and just focused on Lonely as he breathed heavily and tried to collect his thoughts all together. It wasn't safe for anyone to be holding a sword, especially if their mental state was a train wreck.

Still. Todo tried to talk to him, Lonely's discarded mask on his hand. He wans't the best when it came to things like these, but.. he at least had to try. "Lonely-"

"That man has hurt so many people, Katsuna Todo." Lonely didn't want to hear any false assurances. He wanted to stay true to himself. No more sugar-coating. "I could not even remember how many! I don't even know if he started out with my parents.. but I'll tell you one thing I am sure about him." He turned to Todo, trying his best to prevent any more tears from falling. He wasn't weak. He was strong, and that's why he would never, ever shed a tear. Never again. "He taunts me. More than once."

Ichi was still busy yelling into his phone, so Todo was the only one that was taken aback by Lonely's statement. "Why the fuck would he taunt you?" Wasn't killing Lonely's parents enough? Did Tougou have to rub it in his face? "..How do you even taunt a kid whose parents you killed?! That's fucked up.. does he know you, then?"

"Of course he does. Hell, he had been looking for me when he killed my parents. But he left my house as soon as he finished them off.. and that was his mistake, not getting rid of me." He clicked his tongue, pacing around. It was his way of calming himself. "But if you' are asking if he knew me as a child.. no. He only met me when I tried to confront it." At Todo's expression, he huffed. "He's a criminal. He'd be all over the news, would he not? And I don't know if it was only me who ever felt as if.. it was unfair, to strike fear into the hearts of people." Great. He was tearing up again, wasn't he? "Especially since it was a dream of mine to spread happiness.. but I guess it wouldn't be too bad mixing both of those.. right?"

"But why did you decide to take matters into your own hands?" Lonely was surprised that Todo wasn't as stupid as he thought he was, since he finally caught on. Todo's arms were crossed, and he wasn't looking at Lonely directly. But he was scowling. "You.. how old were you when you decided to just up and be some weird-ass hero or some shit? You just took matters into your own hands.. facing off some psycho all on your own.. tell me, did you at least have a bit of your sanity when you decided to do this?"

"..I was only fifteen at that time." Lonely muttered. He was absolutely sorry if he was going to give Todo a heart attack from the truth. "It was when I already had the skills necessary. I was smart. I could do tricks. And I was taught how to build simple gadgets.. my hang glider, for example. And.. well, managing to destroy dummies with a sword was my specialty. And.. it payed off. It really did. Think of it as.."

"A superhero? Isn't that what your job basically is?"

"...Maybe."

"It is. No use covering it up, Lonely." Todo had seen weird shit and had heard all sorts of bullshit ever since he met Osomatsu. From the amount of times Jyushi and Ichi got assassinated, to Lonely being what seemed to be a real-life superhero. "..How many times have you guys faced off?"

"..The first time I actually managed to catch up to him was when he murdered an accountant and was cleaning up the crime scene. I declared war onto him, and he laughed at me.. I'm pretty sure it was because I was wearing this outfit and was holding a sword. I probably looked"

 _Okay, let's be honest. With a stupid outfit and mask, as well as a fucking sword and hang glider, who wouldn't laugh at you? I'd be impressed if you weren't such an idiot. Who the fuck decides to be a fucking creature of the damn night?!_

"So I tried attacking him with a sword.. and he blocked it.. with a knife." Lonely took a good look at his rapier. "..I think it would be pretty safe to say that I nearly died that night. But we managed to wake up the people nearby with the noises our weapons were making.. and I fled the scene first. Because if I let him go first, people would assume it was I who had caused the murder, correct? And.. he was fast to escape as well. People saw the dead body and started freaking out, naturally." He looked up at the sky again. "..This kept on for years. Up until now. And I'm pretty sure he started considering me as his rival."

"Dude." Todo looked at him seriously. "Don't you just realized what you've just done?"

Lonely blinked. "Come again?"

"He murders people for his own sick hobby, that's the only thing we know about him. But the fact that you face him off countless times, and I'm pretty sure both of those times ended up in ties.." He blinked. "You.. if he's a fucking maniac, who's to say that he doesn't just kill for his hobbies?! What if.. what if he's killing people just to get your attention so he can fight you?!"

Lonely's eyes suddenly widened. Todo.. he was just thinking about this too much, wasn't he?

"Think about it.. he's a maniac. He'd kill people for his own hobbies, and judging by the fact you were the only one to have the courage to face him.. there is a pretty fucking high chance that he not only just killed for his own sick hobby.." He took a deep breath, pacing around in a manner similar to Lonely's. "Lonely.. what if.. he continued to kill.. because you were the only one able to match him? You were his only equal? Oh my fuck, if he did that, then that means.."

 _I.. had fallen right into his trap..? Then that means.. the death of some of the individuals.. and Jyushi's planned assassination.. is all.. my fault?_


	66. Chapter 66: Devil's Party

Osomatsu stumbled upon one of the many hallways he had ran to, ignoring the amount of newspapers he managed to step on without miraculously slipping. He let go of Kara's wrist and gently put Jyushi to the floor, trying to breathe properly. He wasn't used to carrying his brothers without making sure his arms were ready to go, and it was a bit sore now. Jyushi collapsed on the floor, and he was now currently sitting in a W position while both of his older brothers were leaning against the wall. "Sorry 'bout that." Osomatsu panted. "But I'm pretty sure that if Totoko-chan is the same from my dimension, can chat us up 'til the cows come home. And that's a waste of time. I think we'll be able to talk in private here."

Jyushi cuddled his legs close to his chest, frowning. He struggled to remove the mask out of his eyes with only his sleeves, but when he managed to do so, he dropped it to the floor, also covered with crumpled newspapers. The mask was a bit itchy once it stayed on one's face for too long, and Jyushi had wrinkled his nose countless times as soon as Lonely had put it on his face earlier. "Osomatsu-niisan, you're pretty strong to carry me without too much difficulty! But are you okay? I wasn't too heavy now, was I?"

"That's my question to you, buddy. And don't worry about me, you're pretty damn light. Kara was a bit hard to drag around too, I don't wanna damage his pretty face." Osomatsu sighed, slumping next to Jyushi. Kara seemed a bit happy at the compliment, though he looked away as he blushed. He decided it'd be best to keep watch, just in case Totoko followed them."You okay? You didn't seem to like Totoko-chan much. I get that she's a bit of a tomboy and yeah, she can punch a fish, but she's pretty.. nice?" Was she even nice? She was as shallow and as petty as the Matsuno Sextuplets, but that was the reason they loved her anyway, right? Because a pretty girl like her managed to be as low as them. That was why the Matsuno Brothers liked hanging out with her, despite her selfish nature.

 _Because she's as bad as we are! Too bad there are six of us. She probably doesn't want to only pick one to upset the others.. or she's just irked that the six of us have the same face. Meh, who knows._

Jyushi shook his head. "Everyone's nice! There are no truly bad people in the world, Osomatsu-niisan! They're just.. pretty lost.. and lonely too." Jyushi looked at his lap. "I read her file before! She's really pretty, I won't lie, nii-san! But there's something about her that seems so.. different from the one in the file! And I can't put my finger on it.." His frown deepened. Sure, he was good at memorizing every single detail, but.. for now, he just didn't know what was so different from the Totoko earlier from the Totoko on the file he read! "..Or I'm just being paranoid.."

"You seem to be the one least likely to be paranoid." Osomatsu put his hand on Jyushi's head. "Not saying you can't get anxious or anything." He started to ruffle Jyushi's hair distractedly. "But the Totoko in my dimension doesn't.. tend to approach me, or any of us, unless she needs something. Attention, for one. While I could easily pin the blame on the fact that I'm in another dimension, you yourself state that Totoko-chan is acting strange, even though she's someone in your dimension. So, I guess it's not your fault for finding something wrong with her." Once he finished ruffling Jyushi's hair, he realized that he just messed it up. "Whoops. Ichi and Lonely are gonna kill me."

Jyushi snorted. "Nii-san is a bit slow at noticing things!"

Osomatsu merely grinned in reply, ruffling his hair again. "Heh. Why'd ya think my name's Osomatsu?"

Kara stopped keeping watch and frowned as he saw Jyushi's messy hair. It was scruffy, and he was sure he wouldn't be able to tell him and Ichi apart if they were besides each other. Scratch that, they all look the same, regardless if one of them had neatly-combed hair, scruffy hair, dyed hair, hell, even physics-defying hair. "Oi, Osomatsu-niisan. Stop messing his hair so much." Kara sighed, taking out a plastic comb from out of nowhere. "Scoot over a bit, Osomatsu-niisan. I'm fixing his hair."

Osomatsu watched as Kara combed through Jyushi's hair, with the latter making giggling noises as he did so. "That tickles a bit, Kara-niisan!"

"Just behave, will you?" Kara made a small smile. The moment he had got in the limo, he had both Todo and Osomatsu hold both of Ichi's arms just to apply gel to the older Suuji brother's hair. "Your brother struggled so much, we don't even have gel anymore. But this'll do for now. You look like you just ruffled your hair with a towel." He glanced at Osomatsu. "That, or some older brother decided to ruffle your hair and ruin Lonely's work. As.. odd as your 'friend' may be, he actually has some good fashion taste."

"It's literally similar to Jyushi's, except there's barely an ounce of yellow." Osomatsu pointed out.

"Still similar, nonetheless. And I absolutely like how simple and cute his clothes are." Kara commented, deciding to leave Jyushi's cowlick be. He had no idea what the yellow-eyed male could do if he were to touch it.

"Eh? My nii-san picks it out for me, since I'm not too good at picking clothes as he is! I just found it the most comfy outfit I ever had, and suddenly, it's now considered my uniform at Flag Corporation! I like it though, the suspenders are fun to play with, as well as the sleeves! Plus, I prefer shorts than pants! Pants are tight, but shorts are comfy!" He chirped, flapping his sleeves around. Kara still continued to comb his hair, even as Jyushi messed around. He was only limited to waving his arms around, and if he could move his legs, he'd probably be kicking them by now. "It's hard to put pants on, especially since I can't move my legs! So I stick to shorts and long socks instead!"

Kara frowned again. He wondered how Jyushi managed to still be happy, despite the fact that his legs were paralyzed. He blinked. He and Osomatsu hadn't asked Jyushi the reason why his legs were paralyzed yet. "Hey, Jyushi." He stuffed the comb back in his pocket. "I have been meaning to ask you something.."

Jyushi looked up at him, eyes wide and bright smile on his face. He looked so different from when he introduced himself to Totoko earlier, since he didn't seem as uncomfortable. Made sense, especially since they're brothers, even if Jyushi hadn't been injected yet. "Hm? What is it, Kara-niisan?" He asked, tilting his head and putting a sleeve-covered hand over his mouth.

"I don't think Osomatsu-niisan or I ever asked you about your legs." Kara murmured. Jyushi wasn't lying when he said he didn't like pants, because in their few days of being together, Kara was sure he didn't see Jyushi wearing any pants. Always with the long-sleeved top, shorts, and long socks that exposed his knees, but not the rest of his legs. "I have been curious for awhile, Jyushi.. why are your legs paralyzed? Have you been born that way, or perhaps an accident caused you such misfortune?"

Osomatsu blinked. "Oh yeah! I've been thinking of the same thing, Jyushi." He glanced at his little brother. "Did you get into an accident when you were a kid?"

Jyushi's eyes blinked, before they suddenly darkened. He stopped flapping his hands and they simply dropped to his lap as if they were a heavy weight. "What was your question, nii-san?" He asked in a soft voice, barely audible.

 _Did.. did Kara step on a landmine..? No, that's impossible.. it's Jyushi we're talkin' to! He's not dangerous.. right?_

"Huh? I asked-"

"There you are!" Osomatsu and Kara's heads turned to the source of the voice. Ichi was standing across them, with Todo in tow. Both of them were wearing their masks and their shoes were covered with snow, but all in all, they still looked neat enough to avoid Kara having to fix them up again. "Geez, if you're going to drag my little brother around one of the hallways, at least pick one that isn't full of newspapers-"

"Ichi, all your hallways have been decorated with newspapers. I don't see what makes this particular one any special." Todo pointed out with a deadpan expression.

"I fucking know, Katsuna. Lonely is an absolute mess of a human being, but he didn't have to do the same to my mansion." Ichi hissed, before sighing. "Anyway, let's all go to the lobby now. Lonely says he's about to start the party, and I'm pretty sure we have to go to our respective groups as soon as we make sure we're all ready. I do expect you both, Matsuno and Kyabarie, to protect my little brother." His eyes then focused on Jyushi, who was looking down at his own lap and fiddling with his sleeves. Ichi instantly felt as if something was wrong and knelt down beside his little brother, hand on his shoulder. "Hey.. what's wrong?"

Jyushi's head snapped upwards, so he was staring at Ichi. "N-nothing!" He squeaked out, flapping his sleeves and snapping out of his blank-eyed state. "There's nothing wrong, nii-san!"

Ichi frowned. He didn't want to push any buttons if Jyushi was uncomfortable, but as Jyushi's older brother, he needed to know if his brother was telling the truth. "Are you sure..?" He asked. Hadn't he already made it obvious how much he cared for his brother's safety and happiness? He didn't murder his own dad for nothing, and he certainly wouldn't have poisoned his father's drink if he didn't care about Jyushi in the slightest. He just wished Jyushi would be more open about his feelings, especially if he was sad over something.

"Positive!" Jyushi then started to giggle to make sure Ichi would stop worrying. He didn't like it whenever his brother got worked up over something, especially if it was for his sake. He didn't really deserve such an amazing older brother like Ichi, Jyushi wondered how he was blessed to have such a nice and caring older brother. "Silly nii-san! I'm fine! Right, Osomatsu-san?"

"Oh yeah. In case you're worried about your prick of an older brother not knowing.." Todo ignored Ichi's glare at him. "He knows. About Osomatsu coming from another dimension and all. The basics and whatnot."

Jyushi's cowlick straightened, as if to show his surprise. "Uwaaaaa! Really?" He turned to Osomatsu, who grinned in confirmation. "That's great! Once this is over, we're only a few steps away to getting Osomatsu-niisan home! And I have so many older brothers now, it's so great! We have Ichi-niisan, Osomatsu-niisan, Kara-niisan, and Todo-niisan!"

Todo-niisan? But Todo is the youngest back in Osomatsu-niisan's dimension..

"Well.. we better head to the lobby. We can continue this chatter once everything's over." Ichi sighed. "Before Lonely starts to speak in that painful voice of his-"

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" The five of them jumped at the sound of Lonely's ridiculously loud and incredibly painful-sounding voice coming from the lobby. "Welcome to the Masquerade of Solitude! My name is Lonely, and I am the nightingale of Akatsuka City!"

 _What even is he talking about anymore.._


	67. Chapter 67: The Red Rose

The group of five rushed into the lobby, and they were surprised that there were suddenly more people, every single one of them wearing formal attire and masks. Jyushi was currently being carried by Ichi, after the latter had suggested it would be better than to watch Jyushi stumble as he tried to catch up to them, but the other three were sure that Ichi just suggested such a thing mainly because he missed having to baby his little brother. Made sense, since they hadn't seen each other for a few days. Jyushi didn't seem to mind, since he was brightly smiling while his older brother carried him with a stoic expression. It was a hilarious sight, and if Osomatsu's phone had a camera option, he would have taken a picture and sent it to Choromatsu.

But it was nice to see Ichi truly have kindness in him, something that Osomatsu doubted at first. Even if Ichi was an alternate version of his brother, Osomatsu knew it was possible for Ichi to be someone like Oso, who had practically teamed up with Kami to throw Osomatsu in this dimension. But seeing Jyushi's happiness bring out the kind side of Ichi so easily..

 _There might be a chance that the other me isn't evil at all._

Lonely was at the top of the stairs, in the middle and standing in front of a painting of what seemed to be an older version of Ichi. Osomatsu, Todo, and Kara briefly wondered if that was Ichi's ancestor.. or perhaps, father? Nonetheless, the painful man known as Lonely continued to blabber on and pace around, with he guests seemingly enthralled by his flashiness. But who wouldn't, Osomatsu asked himself with a frown. Lonely was too damn flashy for his own good, and not even the mask could block his flashiness. The fact that Lonely had the lights turned off and somehow got a spotlight wasn't helping.

"I cannot express my gratitude for all of you managing to make it in time for this wonderful party to happen! Why don't you all give yourselves a round of applause for being here?" That statement was followed by the clapping of the guests, with Jyushi joining by clapping his sleeves together enthusiastically, and Kara and Todo awkwardly clapping. Ichi was glad to have a reason to not do so, considering he was holding Jyushi, but Osomatsu kept his arms crossed. "This party is meant to gather all of you and leave this mansion with a smile on your face! How stressful it must be, living the same life over and over, stressed and only focused on work for the next day. I intend to lessen the burdens of my beloved guests, which are all of you!"

Todo shuddered. The painfulness Lonely was emitting was honestly getting under his skin. Osomatsu had to stifle a giggle, but Todo was sure Osomatsu was just laughing at Lonely's speech. Kara closed his eyes and hummed, trying to distract himself from Lonely's painful performance. Ichi was now murmuring something to Jyushi, in which the younger brother nodded his head to. Even the Suuji Brothers weren't listening! Lonely intended to lessen their burdens? The entire party was a burden to begin with!

 _Okay, he does make it sound rather nice, but the fact that he mixed this party with the plan to capture some sort of psycho doesn't make this sound any sweeter._

"Tell me, how many times does a person get frustrated in one day? To live through a single day without a single problem or worry must be fun and relaxing, you are all thinking. Hm, it certainly must be! But worries are a part of every day life, and sometimes, they teach us lessons. Time management and learning to do one's work on time, for example! Ah, but fussing over every single thing is just so tiresome! Teaching us what we already know if just irritating, is it not?" He emphasized his point by stomping his foot in irritation. The audience didn't seem to be cringing from Lonely's painfulness, merely thinking it's just an act. "And I intend to make you all forget your worries! As soon as you stepped in the manor, you have left all your worries outside! I will shoo them away for the time being, but be sure to enjoy yourselves! Who knows.. you might make a friend! Now won't that lessen your worries by a bit?"

 _Then why the fuck would you call this party "The Masquerade of Solitude" if you want them to socialize with each other, you pompous twat?! I'll punch you!_

"Feel free to socialize! Eating is fine too, and I am sure they taste delicious! The food has been wonderfully prepared by the Onnanoko Sisters, and they are also the ones responsible for decorating the manor! They wouldn't mind dancing with anyone at this party now, would they? Such lovely women they are!" He chuckled for a bit, before throwing his cape over himself. In a split second, he had disappeared from the staircase, leaving the audience in a state of awe. Osomatsu was now grinning widely, amused at Lonely's little disappearing trick.

Even Kara and Ichi seemed to be impressed, but Jyushi was brightly smiling and turning his head in every direction, looking for Lonely. Todo honestly felt like the only one concerned on how Lonely managed to disappear. Even his spotlight went off, leaving the room in utter darkness. The audience was now murmuring in anticipation, and the group of five at the back remained silent.

 _Wait, I know he's a magician, but where-_

"Eek!"

"Jyushi?!"

The spotlight suddenly flashed towards them. Lonely had suddenly appeared in the back of the room, where the group of five were, and between Ichi and Osomatsu. Todo noticed Jyushi was clinging to Ichi in surprise. Once Jyushi realized Lonely was now smiling at him, and somehow holding a red rose that he got from god knows where, Jyushi smiled wider, though he didn't lessen his grip on his older brother. "Aaaaahhh! You're amazing, Lonely! How'd you do that?!" He squealed, and the audience clapped in amazement, with Lonely bowing as thanks.

Lonely then snapped his fingers, before pulling a cloth out of his pocket. He put the cloth over his hand and covered the rose, and once he removed it, there were now five more roses in addition to the one he was holding. The audience got more excited at Lonely's magic tricks, and for a second, Todo forgot about Lonely's rather dark past and the fact he tended to react violently to certain things.. just like him and Ichi.

 _We're.. we're not that different from each other at all, are we?_

Lonely seemed to be enjoying himself, so it didn't seem like he was lying when he said that he would love nothing more than to spread happiness with his magic tricks.

Lonely then took one of the roses and tucked it on Osomatsu's blazer. "One for you, Matsuno." He took another one and tucked it on Ichi's pocket. "One for you, big brother Suuji." He ignored Ichi's growl at him and took another rose and tucked it over Jyushi's hair with a chuckle, with Jyushi giggling in reply. "One for dear Sweets." He took two and tucked one of them on Kara's pocket, and extended the other towards Todo. "And one for each of you, Kyabarie and Katsuna. Such wonderful friendship you both have. I do very much admire it." He chuckled. As for the remaining rose, he tucked it on his pocket, before bowing once again.

 _Okay, that's actually pretty damn cool._

"I do hope you all enjoy the party! Now, if you all excuse us.." Lonely once again threw his cape all over himself, but this time, covering the other five clones as well. Not that the audience knew that, since their faces were covered by masks. The spotlight went off once again, and when it turned on, Lonely, Osomatsu, Kara, Todo, Ichi, and Jyushi were nowhere in sight.

* * *

When Osomatsu opened his eyes, he realized he was in a dark room. Thankfully, he wasn't alone. Ichi was hugging Jyushi to his chest, still carrying him, and Jyushi's face was buried on Ichi's chest. Todo was in a defensive stance, probably expecting someone to ambush them any moment. Kara had his eyes covered with his left arm, while his free hand was holding onto Todo's wrist. "What the hell?! How'd we get here?! Weren't we just at the lobby a few seconds ago?! And where the fuck is Lonely?!"

"Lonely's magical bullshit got us all the way here." Todo grumbled, not caring that Kara was holding onto his wrist. The cuts didn't sting as they did a few days ago, so there was nothing to complain about.

Ichi glared at him and adjusted his hold on his little brother, who was still clinging to him like a koala. Osomatsu was surprised that Ichi was physically stronger than Ichimatsu; besides the fact he didn't tire out easily, not counting the fact they ran from a hotel lobby to a rooftop via stairs, he was able to outrun Todo in a fight, as well as take on Lonely. And now, he was carrying Jyushi with no difficulty at all! Osomatsu found that impressive. "Oi. No cursing while Jyushi is around, Matsuno, Katsuna."

"You literally said 'I fucking know, Katsuna' earlier, you freakin' hypocrite." Todo pointed out, glaring at the other. Of course, Ichi wouldn't be able to tell because of the stupid masks Lonely made them wear as part of the costume.

"It's different." Ichi scoffed. "I already accepted that I'm not the best example of an older brother, but you guys have to make an effort to at least be a good influence."

"Dude. You're his biological brother. Stop pinning the blame on us if you're too egotistical to admit that you made a mistake and were just looking for a reason to feel righteous-"

"Stop arguing." Kara scolded. "Geez, do I have to break out an argument every day? Honestly." Todo muttered an apology and Ichi, though hesitant, did the same. "We have better things to worry about.. like where we are right now. I can still hear noise. From.. below?"

"How Lonely managed to get us in the second floor, I don't fucking know. This room was my father's study, so it's best to leave before I vomit all over the floor. Ugh, this room is making me feel sick." Ichi grumbled, seeing the amount of paintings his father had all over the room, one of which was taken before Jyushi was born. He scowled at that. Throughout his life, his father really went with the act of pretending Jyushi had not existed, and when he did, it was to hurt him. Ichi was glad he was gone, but Ichi still wanted to take that painting off the wall and throw it out the window. "Where is Lonely anyway? Do you think he accidentally got himself in a different room? That doesn't make sense, we all got here at the same time.."

Osomatsu was about to suggest they exit the room for Ichi's sake, and look around the mansion for Lonely or any of their friends, but then he heard sniffling. He noticed Jyushi was shaking in Ichi's arms, and the purple-eyed male finally felt something wet staining his suit. "Jyushi?" He said softly, putting a hand on Jyushi's trembling shoulder. "What's the matter?"

Jyushi continued to sob, and then he shook his head. He didn't seem to want to talk, since he gripped harder onto Ichi's suit and continued to cry. Ichi started to rub his back soothingly and his eyes softened, before he spoke in a low voice. "Once this is over, we're burning this manor to the fucking ground. I swear it. This mansion holds nothing but mad memories for both me and Jyushi. And as important this mansion is to the Suuji Family.." He clicked his tongue. "We both don't have any plans to continue the family. Our bloodline ends with us brothers."

Todo realized the reason. Of course Jyushi would suddenly start crying! Ichi just explained the reason earlier! Both Osomatsu and Kara looked confused and worried for Jyushi, so Ichi probably wouldn't mind if Todo told the two of them. "Basically, Ichi's dad was an asshole. I don't know the full story, since Ichi doesn't seem to be fond of talking about it, but I'm pretty sure his dad did something to make Ichi murder him."

Kara's eyes widened and Osomatsu suddenly felt his protective instinct sky-rocket, as he suddenly inched closer to Todo and Kara while his eyes focused on Jyushi. He wanted nothing more than to just take Jyushi from Ichi, especially after hearing Ichi murder a member of his own family, but Ichi didn't seem to be dangerous in the presence of Jyushi. Ichi.. Ichi probably just had the same protective instinct as Osomatsu does.

"He probably has his reasons, Osomatsu-niisan." Todo reasoned, attempting to soothe Osomatsu's worries by referring to him by his title as the eldest brother. While he appreciated Osomatsu being concerned for him, he knew that it wasn't right being cautious of one's own brother. Todo found it hilarious that he thought of such a thing, especially since he had been wary of Osomatsu, Ichi, and Lonely. Jyushi just didn't seem that much of a threat to him, and Kara was his childhood friend, so naturally, he didn't have anything to fear about him.

"My dad broke Jyushi's legs, so why the fuck do you think I'll let him live another shitty day?!" Ichi roared at them, his grip on Jyushi tightening. "He killed my mom too, so what do you think was the best solution?! Let him use me like a puppet?! Let him turn me into a monster like him, so that one day, I'd hurt Jyushi as well?!"

Osomatsu blinked. So his intuition was right? Damn, now he felt really, really bad for thinking that Ichi could even potentially hurt Jyushi. He extended his palm towards him. "Ichi-"

Ichi closed his eyes as he started to scream, the mask falling off his eyes because of the fact he was shaking his head as if he was trying to block out Osomatsu's voice. "I don't have anything to live for, Matsuno! Jyushi is literally the only reason why I even bother waking up and working, even if I fucking hate my job! This world we live in is fucking shitty, I might as well have not been born at all!"

"Ichi-niisan." Jyushi looked up to face his older brother with tired and wet eyes. "Stop yelling at Osomatsu-niisan.. he's trying to calm you down."

Ichi's eyes snapped open. It honestly pained him to see Jyushi crying, and he would have sold his soul to an actual devil if it meant Jyushi never felt sadness ever again. "Jyushi-"

"I probably deserved it.." Jyushi murmured, his eyes drooping. "Because.. as papa said.."

 _ **"You evil child! You're the reason Nana died! You.. you should have never been born at all! Then maybe Nana would still be here!"**_

"I truly am an evil boy.." Jyushi blacked out and lost his grip on Ichi's suit, and his older brother nearly dropped him if he didn't react quickly. He adjusted his hold on Jyushi so that his younger brother's head was now laying on his shoulder, with one of Jyushi's sleeve-covered hands resting on his stomach, and the other one hanging limply.

Naturally, the other three started to panic. Mainly Osomatsu. "Jyushi-!"

"This is normal, calm down!" Ichi raised his voice to calm him down, as well as the other two. "This.. this happens whenever something triggers his memories. It.. we couldn't make Jyushi forget the memories permanently, so his therapist decided that blocking them out was the next best thing. He blacks out due to the fact that the memories overwhelm him so much, but when he wakes up.." He sighed. "He's back to normal. He's drained and out of energy, sure, but he'll be up in no time. Knowing my little brother.. he's so full of energy."

Still, Osomatsu was worried. "So what you're saying is.. Jyushi can forget what happened in the past and just remain, well.." What adjective was there to describe Jyushi? Ichimatsu once said that Jyushimatsu was his own genre, so.. "Him?"

"Yes. And that happens to be the safest option." Ichi turned on his heel, signalling he didn't want to spend any more time in the study. "Because if Jyushi were to truly remember what had happened in the past.." Ichi took a deep breath, before letting it all out. "I don't think I'll be able to get a word out of him again. And I don't want that. Now, let's stop this pointless chatter and just look for that magic-making bastard. Katsuna, you go first. Just in case something zooms in, I cannot protect myself or Jyushi while I am carrying him."

Todo frowned, but went on to open the door anyway. Ichi, with Jyushi in his arms, left the room with Todo and left both Osomatsu and Kara behind, still trying to process everything they just heard. "Hey, Osomatsu-niisan." Osomatsu turned to Kara, who was staring at the floor. "Do.. do you think that it's fine? What Ichi is doing to Jyushi? I mean, don't get me wrong, I know he truly cares for Jyushi! That much is obvious.." He looked at Osomatsu straight in the eye now. "But I'm not sure.. that keeping him oblivious of the past is healthy for him.."

"It isn't. One day, Jyushi is going to have to suffer through those memories over and over.. and not even Ichi could save him from delving deeper into insanity." Osomatsu sighed, looking around the study. "And I intend to save Jyushi. Not just from that fucking psycho Lonely told us about, the guy planning to kill him and all.. but also from his past, that scares him up to this day."

Kara bit his lip. "No offense, Osomatsu-niisan, but do you even know how? I don't, and I'm pretty sure Todo doesn't as well."

Osomatsu walked over to the desk, spotting a leather journal. While he would have left it alone, the poor thing looked untouched, as well as covered in mountains of dust.. and a spider. He was a gross person anyway, so he picked up the leather journal from the desk with his gloved hands, happy that Lonely provided such a thing. After running his hands on the surface of the leather book, he made a chuckle. "Of course I know. I'm the eldest. I suffered through something similar in the past. Not with my family, but with a guy that scarred all of us." He looked out the window. It was snowing, and Osomatsu let out a sigh at the thought of playing with his brothers again.

"Ah? How come you never told us yet, Osomatsu-niisan?"

"I don't really like rememberin' that asshole.." Osomatsu clicked his tongue. "But if it wasn't for him, I guess I couldn't have learned to be a stronger and more protective eldest brother." He stuffed the dusty book inside his blazer, before grabbing Kara's arm. "Don't worry much about nii-san, okay? Why don't we just look for Lonely?"

Osomatsu and Kara left the room, and Osomatsu didn't notice that the rose on his blazer suddenly fell off. As Kara shut the door, the windows suddenly opened and the curtains blew due to the wind from the outside.

A figure then jumped in and picked up the discarded rose, before staring at the door with dead eyes and listened to the footsteps of Kara and Osomatsu leave the area.


	68. Chapter 68: Everlasting Night

Lonely had no idea how he messed up, but he did. And he absolutely hated himself for it.

He got separated from Osomatsu and the rest as soon as he pulled off the trick, and he didn't realize he messed up until he opened his eyes and realized he had ended up in a completely different room. Yuki, Chibita, Hana, and Iyami were waiting in what seemed to be the old bedroom of Jyushi and Ichi, which was now covered with different newspapers similar to the ones in the hallway. Lonely had planned for them all to split up once they get in their respective groups, but he couldn't even find where the others were! So after slamming the door open and admitting his mistake, they decided to run around the manor in search of the other five.

And now, Chibita and Hana were scolding him. At the same time. As they were running. Considering both of them were small, they were extremely fast and could outrun Lonely, but of course, they chose not to. Instead, they chose to "slow down" in order to scold Lonely for accidentally sending the other five somewhere else. Thankfully, Iyami and Chibita were trying to catch up to them, so Lonely didn't have to hear the scolding from the two males who were taller than him. Still, being scolded by two midgets wasn't the greatest feeling in the world.

On Lonely's left was Chibita, bouncing as he ran. "You idjit! I told you it would have been easier if you just exited the place like a normal person instead of doing some stupid-ass magic trick, damn it!" He scolded. Chibita had somehow grabbed a ladle with bandages wrapped around it from out of nowhere, and had whacked Lonely's head with it. Lonely now concluded that he was not doing any more cooking that required a ladle.

And on Lonely's right was Hana, her twin tails fluttering like the fragile wings of a butterfly.. except Lonely could tell she could use those twin tails to slap him if he ever got on her bad side. Which he already did. Twice, in one day, which was today. Did last night count? Last night probably counts, especially since he tried to kill her boss by pushing him off a building after drawing his sword on him. "And it would have been faster if we all just gathered at the lobby instead of waiting at some random room!" Hana huffed, surprisingly not drained of any energy from yelling and screaming.

"Yeah! Plus, what was the point in excusing yourself if you were gonna up and vanish anyway, idjit?!"

Lonely, as classy and as silent he may appear, didn't really have a long temper. That was shown last night, when he instantly countered Ichi's attack at him instead of trying to reason. And he was sure he was going to grab either one of the small people running alongside him if they didn't shut up- Lonely suddenly screeched to a halt, and Hana and Chibita then tripped after realizing Lonely had slowed down.

"Why'd you stop, idjit?!" Chibita and Hana screamed in unison.

Lonely put a finger over his mouth, signalling them to be quiet. They were in one of the many halls of the mansion, and as he had turned of all the lights in favor of the lobby having the most electricity to waste, the halls were dark. It looked like something straight out of a horror film. "I heard something. And it wasn't your obnoxious yelling." Hana huffed at that, and turned her back on Lonely as if to show she was angry. Iyami and Yuki finally caught up, and both were now panting to regain their breath.

"Slow down!" Yuki panted, adjusting his mask. If Fuyu were here, she'd probably fix her mess of a husband, but she wasn't around at the moment. She was at the abandoned church with Homura, Dekapan, and Hatabou. Plus, Yuki was the one in charge of carrying the headphones, which was a heavy load. "We can't see much in this dark hallway, and we're all wearing black!"

Hana suddenly spun around. "I'm wearing white!" She chirped, before turning around and huffing, crossing her arms. She was still pretending to be angry at Lonely, it seemed.

"Me feels like I've just run around the entire neighborhood!" Iyami added. As the tallest, he probably had the most difficulty catching up. His body wasn't as light as Chibita's or Hana's, and he was in his fifties! Even Yuki could outrun him, since Yuki was still young enough! But Iyami? Nope, he was considered a senior citizen at this point. "And this outfit is too hot! Who runs in these?! This is a formal outfit!"

 _Nothing is too hot in winter. Silly Shiirudo Iyami._

"Ssh." Lonely closed his eyes. He was trying to focus and block out the annoying voices that were overlapping with one another. Still, Lonely could hear the sound of something in the distance. He could definitely hear something.. but he just couldn't tell what it was. "Ah, Snow." He turned to Yuki, who probably raised an eyebrow in confusion at the nickname. "Do excuse me, but you weren't present the first two times I visited the hotel. I nickname people frequently, and I think that nickname fits you perfectly. I think I have cleared your confusion?" He clapped his hands together. "You, Tall, Small, and Summer.. or Shiirudo, Tsuyoi and Chiisana as you know them.. I think it's best if you go find the others all on your own now."

"Are you suggesting we split up?" Chibita crossed his arms. "I don't think that's ideal, 'specially since we're still lookin' for the others-"

"Exactly. We are still looking for the others.. hence why this is the best option." Lonely interrupted, fixing his gloves and walking to the opposite direction. "If I were to stick around.. no, it's best not to think about that. You all go now, all four of you. And run as fast as you can. And no matter what, do not split up. Or if you were to split up, at least have someone with you. It's dangerous going alone in the dark."

"Why?" Hana finally turned around, sweating nervously. "Is.. is something wrong?" She fidgeted on her spot, before running over to Chibita and holding onto his shoulder, making the latter suddenly beam red. It was the first time Yuki saw Hana look so scared, especially since she was the chatterbox of Flag Corporation. "Oi! Don't mess with us, Lonely!" She whined.

Lonely took a deep breath, not speaking up at all. Iyami and Yuki didn't dare to break the silence. That was, until they heard something as well.

It was the sound.. of a motor roaring?

Iyami and Yuki froze, and Chibita's eyes widened. Hana suddenly squeezed Chibita's arm tighter, and she started trembling. In a few seconds, Yuki, Iyami, Chibita, and Hana now did as Lonely told them to; run. But Yuki turned back at Lonely, who had his back turned towards them and was watching the other side of the hallway. "Lonely, don't you know what that sound means?! We need to get out of he-!"

"No! You go. And protect Sweets." Lonely barked, not looking back. "I faced something worse than this."

"Lonely, you're going to die!" As dark as Flag Corporation was, Yuki couldn't stand seeing people suffer. Even if they were as eccentric as Lonely. Besides, Lonely himself was still young, probably around the same age as Ichi! He had so much to live for, and doing this kind of thing? This wasn't fit for someone like him to do! "Lonely, I swear to god, you are going to die if you carry on with what you're planning. Don't you know that sound?! That's the sound of-"

"Ah, the sweet, sweet embrace of death." Lonely interrupted, before chuckling bitterly. "Won't that be rather nice, Snow? I'm sure it would. I have nothing much going on for me anyway. You, my fellow, have so much to live for, however." He slightly turned to him as the sound of the motor became louder, and Yuki could hear footsteps at the other side of the hallway. Lonely removed his own mask to expose his eyes, then smiled at Yuki. "I would have preferred meeting you earlier, Kyuujitsu Yuki. You are a determined man indeed.. and you did everything for the sake of your wife and your family, as well as made a great father-figure to Suuji Jyushi. You would make a great father someday, you know?" He put on the mask again, turning away. "But I'm a stupid child. So let this stupid child learn from his mistakes instead of taking out his obstacles."

"Lonely-!"

"Go on and run. If you stick with me.. well, I'd hate to see your wife cry. Surely, you will not let your child grow up without a father." He frowned slightly. "I still can't believe you hadn't told your boss yet. That's more of a reason to run, my dear fellow."

The sound of the motor was now loud enough to make Yuki deaf. With slight hesitation, he ran from the hallway and followed after Iyami, Chibita, and Hana. Lonely sighed in relief. He wasn't good at handling people and was the epitome of "socially awkward", but he was glad he got Yuki to listen, as well as the other three. He wasn't lying when he said Yuki had a much more promising future than him, however.

 _This could possibly be my last performance.. hm, I better make it the most dramatic performance Akatsuka City has ever seen._

"Come out. I know you're there. It is so useless to hide." Lonely put his hands behind his back, scowling. "Though I can't say you really are my enemy.. or are you? I mean, who carries such a thing around? In a party, no less.." He sighed, taking out another piece of cloth from his blazer. "Heh. Who am I to say such a thing? I carry around a rapier. Suuji also carries a katana. But at least they can easily be controlled.. your's, however." His eye twitched at the sound of the motor becoming louder. "How rude. Are you an accomplice of that bastard, perhaps?"

"What do you think?" The voice came from across the hallway. It was deep and raspy, Lonely swore he wouldn't have been able to hear it if he didn't have such good ears.

Lonely chuckled. "I think so. It would make sense for him to finally get one.. he knows I'm stronger than him." He put the cloth over his hand. "Hm, but asking your name is useless, yes? Then why don't I give you a nickname?" When he removed the cloth, his rapier was on his hand again. He stuffed the cloth back in his blazer, smirking. "I thought of a lovely one! A creep such as you, carrying such a thing around.. you're the type of person to give out nightmares to children, so why don't I just call you Jiguzou?"

He heard the sound of beeping. He had just remembered Hatabou and Dekapan had installed cameras in the halls earlier, this one included. When the camera on the corner shot up to record what was going on, he instantly jumped and destroyed it with his sword.

 _Sorry.. but I'd rather none of you get traumatized just in case my body gets cut into a million pieces. Plus, that is rather disgusting._

He looked back and much to his frustration, the figure had revealed itself. He looked like a living, evil possessed doll, with dull eyes and red swirls on his cheeks. On both of his hands was a red chainsaw, which was the cause of the noise. "Looks like I did not make a mistake in naming you Jiguzou, then!" He said in a cheerful voice. "But why don't you just go to hell? I need to meet up with Tougou, that bastard."

"I'm not supposed to let you pass." Jiguzou spoke up. God, even the way his mouth moved was similar to a puppet's!

Lonely sighed. "Such a bother.. well, I guess facing you would be good exercise, hm?" He pointed his sword at Jiguzou, scowling. "But if it will keep you and Tougou away from my friend, I guess it won't hurt."

 _See, this is why I prefer not calling those I protect by their names.. I don't want to get too attached to them.. in case I fail my job in protecting them._


	69. Chapter 69: Magician's Living Nightmare

"Why the fuck do you have such a big mansion?! This is like the fifth hallway we stumbled upon, and it still looks the same!"

Ichi would have gotten angry at Todo, but god, the pink demon was right. What were his ancestors thinking when they made this mansion?! Nearly every single hallway looked exactly the same, and the only way they could differentiate them from each other was from the newspapers, and the paintings that decorated the halls. Todo was the one in the front of the group, and now, he had decided to remove his blazer and tie it around his waist, as well as removing his mask in order to see better. Ichi had discarded his and Jyushi's masks earlier as well back at his father's office, since it was annoying him so much. Kara was behind Ichi, and at the back of the group was Osomatsu.

"We have yet another reason to burn it to the ground. I remember why I never liked going out of our shared room much.." Ichi murmured. Jyushi was still unconscious in his arms, and Ichi wanted Jyushi to wake up soon. Not that he was complaining about having to carry his little brother around, but Ichi was getting worried, even as Jyushi snored peacefully. "We only went out whenever our mom decided to jog around the forest every morning. That was actually kind of fun.." Maybe he and Jyushi should have a morning stroll at the park every morning as well.

As Todo lead the way by using his senses in a way similar back to when they were sneaking around Flag Corporation's building, Osomatsu looked around the hallways. He was curious about the newspapers that were sticking to the walls, but they never got a chance to slow down so he could read about them. He'd ask Lonely about them later. The leather journal he took from the study earlier looked rather suspicious, hence why Osomatsu took it, as disgusting as it looked. "It's a nice mansion, really. The only problem is that your ancestors weren't really creative with the design."

"Why would they even need to make the halls look similar to one another?" Kara frowned, crossing his arms. "Even the apartments at Akatsuka Apartment Complex managed to look different and unique, despite having the same space in every room." Kara couldn't really tell if this was the same hallway from earlier, or it was completely different. He had regretted not letting Todo "mark" a traveled hallway by punching a hole in the wall. It was plain disrespectful! Plus, Todo could hurt his hand if he attempted to punch a wall!

 _Still, who the hell designed this? Is this a reason why rich people shouldn't be allowed to live in a mansion that's not located in the city?_

Osomatsu sighed, putting his arms behind his back as he walked. They were in a party, sure, but this was boring; they were just wandering in a dark corridor with their guards up, just in case someone was about to ambush them. Osomatsu thought it was rather pointless, before he heard the sound of footsteps. He instantly whirled around and took his phone out of his pocket just in case someone had a gun on them and tried to shoot them. "Who's there?!" He roared, stance defensive.

Todo did the same and turned to the direction Osomatsu was facing, but didn't leave his spot just in case something were to appear on his side. "What is it, Osomatsu?"

"Footsteps." Ichi answered for him, scowling. Jyushi slightly moved in his arms, and Ichi feared he was going to wake up at a bad time. "Kyabarie." Kara turned to him with a confused expression. "Come here for a second, will you?" As Kara approached him, Ichi gently pressed Jyushi's body into Kara's, gesturing him to spread his arms for Jyushi's body. "Hold him for awhile. Katsuna can fight, and I'm pretty sure Matsuno can as well. Just don't drop my brother."

Kara nodded, adjusting his hold on Jyushi. "Very well. I will keep him safe, so don't worry."

Ichi pulled out something from behind him, and the other three just realized it was Ichi's sheathed katana. He must have hidden it inside his blazer somehow, which didn't make any sense. "Seriously, where do you get that?" Osomatsu murmured as Ichi unsheathed the sword and practiced swinging it again, similar to a baseball bat. Osomatsu didn't even bother questioning where he got that; Chibita literally pulls his ladle out of nowhere, and Lonely was able to take out a sword with his magic bullshit. Why was he even questioning this when he and his brothers were literally supernatural beings, with one of them being able to defy the laws of reality just by questioning his own existence. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't wrap his head around that fact. "Hey! Easy with the sword, you might accidentally slice someone up!"

Ichi grinned like a madman at the thought. He stopped swinging his sword to roll up his sleeves, before swinging again. "Heh. That'll mean less threats then."

"That's not the point, idiot!" Todo stomped his foot and growled at him. Realizing that arguing with Ichi was pointless, he sighed. "Why do I even bother to argue with someone like you. Argh, whatever! Oi, Osomatsu. Can you still hear 'em? The footsteps, I mean."

The eldest Matsuno nodded. They were faint, but he could hear them just fine. Maybe if Ichi would stop swinging his katana, things would be easier. "Yeah. Along with.. screeching? Sounds like nails scratching against chalkboard.. that, or you know, just Chibita." Osomatsu sighed, closing his eyes. "He sounds pretty similar to a chalkboard, so I can't tell-"

"OSOMATSU!" Chibita suddenly appeared from the dark hall and immediately tackled him to the ground, both of them falling down from the impact. Running after Chibita was Hana, and then Iyami, and finally, Yuki.

"Sir Ichi!" Yuki cried, hopping over Osomatsu and Chibita on the floor to rush to his boss. Yuki looked like a mess, even more so than Ichi! Before Yuki could tell them about Lonely, he felt the need to ask Ichi about his condition first. Oh, and ask him about the unconscious Jyushi on Kara's arms as well. Yuki's night was not going to get any worse. "Are you alright?! What happened to Jyushi-kun?!"

"His memories were triggered again. He passed out earlier, but I think he'll wake up soon." Ichi explained quickly, noticing his employee's panic. "But what happened to you lot?! You all look like a mess-!"

"It's Lonely!" Hana interrupted, flapping her arms around like a flightless bird. Or a penguin, Ichi thought. "See, he's an idjit, so he made a mistake and sent you guys somewhere else and ended up in a different place instead! And then we were runnin' around and looking for you guys, and we were screaming a whole lot too! But we slowed down because Lonely slowed down, and Yuki-san caught up and said something about us wearing stuff meant for a funeral, and I said something about me wearing white 'cuz I'm practically a ghost at this point, and Lonely keeps saying something about hearing something, and then we realized it was the sound of a motor roaring, and then we realized it was a chainsaw-"

"Basically, Lonely told us to run. He said he'll handle the madman himself!" Iyami interrupted. He didn't want to offend Hana, but in all honesty, half of the stuff she said absolutely made no sense at all. "Me hasn't run like hell in ages! Who knows what could have happened to Lonely!"

"Wait, Yuki! Don't you have the headphones?! Contact everyone at the church!" Ichi ordered. Yuki nodded and set down the briefcase, opening it and fumbling at the contents. "Hana, go help Yuki- Matsuno!" He barked at Osomatsu, who pushed Chibita off him and was now running towards the opposite direction. Osomatsu thankfully stopped at the sound of Ichi's voice. "Where do you think you're going?!"

"I'm going to help Lonely!" Osomatsu yelled. He remembered encountering a man with a chainsaw once, and that man got them all mixed up from each other, before finally settling with Jyushimatsu.. and the next day, everything was suddenly okay. He still had no idea how that happened, but in this dimension, things were different; that was proven with Atsushi. Whoever dies is bound to stay dead, and Lonely was probably no exception. "That guy with the chainsaw.. I think I encountered him at my dimension before! I think I know how to stop him-!"

Yuki looked up from the briefcase and let Hana fumble with the equipment, wondering how to turn them on. "No! Lonely said we shouldn't split up! He said that, no matter what, we should never split up! Unless we have someone with us, then-"

"Damn it!" Osomatsu slammed his hand against the wall, and everyone flinched. Osomatsu was seething now, but his anger wasn't directed at Yuki. It was directed at Jiguzou. "Why the fuck is he here.." He growled under his breath, turning to his friends. Everyone, Ichi included, looked worried for him. He mentally cursed himself for scaring them. "Sorry, but.." He then looked around his group of friends and the five alternate versions of his brothers. "Let's try to stick with the original plan, but with a few changes."

"The original plan required Lonely to be present." Kara meekly added. "He's not here, so how-"

"We'll change most of the plan, Kara." Osomatsu pointed to Hana, Chibita, Iyami, and Yuki. "You four! Change of plans; Ichi won't be joining you." Ichi's head shot up at that statement. "Keep your chill, Ichi! The four of you, I want you to roam around this mansion for any more suspicious people. Jiguzou was one, so.." He clicked his tongue. "There's probably more. Whoever Lonely's enemy is, I think it's best not to question his motives any longer. He wants us dead if he has Jiguzou in here."

"You had a freak like that back in your dimension?" Todo raised an eyebrow. "Then again, your brothers are odd human beings themselves.. it's better if I don't question anything."

"Anyways, you four stick together. But if situation calls for it, split into pairs. I guess neither Ichi or Lonely would mind if you use anything in this mansion as a weapon.. so feel free to use even a fucking vase to defend yourself if needed. Iyami, Chibita. I trust you both to keep your cool and think rationally. You guys can do that right?"

"Who the hell do you think we are, you idjit?!" Chibita was now pumped up instead of terrified, thanks to Osomatsu's sudden determination.

Iyami was the same. "Of course! Me won't back down easily!"

"Good. I didn't expect you to. Alright, Yuki, how many headphones are there?"

"Um, even though we only planned to have five, as that was what the original plan was.." Yuki showed him the brief case. "We only got enough for four individuals, so-"

Osomatsu grinned. "That's enough. One for Chibita, one for Iyami, one for Ichi, and one for Kara! Iyami, Yuki. You both team up. You too, Chibita, Hana." He turned to his brothers. "Now, Ichi, Todo! The three of us'll head back to Lonely! No backing out on this one, or I'll snap your necks and punch you guys so hard, we won't even have the same face anymore. Kara, you head to a safer place with Jyushi. Head to the lobby and make sure you two are never alone."

"Matsuno, this is dangerous!" Ichi cried. "Let's just stick with the original plan-"

"Which is probably more dangerous than the one I just planned! I didn't count on a chainsaw-wielding psychopath being part of our enemy list!" Osomatsu argued. "Ichi, now's not the time to argue! I know you frequently follow the plan, but for now, we have to go with mine. It's also the safest decision for everyone here." He noticed Ichi wasn't convinced, so he let out a sigh. "Ichi, I know for a fact that Hana and Yuki aren't part of Flag Corporation for nothin'. You hand-picked each and every one of your employees.." He glanced at them. "And I know for a fact they can fend for themselves. And Todo can fight, you know that. But Jyushi, your little brother, can't. Kara is a pacifist, and too bad our enemies aren't rational. If they were, they probably wouldn't have brought a chainsaw to this party in the first place. But please. Trust me on this one."

Ichi looked away. "Fine. But if one of us dies-"

"None of us in this group'll die." Osomatsu patted him on the shoulder. "Now, Yuki. May Ichi have one of the headphones? We can then contact the guys at the church, since they have cameras, they just have to give us directions."

"Great thinking!" Kara praised. "Plus, we won't have to worry much about each other as long as we enter an area with a camera!"

Yuki gave one of the headphones to Ichi, one to Kara, one to Chibita, and one to Iyami. As soon as everyone was ready, Osomatsu removed his blazer and tied it around his waist, similar to Todo's, and rolled up his sleeves. "That's better." He murmured. He saw Hana undo her twin tails and tie her hair into a ponytail, as well as remove her shoes. "Hana?"

"No one can run in heels!" Hana said, putting them to the side. "It's impossible, Osomatsu-san! This is easier."

"Can we just remove the masks now?" Iyami asked. "Me thinks it's a hindrance."

 _I can never figure out why Lonely decides to wear such a thing.._

"Alright. Everyone, leave your masks here. 'Cept for you, Ichi. You did that earlier, didn't you?" As soon as everyone put down their masks, Osomatsu took a deep breath. "Well, stick to my plan. Todo, Ichi. You two are coming with me. Kara, I pray to the gods above that nothing bad will happen to you or Jyushi. Chibita, stick with Hana if you four are gonna split up. Iyami, you do the same, but with Yuki. Capiche?" Everyone nodded at Osomatsu's sudden leadership, and he turned his back on them. "If I don't see any of you after this, I'm hunting you down and kicking your ass. Unless you're dead, or you're Hana. I'm not kicking a girl, and I certainly won't kill myself just to chase down any of you idiots in the afterlife."

"Kara.." Todo glanced at his best friend, who had already put on the headphones and adjusted his hold on Jyushi. He trusted Kara enough to make out of this alive, but still.. this feeling in his chest was something he could never get rid of easily. It was worry for his best friend, the person he considered the most important to him. "Please.. be careful."

Kara gave him a reassuring smile, and then patted Todo's head as a gesture of comfort. "I will be fine, my friend. I do hope you're safe as well. Knowing you.. you will overcome all odds and emerge victorious." Kara then noticed Ichi's stare at the body in Kara's arms, so Kara had to give his reassurances to Ichi as well. "I promise to protect him with my life."

"As you should." Grumbled Ichi. "And you better keep your promise.. he's literally the carrier of my soul at this point."

Osomatsu's eyes softened. While he appeared positive that everything was going to end up fine, he himself wasn't so sure. And by the way Todo and Ichi were saying their goodbyes.. who knew if it would be their last time to see them again? "Everything's gonna be fine." He murmured to himself. "Lonely, Jyushi.. everyone part of this.. I'm gonna make sure of it. We're gonna catch that criminal and bring him to justice.. as Lonely himself said."

Todo and Ichi nodded at Kara, then went to Osomatsu. Their group then left without saying anything else to the others, and as soon as Osomatsu was out of sight, Kara politely excused himself, made sure he had an iron grip on Jyushi, then started sprinting to the direction where his instincts were sure where the lobby was. When the other four were alone again, Hana looked at Chibita with confused eyes.

"I never got to ask Osomatsu-san.. but what does he mean by 'his' dimension?"

Chibita and Iyami looked at each other. Ah, crap. Osomatsu had yet another slip of a tongue..

* * *

Lonely used his foot to bounce against the wall and to dodge the whirring blade of a chainsaw from causing a huge gash on his head, which would probably lead to his brains being exposed. Lonely thought it was rather disgusting, so he dodged the blade and used the furniture on the hallway to his advantage; he used the small tables, flower pots, and paintings in order to block any of Jiguzou's attacks, and whenever Jiguzou seemed to lower his guard after being hit by a flower pot, he would leap in and try to attack with his rapier.

But much to his frustration, Jiguzou would always react quickly and block Lonely's sword with his chainsaw.

 _Tch! He is certainly faster than Suuji Ichi.. this is almost inhumane! He can't be that fast! Plus, his weapon is supposed to be heavier than mine! How is he holding such a thing with ease?!_

Again, he used his feet to jump off the air and avoid the swing of the blade. His cape was an advantage as well, and since Lonely was a magician, he would use his "trick" to pop up from one place to another. Still, he needed more than just flower pots or destroyed paintings to avoid Jiguzou's chainsaw with.. he needed a distraction. So he immediately took out a solitaire card from his blazer, and even as he dodged Jyugizou's chainsaw, he managed to shake his hand enough to multiply the cards he had on his hand. Once he got to the ground, he counted the cards he had, mentally praying it was enough. It was hard to pull of magic tricks for fighting, but he had gotten used to it over the years.

 _One, two, three, four! Ah, all Aces as well! That's a sign of good luck! Now all I need is the perfect time to strike him, and-_

Jyugizou managed to step on Lonely's cape and prevent the other from jumping into the air again. "You're dead, Kodoku!" He raised the chainsaw over his head, preparing to stab Lonely and dismember him from above.

 _Heh! Not yet! You just dug your own grave, Jiguzou! My feathery friends.. do forgive me._

Lonely used his rapier to slash off a portion of his cape, then used it as a distraction to throw two of the cards. When Jiguzou looked up, he suddenly felt the pecking of two birds against his somewhat hollow-plastic skin. Lonely had managed to summon doves with his cards, it seemed. With a snarl, he used his chainsaw to slaughter the two poor animals. Their corpses, feathers, as well as their blood, were now a mess on the ground. It sickened Lonely just to look at them, but it was more disgusting to vomit on the ground!

"You're an annoying magician all right.." Jiguzou hissed, whirring the chainsaw and getting blood everywhere. "Stupid birds!"

Lonely had already witnessed Tougou murder his doves whenever Lonely used his card-trick, hence why he didn't prefer using it as he hated to see the corpses of the poor animals. But he had to use a distraction.. he hoped the king of the birds, whoever that may be, wouldn't whisk him away and feed them to their kin as revenge for Lonely using the doves as his distraction. "You do not deserve such a thing.." He was referring to the birds, obviously. "Well, this gives me another reason to take you down, animal-hater. You killed my doves, so I obviously must kill you." He scoffed, pulling out a short, wooden rod from his blazer.

 _As if I, Kodoku Choro, the Nightingale of Akatsuka, would run out of any tricks to pull. Too bad I don't have an audience to witness such a dramatic thing.. oh father, you would have been so proud of me._

"Boss Tougou has told me to kill you." Jiguzou spoke again. "So I have to listen. No matter what."

"Are you obliged to? What did Tougou even do for you for you to listen to anything he says?" Lonely asked, holding the wooden rod with his left hand, as his right possessed the rapier. As he expected, Jiguzou immediately dove in and tried to stab him with the chainsaw again, but Lonely was fast enough to shake his left arm. Popping in Jiguzou's face was a white-and-yellow striped umbrella, which Lonely used as a shield, before he let it go and let Jiguzou rip it to shreds with his blood-stained weapon. "Well.. you're quite a violent one. Not that I didn't know that already, but I was originally planning on giving that umbrella to Sweets as a gift of our friendship-" He was interrupted by Jiguzou diving in again. Lonely scowled. "Hey, I was talking! I hate rude people such as you!"

"Die!" Lonely jumped from his spot and covered himself with a cape. The moment Jiguzou had stopped, he realized that Lonely had disappeared yet again. "Come out, you stupid magician! You can't rely on tricks forever!"

Lonely had appeared above him, and taking advantage of their difference in height, wrapped his legs around Jiguzou in an attempt to choke him. Lonely's then raised his rapier over his head, closing his eyes. "Forgive me for this, but I must do everything to stop Tougou!" He then lowered the sword, expecting the blood and other gross stuff from Jiguzou's eye socket to spill out and stain his rapier and gloves.

But then he heard laughing. He opened his eyes, and they widened at the sight of his rapier deep inside Jiguzou's eye socket, but it almost seemed as if it pierced through nothing.

 _WHAT THE HELL-?!_

Jiguzou then pushed Lonely off him, pulling off the rapier as if it was nothing. Lonely's mask flew off to the other side of the corridor as he struggled to sit up. Lonely then watched in horror as Jiguzou pull off something from the rapier.

It was an eyeball.

"OH MY GOD!" It was at that moment that Lonely instantly lost his cool. "WHAT ARE YOU?!" He screamed. Never had he been afraid of anything besides failure, but this..? This wasn't scary, oh no. It was scarring, something that could leave it's mark on Lonely. "Y-You're not human.." He gasped out, holding onto his chest. His hands were now cold and sweaty, even with the gloves on, and Lonely couldn't stand up. "You're not human! YOU'RE NOT HUMAN! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

"Scared now? Of course you are. That was my favorite trick, so I thought you would appreciate it, since you're a magician yourself." A laughing noise came out of Jiguzou's mouth, and his movement were almost puppet-like. Lonely trembled with fear as Jiguzou raised his chainsaw above him, ready to end Lonely's life. His green eyes were trembling as they watched the chainsaw lower. "Now, die!"

 _This is.. the end..!_

As Jiguzou prepared to slice through Lonely's face, his chainsaw suddenly stopped whirring. Lonely could feel tears stream down his cheeks as he gasped for air, but when he realized Jiguzou was having trouble activating the chainsaw, he slightly calmed down. Still, he was frozen in place. "W-what.." He choked out.

"He is.. nothing more than just a doll.. nothing to fuss over.." Another voice came from the other side of the hallway, behind Lonely, as well as the sound of footsteps. The footsteps stopped momentarily, and Lonely, not daring to turn back, felt as if the person was getting closer. "But.. he's just a puppet.. nothing more... certainly nothing less.. or maybe he is less than a puppet? Hehehe... trash." He then felt a hand on his shoulder. "But.. this belongs to you.. doesn't it..?"

Lonely slightly turned around. He saw a bandaged hand holding his mask. "A-ah?" Was the person behind him not seeing the nightmare known as Jiguzou in front of him? "That's-"

His eyes widened at the sight of the person holding his mask, kneeling down to his level. The person was obviously male, wearing a black hoodie, but a red turtleneck was peeping out of the collar of the hoodie. Besides that, he was wearing black jeans, black sneakers, a leather finger-less glove on his right hand, and bandages wrapped around his left palm, as well as holding the mask. Lonely could see that there was a red rose, a rose so familiar, tucked on the individual's pocket. But the person's face..

 _Black hair, two cowlicks. And.. dull red eyes..?_

"M-Matsuno..?"


	70. Chapter 70: Pitter Patter

_Wait.. that's not Matsuno.. but at the same time.. he is..?_

The red-eyed Osomatsu looked like an owl, in Lonely's opinion. He also looked like he hadn't slept in ten years straight, and he wasn't even wearing formal attire, meaning that Lonely probably didn't toss an invitation to his house. But even with Jiguzou in front of him, who was trying to figure out what was wrong with the chainsaw and ignoring the other person's presence, Lonely couldn't help but oddly feel relieved that someone, who was probably human, was here with him, in this dark hallway and with Jiguzou, who was pretty much a living nightmare.

 _But I'm not scared of the dark at all.. why am I relieved to see another person who looks like me? Actually, who is this person in the first place? How did he get here? Why does he look so much like Matsuno Osomatsu, except with red eyes?_

"Oi." The red-eyed Osomatsu snapped him out of his trance with his soft, but rather commanding voice. "This mask.. it's your's.. so just take it already.. I have.. no need for it.." He mumbled under his breath. As Lonely took the mask and carefully put it over his eyes once again, the red-eyed Osomatsu stood up, stretching his arms. "Hnnng... this is.. rather troublesome.." He murmured, watching Jiguzou as he fumbled with the chainsaw. "I never thought... that he was serious when he said he was a god.. I guess I shouldn't.. doubt him.. seeing as how.. powerful he really was.. still.. this doll is pretty big.. and disgusting to look at.." He took the red rose from his pocket, putting the stem between his thumb and index finger. "You should.. probably help me here.. I'm not too good.. at fighting people.. especially ones who carry chainsaws around.."

No normal person could stand against a maniac with a chainsaw, Lonely thought. Nonetheless, he hastily stood up. His sword was near Jiguzou, so he would have to distract Jiguzou yet again just to grab his rapier from the floor. Lonely didn't really want to sacrifice anymore doves, and Jiguzou was disgusting enough to step on the corpses of his poor feathered friends and make a mess. Now the floor was all dirty with blood and white feathers.

Lonely felt the urge to gag, but instead, he covered his mouth with his hand. "Truly sickening.." He murmured, feeling really guilty about having to resort to using birds as a distraction for an enemy.

The red-eyed Osomatsu heard him even if his voice was quiet when he murmured those words, and he scowled upon seeing what Lonely was talking about. "He.. truly is disgusting.. poor things.." He closed his eyes and sighed, pressing his fingers against the stem of the rose. The rose then started glowing in a red light, but the red-eyed male payed no mind to it.. or did he? He seemed to have felt the red light, and whether it was hot or cold against his skin, he didn't seem to care. His owl-like eyes opened and stared at the struggling Jiguzou, who had now managed to turn the chainsaw back on. The red-eyed Osomatsu didn't even flinch at the sound of the motor roaring. "You.. go get your sword.. I'll.. distract this.. psychopathic doll.."

"Um, alright then.." It was so unlike Lonely to take orders from anyone, much less a weird stranger who had somehow stopped his death just by arriving. It was so unlike him to be shy as well! But what else was there to do in this situation? Didn't he promise Yuki and the others that he could handle this? Lonely took a deep breath, taking a cloth out of his blazer and covering his hand again, similar to his other tricks earlier. As soon as he removed the cloth and stuffed it back inside his blazer, there was yet another rose on his hand, though a bit different from the one that the red-eyed Osomatsu was holding. He brought the rose close to his lips and blew on it, before wrapping his hand around the flower and pulling it off the stem. He tossed it away and started running to Jiguzou, his left fist curled tightly around the petals of the rose. "Out of my way, Jiguzou!"

Jiguzou's chainsaw roared louder. "You're an annoying magician! Just die already!"

As Lonely jumped above Jiguzou and prepared to release the petals, the red-eyed Osomatsu had somehow gotten in front of Jiguzou within seconds, with his right arm pulled back. The rose on his hand was finally fully enveloped in the light, and the red-eyed Osomatsu swung the rose at Jiguzou's face. Lonely wasn't sure how he managed to miss it, but the rose somehow changed from being the shape of a flower, to the shape of a baseball bat. Lonely managed to grab his sword and roll on the floor, but the baseball bat that the red-eyed Osomatsu was holding collided with Jiguzou's face.

 _Where did he get a bat?! Where is the rose?! Was he not holding one earlier?!_

And it was strong enough to knock the living nightmare down and drop his chainsaw. Lonely watched from the other corner of the hallway with amazement. "Heh.." He smirked, showing his fangs. He brought the baseball bat close to his face, inspecting it. "I guess.. that's a homerun, then..?" He snickered, before he saw Jiguzou stand up again. But this time, half of his face was cracked. While Lonely found it disturbing that Jiguzou was still alive even after being hit by a baseball bat, the red-eyed Osomatsu clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tch.. how annoying.." He looked at Lonely. "You.. try to decapitate him with your sword.. Let's see.. if he's still alive.. after that.."

"A rapier's blade isn't strong enough to do such a thing!" Lonely cried, gripping his sword's handle tighter. If it wasn't obvious enough, Lonely seemed to be both panicked and angry just to hear about decapitating someone. "It is simply impossible! And do you actually expect me to do such a vile thing?!"

"Ah..? You had... no problem.. wanting to stab his.. eye.. hmph.. you think.. chopping off someone's head.. is disgusting and.. inhumane? Please.. spare me your hammy lines.." Lonely could see the other male scowl, even if he was a fair distance away from him. "Why do you even.. have a sword.. that can't cut off someone's head.. that's basically.. useless.." He murmured. "Fine.. it can't be helped.. you distract him.. I'll do it.. cutting his head off, I mean.." The baseball bat was then enveloped in red light, the same way the light enveloped the rose earlier. "What are you.. waiting for.." He growled at Lonely and glared at him. "I told you so.. didn't I..? Distract him.."

Lonely would have argued that cutting off someone's head wasn't a right thing to do to someone, even if they were some sort of psychopath carrying a chainsaw, but Jiguzou quickly recovered and grabbed his chainsaw. Arguing would be useless in this kind of situation, and will only do more harm than good. So Lonely chose to listen to the red-eyed Osomatsu by extending the palm that was crushing the flower petals. But when he opened his palm, a metal rod appeared instead of the fluttering flower petals, and he gave the rod a shake.

While he was busy preparing his next trick, the red-eyed Osomatsu's baseball bat suddenly turned into an axe. As Jiguzou charged at him, he did the same, raising the axe above his head and preparing to deliver a swing that would surely chop the puppet-like man in half. He could only hope that he had no intestines to spill. But if he did? Well.. he wasn't staying long to help Lonely clean up this mess. He was just making sure Lonely wouldn't become the mess himself. Besides, if Lonely didn't want him decapitating Jiguzou, wasn't it better to just split him in half?

He launched himself to the air, his red eyes seemingly glowing as he prepared to bring down the axe. But still; his expression remained stoic.

 _Time to end this before it gets even worse._

But Jiguzou was fast to react. He brought his chainsaw over his head to block the axe, an action that caused the red-eyed Osomatsu's eyes to widen even more, and he jumped back to his spot in irritation. "Tch! So annoying..!" He growled. Pieces of Jiguzou's face was falling off bit by bit, not like he cared. But the hole on Jiguzou's face was like peeking into nothingness, which one could guess why Jiguzou's face seemed hollow. "You're.. falling apart..?" A sadistic smirk crept onto his face, and the axe glowed yet again. "It will be fun.. seeing you break into pieces.."

However, unlike the red-eyed Osomatsu, Lonely was irked at this. He felt shivers up his spine, and he hated himself for getting scared over something like.. well, that. But it was certainly not human, and though Lonely already witnessed people get murdered.. having to deal with an enemy that happens to be a non-human was basically unfair for him. Especially since it looked so much like a creepy, possessed doll. "Compose yourself, Choro.. you need to take him down before he slaughters you and heads for Sweets.." He told himself with a deep breath, pointing his sword at Jiguzou. "You.. whatever you are, I will strike you down. You are a bigger threat than I thought you were, and I am ashamed of myself for underestimating you."

"He's not.. gonna listen to anything you say..." The red-eyed male said. The axe had once again changed it's form from an axe back to a baseball bat, but this one had nails on it. Lonely was curious about that, and he briefly wondered if magic was real. If that wasn't magic, how the hell did a rose transform into a baseball bat, then to an axe, and then back to a baseball bat, but with nails on it? "So.. chatting.. is useless.. just end.. his life.."

Lonely was even angrier now. Not just as Jiguzou, but at the Osomatsu look-a-like as well. "I am not killing someone! I have hurt people associated with my enemy, yes, but I'm not going to kill them! I have to bring them to justice-!"

"Justice..?" The other scoffed, swinging the bat around. "Those people.. are destined to go to hell.. so I'm just.. making things easier for them.. and for you as well... they.. won't ever have a chance.. to rejoin society.. and be forgiven for their sins.."

Lonely's breath hitched. Even as Jiguzou slowly mad his way towards him, with pieces of his face falling in the progress, Lonely knew it was just wrong to kill someone. Even if Jiguzou was a psycho, he at least wanted to know why was he like this and why was he so fiercely loyal to Tougou in the first place. "Who are you..?" He looked down, his shoulders trembling. "That.. that is not.. the way Matsuno acts.. even if he seems to be quiet at times.. I know for a fact that he is not you, despite your similarities.. so who are you?"

Jiguzou, whose presence was nearly forgotten by Lonely, dived in and prepared to pierce through Lonely with the chainsaw. "Die!"

The red-eyed Osomatsu was faster. In the blink of an eye, he instantly teleported from his spot to in front of Lonely, and though it wasn't supposed to be possible, he managed to block the chainsaw with a baseball bat. No matter how much pressure Jiguzou put into trying to slice the baseball bat, it simply wasn't working. The red-eyed Osomatsu's bat was stronger, and Jiguzou had to pull away before the red-eyed male could do anything else.

The male in front of Lonely huffed. "My name.. is Matsuno Osomatsu.." He pointed the bat at Jiguzou, who still looked like he wasn't planning on giving up soon. "But.. for simplicity's sake.. you may call me.. Oso.."

Lonely blinked. "You.. share the same name as Matsuno Osomatsu? As in, the other one? The one who teases Katsuna and is protective of him and Kyabarie? Why.. why do you share the same name as him? And I know we look alike, but why do you look so much like him?"

He saw Oso bite his lip, before speaking yet again. "Because I am him.. and he is me too."


	71. Chapter 71: The Mind-Breaking Killer

The church was anything but wonderful, Homura thought. It was dark, cobwebs were everywhere, and Homura was sure she just saw something move in the corner of her eye. The computers were set up in front and above three tables that were stuck side by side, and besides the fact Homura thought it was just plain rude to set up such technology at the altar, Homura would have preferred being near the exit just in case something was watching them. Hatabou was at the far left, screaming into the microphone. He was probably yelling at Ichi's headphones. Then there was Dekapan and Fuyu, with Fuyu on Homura's left, and Dekapan on the far left. Those two were calmly instructing Iyami and Chibita where to go with Hana and Yuki.

And then there was Homura, who was changing from screen to screen and nervously mashing the keys on the keyboard with her fingers. As Hatabou was in charge of Ichi's group, which consisted of Ichi himself, Todo, and Osomatsu, Fuyu was in charge of Yuki and Iyami's pair, and Dekapan was in charge of Chibita and Hana's pair, Homura was in charge of Kara and Jyushi. Meaning, it was her job to lead both individuals to a safer part in the manor. Of course, she was a mess upon hearing it, wondering how she got in charge of such a thing.

But she had to compose herself. This was to protect Jyushi without dragging them out of the manor. Jyushi's job was being a bait for the psycho that was Lonely's enemy, so he had to stay inside. Thankfully, Kara was with him. "Alright.. um, Kara-san.. take a turn to the left." She pressed the keys to switch the cameras. Setting up the cameras at the Suuji Mansion was already hard enough, but leading someone out of their very similar hallways was harder. "You're doing good. Um, head down this hallway.. yeah, you need to reach the painting at the end of the hall. Hold on, uh, I'll switch the cameras.. I'm pretty sure we're near the lobby by now."

Displayed on her screen was Kara, carrying an unconscious Jyushi. She naturally panicked when she saw Ichi carrying his little brother, but after realizing what made him pass out on the first place, she was somewhat relieved that it wasn't too serious. But when they decided to split up, Homura was sure that she would have fussed over them like a mother hen would do to her chicks. But she didn't lose her cool, unlike Hatabou, who had started screaming into the microphone, unaware that the headphones weren't even on in the first place.

 _So basically, he had just wasted his voice for absolutely nothing at all._

While Homura was trying to handle her job with care and ease, Hatabou was straight-up fuming and muttering curses as soon as he quieted down. "You know, it's not too late to head back, jo! Osomatsu's plan is really dangerous, and could get you killed, Sir Ichi!" He screamed. Homura was sure this was the seventh time he yelled such a thing. "As I said, the camera on one of the hallways was destroyed by Lonely, jo! I don't know why he destroyed it, but it's not there anymore, and we can't even hear anything, jo! I'm sure he's still there-"

 **"Which is more of a reason for us to go there! I mean, Lonely is the one who got us here in the first place! But even so, his intentions were to protect my little brother! I am not letting any psycho with a chainsaw kill him, since I'm the only one who is supposed to end his life!"**

 _What a lame excuse, jo. Why not just admit that you care about him too? Stupid Ichi._

Hatabou internally screamed, not wanting to waste his voice anymore. He was sure that the only reason Ichi was arguing with him was because they were already separated from the rest of the group. That, or he was actually going with Osomatsu's plan. "Argh! Fine! Do whatever the hell you want, but.. at least run away if you can't handle it! If something happens to you, think of what would happen to Jyushi!" Homura knew that Hatabou was currently irritated enough to just drop his verbal tic. "Head left! There seems to be a lot going on in that area right now, it's probably Lonely pulling magic tricks or something! I just saw a flower pot fly, so he probably threw it!"

 **"He probably is fighting against something.. Matsuno, Katsuna! We're going left! Katsuna, grab anything to fight with! I doubt you could fight anyone with a chainsaw with just your fists!"**

Homura watched as Ichi, Todo, and Osomatsu, all displayed on Hatabou's computer, head to the direction Hatabou pointed at. She somewhat envied Hatabou for having such a commanding voice and presence.. she honestly wished she had his confidence. Still, she continued to do her job, as she saw Kara look around the hallway in confusion, before looking at the camera, silently asking Homura where to go next. "Oh. H-head right. I think that you'll get out of the hallways soon, and you'll find yourself heading to the staircase, and then back to the lobby.. wait, I'll go check if I'm right.." She switched the cameras a bit, before clicking back to Kara. "Oh! I-I'm right! You'll be at the lobby soon!"

 **"Oh! Really? That's a relief! Thank you so much for the directions!"**

Homura let out a sigh of relief, letting a small smile crept onto her face as she leaned back against her chair. "Ah.. no problem! Stay there, as Ichi-san said. You can remove the headphones now, but in case you need something, don't hesitate to call. I'm going to help the others now, so stay safe." With a click of a button, the display of Homura's camera changed from Kara's current area, to the camera which Lonely broke. She frowned slightly. "I'll.. I'll try to look for a way. Erm, m-maybe the camera is still in one piece and can be activated somehow.."

"Hopefully. But seeing as how Lonely destroyed it as he made sure everyone else got away from whatever the source of the noise was.. I doubt he let the camera remain fixed." Dekapan murmured from his seat, before turning to give Homura a small and rare smile. "Great job though, Homura. Leading them like that, I mean. Without losing your cool too."

Fuyu stopped her typing for a moment to give Homura a pat on the head. "I'm so proud of you, and I'm sure Yuki is as well! Great job, Homura-chan! Jyushi-kun's safe, thanks to you!"

Even Hatabou had to stop yelling at the microphone to give a nod of approval to Homura. "You have led our president's little brother to safety. I know you must be worried about the others, especially Chiisana-san." They were the best of friends, and Hatabou knew that Homura would have wanted to be in charge of Hana and Chibita, but Homura was.. well, not as emotionally strong as them. So it was a bad idea to let Homura be in charge of Hana and Chibita, especially if something happened to Hana. Still, Homura knew how to keep her cool, and that was what led her to success in the first place. "But you truly did an astounding job."

Homura was sure her face was now red from the praise. She had to stop typing on the keyboard to cup her own face. "Umm, uh.. thank you all.. so much! I'll do my best!"

Fuyu let out a chuckle as Homura started furiously typing on the keyboard as if it was a piano. At least that got her determined, she thought. With a sigh, she continued guiding Iyami and her dear husband, Yuki, around the manor. She honestly wanted this to be over soon. She was feeling nauseous, and the doctor told her to never strain herself, as it wasn't good for the baby bug she was currently carrying. But she still had duties to do, and no way in hell was she letting her husband and his friend wander at a dark mansion alone. Especially if a serial killer is on the loose."Alright. Keep on moving forward. Then head left. And always remember to be careful."

* * *

"Hnnng.. nii-san..?" When Jyushi opened his eyes, he closed them again upon having the light face directly at his eyes. He covered his eyes with his sleeve-covered hands and made a whine, but then he felt someone run their fingers through his hair. It was a soothing gesture, and he let out a content sigh. He wondered whose fingers it were, though. Were it Ichi's? Or Osomatsu's? Whoever it was, he was glad they were patting his head. He liked being pat. It felt nice. "Nii-san..?" It was best to assume it was one of his four older brothers, since the hand seemed comforting and warm. "What.. happened?"

"Ah. I'm glad to see you're awake, Jyushi. You can rest for awhile, since we're not in a hurry. I'm sure your body still needs to wake up too." He realized the voice belonged to Kara. He liked Kara too, since he seemed to be the calm one of his brothers. Ichi was serious, Osomatsu playful, and Todo was cool, so having a patient brother balanced things out. "You passed out. Your brother is with Todo and Osomatsu, and they're looking for Lonely right now. Ichi told me to get you to the lobby, since it's safer. Plus, we had a change of plans. You can go to sleep again if you want."

Jyushi slowly removed his hands from his eyes, and he was glad Kara was looking down on him and was blocking the light. "Ah.. thank you for bringing me here then, Kara-niisan." He rolled a bit until he was lying on his stomach. "But.. I'm okay now! I don't wanna sleep, I wanna sit up!" He giggled, before he used his arms to push himself upward, and he realized that he and Kara were sitting on the staircase. The guests were busy chatting with one another, and Jyushi could see some of them were still eating. Jyushi sat up beside Kara, who was still gently running his fingers through his hair. "So they're somewhere at the mansion? I hope they're okay.."

"Well.. Todo's with them. I'm sure they'll be fine with him around. He'll kick everyone who seems to be a threat. I'm sure he'll kick himself it it was even possible." He chuckled. His friend was extremely strong, and besides Osomatsu, Kara was sure there was no one stronger than his best friend. Not even Ichi, who had lost "And it seems like Lonely's guests are having fun. I'm glad they are, especially since Lonely wanted them to have fun and forget their problems. And it seems they are! Take that couple for example." He pointed to a pair, who had now started dancing. "I am sure they didn't come to this mansion hand-in-hand. They came alone.. but it seems they won't be leaving alone."

"How cute!" Jyushi commented, watching as the people started talking more and more to each other. "That's really sweet of them! I remember Fuyu-san and Yuki-san dancing on their wedding too, at the reception! That was really sweet, and so was the cake that was served! I remember when they threw cake too!" He looked up at Kara with his bright eyes. "I really love parties! They make people happy! I'm glad Lonely decided to throw this party to make people happy too! I never get to see this many people so happy! I hope things can stay like this forever!"

 _..You're a really naive kid. But that's why you managed to remain so innocent of how this world truly is, right? I can see why Ichi would want to keep you oblivious of the horrors of real life._

"When those doors once again open.." Kara murmured, eyeing the large doors that lead to the outside world. "We don't know if these people will truly remember the friends they have made in here." He made a soft smile. He remembered having so many friends back in elementary and in high school.. only for them to vanish once they graduated and lived their own lives. Only Todo had remained as his friend, and Kara was eternally grateful for that. Even if Todo wasn't the most normal person in the world, he was at least kind enough to stay with Kara throughout the years. "Jyushi, let's hope they do keep smiling, even after this party is over. Okay?"

"Mhm!"

Before their conversation could continue, Kara felt the headphones start to beep. He put them back on his head and pushed the microphone towards his mouth. "Hello?"

 **"Ah, Kara-san! We just got the file Ichi-san asked for earlier! Oh, um, since you weren't outside earlier, let me explain. Lonely-san told Ichi-san and Todo-san the name of his enemy, so Ichi-san decided to call Flag Corporation to deliver his enemy's file. We have it here at the moment, and Hatabou-san is trying to contact Ichi-san and the rest. Their signals are getting a bit fuzzy, so I was told to read the file to you until we can contact Ichi-san again."**

Jyushi was pressed onto Kara's cheek, so he was hearing everything Homura was saying. Jyushi didn't seem to have any sense of personal space, but then again, his mindset was still childish. It was probably because of what Ichi said earlier; he and Jyushi didn't have a good childhood. "Ah! Really? That's good! Now my other nii-sans will catch the bad guy!"

Kara chuckled at Jyushi's optimism. "Indeed. Homura-san, I have not heard of such a thing from Todo." It probably slipped from his mind, Kara thought. "But I am rather curious. What is the name of this enemy of his?"

 **"Alright, wait, I'm looking through his file.. oh! There we go! His name is Tougou! Koroshi Tougou! Um, he's a male, is currently forty-seven years old if I were to follow the year in his file, he got married but his wife died, he has no kids, and our computers back at Flag Corporation couldn't update his file, as he seemingly disappeared.. what is this, seven years ago? That's so long! The last time his file was updated was two years after Ichi-san became president of Flag Corporation! Anyway, he does have a criminal record.. though his first crime was committed two months after his wife's death."**

"Tougou? That's quite an odd name." Kara raised a brow. "But his last name.. it fits him, don't you think? Koroshi means kill, which is a crime punishable by death.. I feel bad for his wife, though. Do you think he only committed crimes because of grief? I mean, some people do that.." He felt Jyushi squeeze his arm. Kara turned to Jyushi, whose eyes were trembling. "Jyushi? What's wrong-"

"Go find Osomatsu-niisan." He interrupted. "You have to go find Osomatsu-niisan now."

"What? But Jyushi, he's looking for Lonely, and I have to stay here to protect you-"

"Please!" Kara was startled at the sudden increase in volume of Jyushi's voice. He was thankful that people from below "You need to find Osomatsu-niisan now! This Tougou person.. has a mark on Osomatsu-niisan, back from the other dimension! You need to find him now, because we don't know what could happen to Osomatsu-san's mental stability if he sees him again! He could break!"

Kara was baffled, but he tried his best to calm Jyushi down before any of the guests could notice them in the staircase, just sitting down and somewhat having an argument? "Break? What do you mean, what would break-"

"His mind could break! There is always something that could destroy a person's mind, and I'm sure this is what Osomatsu-niisan fears the most!" Jyushi wasn't looking at Kara, but instead, his sleeve-covered hands were laying on both of Kara's shoulders. "Just.. if you don't want Osomatsu-niisan to break and you don't want to see him broken, and if you want his brothers from his dimension to stop worrying and to see him okay.. you have to look for him. Now. I'll be fine here, I'll stay at the lobby. Besides, I can't walk, so where else can I go? And how will I get up in the first place? I don't even have my cane.."

 **"Um.. Kara-san, is everything alright? I can see you from the camera, and you seem distressed. And.. so is Jyushi-san. Is.. something wrong?"**

"Kara-niisan..please listen to me.. just this once.. no one ever listens to me.. but.. this is for Osomatsu-niisan's sake.." Jyushi's voice was soft now, but Kara could hear his voice clearer than Homura's. Kara honestly didn't know what got Jyushi so scared in the first place, but it seemed out of worry for their eldest brother. "I'll be fine. But I know for a fact that Osomatsu-niisan won't. So please.. I don't want to see.. Osomatsu-niisan suffer.. I know you don't want something to happen to him too.. but trust me.. it's not nice to see someone broken."

"Kara-san? What's happening over there?"

Kara took a deep breath. His mind told him it was best to convince Jyushi that he wasn't leaving him, but even though he only met Jyushi days ago.. it didn't seem right to see a normally bright and silly person like him speaking about such a serious issue. So instead of being logical and choosing the safest option, he went against what his mind was telling him, and removed the headphones. He set them on Jyushi's head and stood up. "I'm sure I can find them. Let's hope Todo and Ichi decided to bicker and tear off each other's hair. That'd make it easier to find them." He stared at Jyushi with a serious expression. "Just this once. I'll listen to you. But please.. stay here. Alright?"

Jyushi nodded, and he watched Kara hastily climb up the stairs and head to the maze of hallways. Jyushi could only hope that Kara could find Osomatsu before Tougou finds them. But for the first time in his life, Jyushi actually felt that his knowledge of the people around Akatsuka had been useful for something.

That was enough for Jyushi to believe that he did the right thing.


	72. Chapter 72: The Second Villain

When they heard Lonely scream in fear of whatever specie Jiguzou was, Osomatsu knew he had to run faster before something else could happen to Lonely. And much to the surprise of Todo and Ichi, he was on the lead and managed to outrun them both. It was probably out of intense worry, but Todo had to admire how Osomatsu's abilities would instantly power up upon hearing his brothers in distress or in some sort of pain. Osomatsu wasn't even taking time to slow down, and every time Ichi would yell out which direction they should head towards, Osomatsu would only make a quick nod and turn to the direction Ichi instructed. Was it just a surge of energy coursing through his veins? Or was it his natural "big-brother instinct"? Whatever it was, it managed to make Osomatsu even more energetic than he was earlier. Plus, he looked rather serious as well.

 _So it's pretty much worry. Damn, he's a better older brother than I thought. Who knew hearing any of us in pain could make him run faster?_

While Todo continued to observe Osomatsu, Ichi just followed behind them. It may seem as if he was listening to any of Hatabou's rants, but in reality, his mind was elsewhere. He didn't know how he managed to forget the directions in his own mansion to the point he had let Hatabou and his other employees set up cameras and instruct him where to turn. But then again, there were only very few times where he had wandered the mansion. He frequently stayed at his and Jyushi's bedroom back when he was a child, and they'd sometimes wander around the mansion together. One of the main reasons Ichi never liked to wander the manor all on his own was because he didn't want to run into his father and receive yet another lecture on why he should be studying instead of playing around.

Running around the mansion was also forbidden, unless their mother was there to join them, seeing as how their father never got angry with their mother's shenanigans. She always wanted to act like such a child and do things her own way, which made Ichi admire her; despite what people said about her, she always managed to make her children happy just by being energetic. Usually, the wife of someone from the Suuji Family tended to be as serious as the males, but their mother was someone that seemed so different from what a "perfect" wife for the Suuji Family would be.

Still, that didn't mean she wasn't great. She was a fun person.

But despite her hyperactive nature, Ichi had always noticed that she and Jyushi weren't destructive in the slightest; his mother would always be careful when handling such fragile things. Flower pots, wine glasses, expensive jewelry, and her own sons for example. Even Jyushi was similar in terms of behavior. He would handle kittens with such gentleness, stroke the leaves or petals of a plant as careful as he could, and even when Ichi first handed him Kiiro-kun, he had gently held the toy with both of his hands, before squealing and hugging it as tight as he could. Not tight enough to have Kiiro-kun pop out the cotton, but probably tight enough to pop one of Kiiro-kun's eyes out and make Ichi sew it back again.

They had the potential to be dangerous. With such endless energy, they could have just grabbed the family katana and slayed whoever they wanted. But it was because of their natural kindness that they didn't. Ichi, however, as lax as he was, was destructive himself. It was hard to think that someone like him, someone as careful and as quiet as him, was the most destructive one in their family. Not as much as his father, who had happened to ruined the lives of many people simply existing, murdered his own wife, and was the main reason Jyushi couldn't walk in the first place, but Ichi..

 _I had threatened so many people, Matsuno and Katsuna included. As well as Kodoku.. and poisoning my father is the absolute worst crime I have committed. Why did I even think my own mother was capable of doing something dangerous? Or even Jyushi.. there is no way Jyushi could be dangerous in the slightest. He can't even kill a fly. I can't believe I'm thinking of such things right now. Suspecting my own little brother of being a monster such as my father and I is utterly foolish, he clearly takes after our mother-_

"Ichi!" Ichi snapped out of his thoughts, and realized that he had slowed down. Todo was tapping his foot in irritation with crossed arms, while Osomatsu had his head turned towards him, concerned. "We had to stop, seeing as how you just decided it's the best time to slow down!" Grumbled Todo, before letting out a sigh. It seemed the stress was getting to him too, and Ichi couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. Todo was worried about Kara the same way Ichi was worried about Jyushi. Todo seemed to realize that Ichi didn't seem to be angered by his statement either, because Todo looked down in what seemed to be guilt. "Do.. do you need a break? Can it wait later?"

"No thank you. I'm fine. We should hurry-"

"Are you really?" Osomatsu asked worriedly. Ichi could see that Osomatsu was having trouble breathing. But then again, they were literally running around non-stop. "If.. if you want, you guys can take a break. I'll head on myself-"

"We are not separating! Didn't Lonely say that we should at least have someone with us?! Your phone doesn't count as a person!" Todo interrupted, stomping his foot. "A killer's on the loose, and no way in hell am I letting you go on your own! I'm already worried sick about Kara, and if something happens to you, I'll probably have a heart attack and die on the spot!"

Osomatsu was taken aback by Todo's sudden outburst, but nodded nonetheless. "Alright, alright! It was just a suggestion." Todo still seemed a bit irritated that Osomatsu suggested such a thing, so Osomatsu let out a chuckle and walked over to Todo, before patting his head. "I swear I'm not really gonna do it! And did you actually admit that you cared for me? Aw. I'm flattered, Tater Tot.~"

Todo's face beamed red, but he scoffed. "Shut the fuck up. I'm only nice to you because of the damn syringe."

While they were talking, with Osomatsu occasionally teasing Todo in order to make him less agitated, Ichi decided to reply to Hatabou's incoherent yelling. "Sorry for not answering, Hatabou. What's the status?" He could hear Hatabou murmur curses on the other line. And he wasn't speaking with his verbal tic. "..I take it that there's something bad going on?"

 **"Really bad.. I know Lonely cut off one of our cameras earlier.. but there's something that messed with like, twelve of them already. And it's only increasing.. we already lost signal of Chibita and Chiisana-san and Homura's panicking over it. Fuyu as well, since she lost contact with her husband and Iyami.. something, no, someone is messing with the cameras, Ichi! It seems that Lonely's enemy was smart enough to bring companions with him.."**

"What?!" Todo and Osomatsu turned to Ichi. "It's not just one?!"

 **"Definitely not just one.. well, if Lonely was such a pest to get rid off, I could understand why his enemy decided to just bring lackeys with him. I'd go there to fix the cameras myself, but there are only four of us at the moment.. and very few cameras are working, your's included. Tch. This is getting worse.."**

"..We might need to call backup. Hatabou, this is an order. I want you to call all of the guards at Flag Corporation, Jyushi included. Everyone that is currently doing desk work or selling information, their work is done for today." He didn't really want to resort to bringing all his employees in his old manor. That would attract too much attention. But it seemed as if he didn't have any more options. "I want you to bring in at least twenty of you in there. Probably thirty. Send the guards in here, Jyushi's bodyguards and my bodyguards included. Oh, and make sure they all bring something to smack someone with. And at least one gun."

 **"..Understood. I'll contact them right now. You're lucky I had the backup plan prepared just in case you changed your mind.. and send. I sent it already, so they're probably going to burst in the manor within fifteen minutes. Still, it's not too much of a bad idea to keep looking for- wait, what is that?!"**

"Hatabou?!" Ichi gripped both sides of his head to press his palms against the headphones. "What happened?!"

 **"Tch..! There's something.. there's something interfering with our systems! What the hell is this?! Argh, Homura! Check the systems! What's going on?! Fuyu! Go help Homura!"**

 **"I don't know, sir..! There's some sort of bug?! A virus?! I think someone's trying to break in! Eeeek! We just lost thirty-two of our cameras, sir! Only Sir Ichi's and Jyushi-san's remain!"**

 **"WHAT?! What's going on?!"**

 **"I..I don't really know- KYAAAAA!"**

"Homura?!" Ichi yelled. "Hatabou, what is going on over there?! What happened to Homura?!" When he heard nothing but static, his breath hitched. "Hatabou?! Damn it, this is an order! Answer me right this instant! Hatabou?! Hatabou!" Much to his frustration, the sound of static was his only reply. His mind instantly flickered to a thousand guesses of what could have happened to his childhood friend, his little brother's guardian, and his two co-workers. But instead of panicking over what could have happened to it, he let out a loud scream of frustration. "DAMN IT!"

Startled by Ichi, the eldest Matsuno tried to reach out to him and to calm him down. "Ichi-?!" Osomatsu was cut off by the sound of footsteps clicking against the marble floor. And the sound of cackling, similar to an evil witch that Osomatsu saw from the movies and animes he watched with Choromatsu.

"Nyahahahaha!~ What do we have here, nyan?~ Lost mice, nyaaaa?~ Ahuhuhu!~ Such stupid, stupid mice! I've been looking alllllll over for nyaaaaa! It's not good for my legs, nyaaa.~ But at least I found you.~ I was getting a little bit bored! Oh, if only I was in charge of the magician.~ It would have been more fun, nyaaa.~"

Immediately, Ichi threw away the headphones and got his katana ready. Todo jumped in front of Osomatsu and started to growl like an animal. As for Osomatsu, he took out his phone. Not really the best weapon, but he had grabbed nothing from earlier, similar to Todo. "Who are you?! Show yourself!" He roared.

They were suddenly being approached by a figure, who had stepped out of the dark. The figure was a young woman, probably just as young as Totoko or Homura. She had long pink hair, with a few strands were mint green and sticking to her face while the rest of her hair was tied up by red ribbon to form a ponytail. She was wearing a red polo with a black necktie, a black pencil skirt, pink and mint green stockings, and red boots. She was dragging something across the floor, and much to Osomatsu's relief, it wasn't a dead body. It was just a whip.. well, it wasn't just a whip, but it was certainly better than seeing some cute girl drag a corpse around.

But those teal eyes looked familiar.. yet, they weren't sparkling with life at all. They were dull, similar to Osomatsu's other self, as he remembered after Choromatsu told him the story.

 _Wait, Choromatsu..? Choromatsu, Choromatsu- WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE, THIS GIRL IS..!_

The girl made a smile. "Fuwaaaaaa.~ Such handsome young men, nyan!~ Ah, you all look the same, nyaaa?~ Are you triplets? Or maybe sextuplets?~ I heard that there were six of you with the same face, nyan.~" She giggled, before lashing her whip. Osomatsu could feel shivers up his spine just by hearing that sound. She looked a bit cute, Osomatsu could agree, but with the way she was standing as if she was some sort of devil they had accidentally awoken with their noise, Osomatsu couldn't really find that cute at all.

Todo made sure that Osomatsu was hidden behind him, as he let out a growl similar to an animal's. He wasn't letting someone like her near Osomatsu, cute or not. A girl could be dangerous, and this one was an example of that. Todo knew it would be stupid to underestimate her just for that reason. Especially since he came from a yakuza group that consisted of both males and females."Who the fuck are you."

The girl covered her mouth with her hand. "Nyahahaha!~ I like feisty guys like you, nyaaaan.~ I like your hair too.~ Pink is one of my favorite colors, nyan.~" She pointed her whip at them, similar to how Ichi was pointing his katana at her direction. "Since I like how your hair looks, it wouldn't hurt to tell you my name, nyaaaan?" She giggled. "My name is Ongaku Reika, nyan.~ Oh, but I'll kill you if you call me that!~ Just call me.. Nyaa-chan!~"

 _Oh boy, Choromatsu is going to fucking end my life if I tell him how his idol's doin' in this dimension._


	73. Chapter 73: Absolute Chaos

As the eldest of six, demonic sisters who all shared the same face, but thankfully, not the same fashion sense and hair style, Onnanoko Sokomi had a natural, big-sister instinct, which she was told by her mother that it would develop into a motherly instinct once she gets a boyfriend. As single as she was, Sokomi couldn't help but be happy about the fact that she spent nearly every single day of her life, decorating houses with lovely streamers, and whining with her sisters about their non-existent love lives. So after she finished dancing with the fourth man who had asked her for a dance this evening, she decided to look around the lobby instead of watching Shikomi literally toss a person over the chandelier and have Chikomi catch him and take scores.

And that was when she spotted a familiar-looking boy on the staircase, all alone with legs close to his chest. Even with his face buried on his knees, Sokomi instantly knew how the boy was, with his floppy sleeves and single cowlick. So instead of just ignoring it to go socialize with fellow women who also happened to be single, she decided to hold her dress and carefully climb up the stairs. Not even the sound of her heels clicking against the staircase had caused a reaction out of the lonely boy on the stairs, so once she was finally in front of him, she knelt down to his level.

If it was an older male, she would have just assumed he was a lone-wolf; a man who had no time for such women, but would get smitten by one particularly special girl, and would, for the first time in his life, fall in love and relish in the feelings of having someone to adore. But this one? Judging from his behavior the previous day, he was a complete child. He acted cute, Sokomi would give him that, but she hadn't felt any attraction or even a tiny little crush on this boy. Rather, the moment she saw him cling to the masked gentleman with a few strands of green hair, she felt a sudden urge to protect him, even if he didn't happen to be any of her devilish younger sisters.

So she placed a hand on his shoulder as careful as she could, and when he suddenly brought his head up, she tried her best to not seem intimidating. As far as she was concerned, Sweets happened to be a nineteen-year old boy who had been clinging to Lonely yesterday, and he had still been clinging to him even after the sisters showed up earlier to prepare the food. Hell, even during the introduction earlier, Lonely had decided to suddenly disappear from the staircase and appear beside Sweets and a few of Sweet's supposed friends, offer roses to them, and then disappear. She didn't even notice Sweets getting back to the lobby, and where on earth was Lonely and the other four gentlemen Sweets was with earlier? And no cane? Did they seriously leave a disabled person sitting on the staircase alone?

"Sokomi-san?" He asked, voice soft. Even with the mask covering her face, he knew it was her. Especially since he saw her come in the mansion earlier with that dress on.

Sokomi frowned upon hearing Jyushi's voice. Sweets didn't seem to be the quiet type, so why was he suddenly soft-voiced now? And wait, were those tears? Thankfully, she had her trusty brown purse with her, so she clicked her purse open and dug around her purse for something to dry his tears with. A tissue, a towel, hell, even a hair-dryer would do! Much to her relief, on her purse was her favorite white handkerchief, with the simple design of a red rose. She delicately held the handkerchief and patted it on his cheeks to wipe the tears. "Ah, geez. Why are you crying, Sweets? Are you upset because you can't dance?" Sweets wasn't even able to stand up without anyone helping him, and Sweets seemed to be the kind of guy to want to dance around.. well, if he could walk, that is.

Jyushi shook his head, lightly shoving Sokomi's hand away. "Ah! It's not because of that! I can enjoy parties without dancing, since seeing people happy is enough to make me happy as well." He told her, before putting both of his sleeve-covered hands on his kneecaps and pressing his cheek against them. "I'm just.. worried for my brothers. One of my nii-sans was supposed to stay with me earlier, but after I heard something one of my friends said.. I told him to go look for another one of my nii-sans, since I didn't want him to.. break."

"Break?" Asked Sokomi, raising an eyebrow. She decided to sit next to Jyushi, since she wanted to give such a sweet boy some company. Lonely wouldn't have wanted for him to cry. They obviously cared for one another, and Sokomi felt pain in her chest just by seeing him sad. "And nii-sans? You have many brothers?"

At that question, Jyushi smiled. "Yup! I have four of them, and I love them all very much! They're all so nice to me too!" He giggled, putting up four fingers, which were hidden by his sleeves. Sokomi's look of surprise made him want to keep talking about them even more. "First, we have Ichi-niisan! He's the serious one of my brothers, and he has purple eyes and he wears glasses! He likes chicken wings a bit too much, and he made my Kiiro-kun! Kiiro-kun is my stuffed cat! Ah, he always says that no matter what, we'll always be together, and he won't let anything hurt me!" Jyushi smiled, remembering every single time Ichi told him those words. He would hear Ichi murmur them every time he tucked him in, and Jyushi couldn't help but chuckle at his brother's protectiveness towards him.

 _Heehee! That's my nii-san for you! He can be cheesy at times!_

Sokomi let out a laugh. "How cute! He really cares for you a lot." She wondered if that was how her younger sisters felt whenever she got melancholic with them. She hoped not; she didn't really want to come off as cheesy. And to her own sisters, no less! "But how about the others? Do you pick favorites between them?" She was rather curious about Jyushi's older brothers. It must be nice, she thought. She was the eldest, so she had no idea how it felt to have older siblings looking after her.

Jyushi waved his sleeves around. "Nope! I love them all equally!" It was the truth! Even if he only met Osomatsu, Kara, and Todo days ago, he loved them as much as he loved Ichi, who was his biological brother. Even if they were only brothers in Osomatsu's dimension, he could feel such a warm aura radiating from them. And he liked the fuzzy feeling it gave him! "There's Kara-niisan! His eyes are blue, and he's the patient one out of all of us! He also seems to be the parent-type, and he's a peacemaker! Also, he gives us advice and chased one of my nii-sans down the road, who was chasing down a car!" What a fond memory, even if Osomatsu, Kara, and Todo nearly gotten ran over that time.

Sokomi doesn't seem to be as happy as Jyushi does. The thought of someone chasing down a car was somewhat silly, but she believed she heard people gossip about a pink-haired maniac chasing down a car, and tripping over a pile of snow. She wondered if that maniac was related to this sweet boy she was talking to. "Is that so? Hmm, and who is this brother of your's that chased down a car?"

"Oh, that's Todo-niisan!" Jyushi giggles yet again. Sokomi was almost envious on how many times Jyushi has giggled, and he could have been mistaken for a girl if his voice was an itty-bit higher in pitch. Damn, even Jyushi could be more ladylike than them? Sokomi made a mental note to take pointers from this young man. "But one of my nii-sans call him 'edgy'! He likes leather, and the color black! Ah, but his eyes and his hair are pink!" As Sokomi expected, Jyushi was related to the same maniac the city was gossiping about days ago. "..He tries so hard to be scary. But.. he's really nice, deep down. He gave me his jacket when I forgot mine."

Oh wow. Now Sokomi felt really, really sappy now. If her sisters were here, by god, she would hug the ever-living shit out of them. "..Your brothers are really sweet."

Jyushi nodded. "They really are, yup! And then there's my Osomatsu-niisan!" The eldest brother from the other dimension, Jyushi would have added if it didn't sound so weird. "He's fun! He eats a lot, teases Todo-niisan a lot, and he makes sure the mood isn't too gloomy!" Everything about Osomatsu was just so brotherly. He was aloof, definitely lazy with a grin to match, but still.. "Out of all my nii-sans, I'm sure he suffers the most. From anxiety, I mean." Jyushi wasn't as stupid as people thought he was. He was observant, and every little detail, he could remember. "He's the nii-san I'm worried about. He's the nii-san.. that I fear would break."

 _Well, our chat just turned darker, didn't it? Still.. Sweets is such a sweet kid. Telling me all of these, even if I don't know his real name._

Speaking of which.. "Hey, Sweets."

Jyushi looked at her. "Yes, Sokomi-san?"

See? He knew her name, but she didn't. This was so unfair to Sokomi; Sokomi would at least like to remember the name of the boy that made her appreciate her sisters a little bit more. "Well.. I was wondering about your name. Your real name. I know that your friend, Mr. Lonely, calls you Sweets, but.." She sighed. "That's not your real name, isn't it?"

He shook his head. As expected.

"Well? What is it?"

"My name is-"

The doors were then slammed open. Instantly, the music being played by Rokomi and Dokomi stopped, and the people stopped dancing as they fearfully turned to the people at the door. Sokomi stood up to have a better view, and by the looks of it, it seemed like there was a SWAT Team. But for what cause?! This was a party, for god's sake! And then she spotted a small logo on their uniforms.

 _Flag Corporation?!_

"..Looks like nothing is going on. Just a party. But the president just ordered backup, didn't he?" Sokomi heard their supposed leader mutter. "He's deep in the halls. He won't order backup for nothing." Eyeing at the people with a deadly glare, he snarled at them. "Move out of the way. We're doing important business."

As they marched inside, the people fearfully started whispering to one another, wondering why such a lovely party had been disrupted. Sokomi, who was still on the staircase with Jyushi, let out a scoff. "It's Flag Corporation again!" She hissed under her breath. Jyushi's head snapped to her. "That damn company.. that company is the main reason why Akatsuka is like this! Slowly falling apart.. and your friend put this party up so that people could forget about their problems.. and now that damn company is here!" She huffed. "Despicable! I hate that damn company so much! I hate them, their employees, and everything they stand for!"

Upon hearing those words, Jyushi suddenly felt pain on his chest. While he didn't know why Ichi's most trusted team of bodyguards was here either, he was more confused on why was Sokomi saying such things about the company his brother owned.. a company that Jyushi considered his family. "Sokomi-san.. what..?"

"Flag Corporation! Everyone hates them!" Sokomi curled her hands into fists. "But seeing as how you're a sweet, naive little kid, you might not know.. Flag Corporation sells information about people! Usually rich bastards can get a hold of the info.. meaning that only people with money can terrorize over the weak and poor here at Akatsuka City!" She saw as her five little sisters band together in one corner out of fear. She clicked her tongue. "With the information, a lot of crime can be committed! Kidnappings, murder, blackmail.. you name it! And that damn company is still.."

When they climbed up the stairs, Sokomi knew it was time to shut her mouth, grab Jyushi's hand, and help him get down from the stairs before any of the goons at Flag Corporation could scowl at them. But before she even had time to reach out to her friend's hand, their leader paused upon seeing her and Jyushi. "S-sir?! Sir Suuji, why are you here?!"

Sokomi's eyes widened.

 _"Sir Suuji"..? As in.. "Suuji", the owner of.. Flag Corporation..?_

Then she saw, on the corner of her eye, Jyushi reacting to the other's voice. Even the other guards snapped their head towards Sokomi's direction once they heard his name. "Ken-san.." Jyushi murmured. "No, don't ask me why I'm here. Instead, why are you here? I doubt Lonely told me any plans of you arriving here.." He covered his mouth with his sleeve. He didn't want to sound harsh, and he truly couldn't hate Ken-san or his other bodyguards for being here. But there was something in Jyushi's chest, that just knew that if they didn't arrive, he wouldn't have had heard such hurtful words from his new friend.

"Your brother called backup, sir. Something's happened at the church.. and apparently, there's somethin' funny going on in this mansion right now." Ken-san informed him, straightening out. Sokomi couldn't understand why a goon from Flag Corporation was giving away information to Sweets, unless..

"You.. you're Suuji? As in.. the owner of Flag Corporation?!"

There were gasps in the room. But Jyushi didn't dare to look at her. Instead, he looked down, on his own lap. How could he have hopelessly thought he could make a friend.. after not saying who he truly was? He was part of Flag Corporation.. and Jyushi knew he realized it too late why people wouldn't befriend him. "..No. I do not own Flag Corporation. That is my older brother. I, however.." His voice seemed to have gotten a bit deeper, a bit more serious. "Am Suuji Jyushi, the younger brother of Suuji Ichi, president of Flag Corporation, as well as Flag Corporation's last resort and ultimate database."

 _Last resort..? Database? What-_

"Sir, there seems to be somethin' fishy going on in the mansion.." Ken-san meekly told him. If he got one word wrong and accidentally upset Jyushi, Ichi would definitely have his head. "Should we evacuate-"

"I am the bait. If I were to leave this building, think about how the plan would fail immensely." Jyushi interrupted seriously. When Sokomi and Ken-san looked into his eyes, they were dark and empty. "They would only hurt the people involved with the plan, as well as ultimately kill me once all the pieces of the game are gone. If that seems to be the case, I should stay in the manor, no matter what. My brother is currently looking for Lonely as we speak, and I suggest looking for him rather than staying here to protect me." With that being said, his voice suddenly went back to normal. "Y-You should all just look for nii-san and help him.."

"Sir, our job is to protect you-"

"Your main job is to protect my nii-san too! It's not just about me, it's about my older brother!" Cried Jyushi, tears streaming from his cheeks. "Why.. why are you all protecting me?! I'm literally a bait to this plan, just so we can get rid of some criminal! So stop it! It's pointless trying so hard to protect me, when my role in this play is to basically.." As he tried hard to look for the words, Sokomi and Ken-san, as well as the rest of the guards who had marched in, noticed the lights suddenly starting to dim.

"Sir?!"

It.. it was impossible that Jyushi was causing all of this.. right?! Sokomi didn't even know anything anymore! "Sweets?!"

"My job is to basically die!"

At those words, the lights all went out. People screamed as they started to run around frantically, bumping into one another, and Sokomi could swear she heard all her little sisters shriek in unison. While she wanted nothing more than to trip down the stairs and grope around on the dark to find her sisters, she tried to look for Jyushi. "Sweets?! Sweets?! Oh my god, where are you?!"

Ken-san, seemingly leader of the entire SWAT team, was now barking orders. Even in the dark, Flag Corporation finds a way to make things absolutely worse, Sokomi thought bitterly. "Our priority is protecting Suuji Jyushi! I repeat, our priority is protecting Suuji Jyushi! You bastards get your asses up in here!" And by bastards, he was probably referring to the other guards that accompanied him.

As Sokomi tried to look for Jyushi without accidentally falling off the stairs, she swore she saw something from the corner of her eye. When she turned around, she saw a girl in a hot pink dress on the top of the staircase, and she was somewhat glowing a gold aura as if she was some sort of holy being. Sokomi could see that she had brown hair due to the light, but she was holding something in front of her that prevented Sokomi from fully analyzing her face.

She had Jyushi by his neck, locking him with her left arm. Her right hand was also placed on his eyes, preventing Jyushi from seeing anything in front of him. Before Sokomi could run upstairs and reach out for Jyushi, she saw the girl's sparkly brown eyes suddenly lose their light, appearing dull and lifeless. The girl smirked, and the golden light around her suddenly faded, leaving Sokomi and everyone else in the lobby in nothing but darkness.

When the lights went back on, the people stopped panicking and the guards stopped running around aimlessly and looking for something that wasn't there. Ken-san grumbled about how the lights were glitching out and were probably unstable, but his eyes suddenly focused on something lying on the staircase. Or rather, he found two things on the staircase.

A discarded mask, and a yellow plaid scarf.


	74. Chapter 74: The Seventh Me

How does one even stab a person with a whip? That was what Ichi was contemplating about as he and Todo teamed up against Nyaa-chan, whereas Todo had ordered Osomatsu to hide to a safer place. Osomatsu had argued with Todo that he could fend for himself, but after feeling a burning feeling on his shoulder, it didn't take Osomatsu long enough to realize that Todo's glare was so intense, it set his shoulder on fire. So Osomatsu (hopefully) hid himself somewhere safe and contacted his brothers from the other dimension to at least send something to help them.

 _So here we are now; two senseless shitbags trying to take down some crazy cat-lady with a whip._

In all honesty, Ichi hated cats. He hated animals in general, unless they were.. well, his meal for the day, naturally. It was Jyushi who liked cats, and the only reason Ichi ever bothered making Kiiro-kun in the first place, as well as getting cat-themed items such as clothes and other sorts of stuff was because he knew Jyushi liked cats. But since Jyushi wasn't around, Ichi could gladly let his hatred of felines show without a care in the world. Well, for now, at least. If Jyushi found out he hated cats, god knows how Jyushi would react to such a thing.

But there was another thing that Ichi hated about Nyaa-chan, besides the fact that she was pretty much the embodiment of everything he hated; it was that she couldn't keep still. Every single time he swung his katana at her, she'd jump so high and lash out her whip at him, which he managed to thankfully dodge every time. Todo was the same; whenever he tried to send a punch or kick at her, she'd dodge and try to smack him with her whip. In a way, no one was winning right now. But only Nyaa-chan was enjoying it, thinking of it as nothing more than child's play.

That, or she was insane enough to think she was actually a cat. And Todo and Ichi were her prey; the mice. "Nyahahahaha! This is fun!" She cackled, whipping her lash again. This time, she seemed to be focused on Todo rather than Ichi. "I hadn't had this much fun in a while, nyan!~ Ahuhuhu, I do hope this lasts for a long, loooooooong time, nya!"

Todo wasn't planning on engaging her with any small talk; his senses were telling him that she was a large threat. Maybe even as big as Atsushi, who had a gun and tried to shoot at him. Damn, it wasn't a good idea getting too hostile when fighting; adrenaline works against a person, and Todo could immediately feel the surge of energy coursing through his veins. But it wasn't telling him to go send another kick at Nyaa-chan, oh no. It was telling him to do everything he could to survive, whether it was to throw her outside or to simply grab Ichi and Osomatsu and run. Could a whip even kill him? Todo didn't know, but he certainly didn't want to find out.

Not when his best friend was still alive. He still had to protect him. Todo took a deep breath, ignoring the gross feeling of having his pink hair stick against his sweaty skin. "Ichi!"

Immediately, the purple-eyed male snapped to Todo's direction, as well as Nyaa-chan. They were on opposite sides, with Nyaa-chan being in the middle. Even if it was two against one, Nyaa-chan was incredibly strong all on her own. "Katsuna?!"

With Nyaa-chan focusing on Ichi after Todo had yelled at him, the pink-eyed male used it as distraction to send a kick towards Nyaa-chan. She shrieked and dropped her whip as she slid to the other end of the hallway, and Ichi was quick to move away and to avoid having a cat-girl thrown at him. As Todo walked next to him, he noticed a slightly red mark on his cheek, just above the cut he gave him days ago. Did he get hit with the whip? Wait, when had he removed the plaster? The cut was a bit darker than Todo's skin, but it wasn't too deep at least.

"Sorry, but I had to distract her somehow.." Todo murmured, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Ichi scowled, adjusting his glasses. "You could have just gestured for me to distract her or something.. geez, I thought there was something else-"

Ichi was cut off by the sound of hissing. Oh my god, was Nyaa-chan an actual cat?! "Nyaaaaa.. you'll regret that, nyan!" Nyaa-chan jumped back to her feet, though her hair was a bit messy, with a few strands popping all over the place. Todo grabbed Ichi's wrist and pulled him back as Nyaa-chan pounced from her spot to where Ichi was standing earlier. She grabbed her whip from the floor and pulled her arm back. Ichi could see that her eyes were now darker than they were before. "That hurts, nyan!"

Todo let go of Ichi's wrist and started sprinting towards Nyaa-chan, his fist ready to throw a punch. As Nyaa-chan lashed her whip, Todo grabbed a nearby vase and threw it at her. But instead of managing to hit her, she used her whip to smash the vase into pieces. "Fuck-" Nyaa-chan used her free hand to grab Todo by the neck and pin him against the wall, choking him. "Ack!"

"Katsuna!"

Nyaa-chan turned to face him, an evil smirk on her face, pointing her whip at Ichi. She wasn't planning on letting go of Todo, it seemed. "Move one inch, and I'll choke him, nyan!~" She said with such a sickly sweet voice. "And you don't want him to die, do you, nyan?~ It'd be a shame! He's quite good at fighting, and not to mention.." A catty grin made it's way to her face. "Doesn't he have a friend to protect, nyan?~ Aw, he's just like you!~" She cooed playfully, tightening her grip on Todo's neck, which only made the pink-haired male gasp for air. "You both are the same, nyan! You protect your baby brother, he protects his best friend! Mm, if you were in his place right now.." Again, she tightened her grip on his neck, her sharp nails pressing against Todo's skin. If Todo could scream, he probably would have already. "Who knows? Maybe he'll just watch you die? Or will he make a reckless move, and kill you both? Ahuhuhuhu.~ The possibilities are endless, nyan!~"

Ichi clicked his tongue, watching as Todo kicked his legs and tried to pry Nyaa-chan's hand off his neck. But she had an iron grip, and oh god, Todo is turning blue, his kicks were getting weaker, but if Ichi moved, she could crush Todo's neck-

And then, all of a sudden, a flower pot was hurled at Nyaa-chan, the pot shattering and dirt flying everywhere, as well as letting go of Todo's neck. "Kyaaaa!" She landed on the floor with a thud, before sitting up and trying to get the dirt off her, as well as the shards of the broken flower pot. "Ick! This is so disgusting, nyan!" She stuck her tongue out in a disgusted fashion as Todo slumped against the wall, eyes half-lidded.

"TODO!" Ichi saw Osomatsu come out of wherever he decided to hide, and run towards Todo, holding him by his head. On Osomatsu's hand was his phone, which seemed to be flickering between black and white. But Ichi was more focused on Todo, whose eyes were shut as he tried to regulate his breathing. Ichi could also see the marks on Todo's neck, thanks to Nyaa-chan's sharp nails. "Oh my god, are you okay?!"

"Peachy.." Todo choked out, before coughing. At least he had the decency to cover his mouth with his hand instead of just coughing on Osomatsu. "But I'm fine." Osomatsu wasn't believing in any of Todo's bullshit, especially since he just got choked. At least he cracked an eye open, and even though he didn't seem to be ready to fight again, Osomatsu was glad that Nyaa-chan didn't crush his neck. "Hey. Where'd you get the flower pot, Osomatsu?"

"Oh. I was hiding, yeah? It was hiding with me. The plant was dead, so I decided that throwing it was better than trying to bring it to life again." Osomatsu grinned, trying to lighten up the situation, for him, for Todo, and for Ichi. Both of his little brothers looked absolutely tired and even a bit scared, and as the eldest, Osomatsu was supposed to calm them down, right? "Never mind that. I just texted Fappymatsu, and man, he was so excited to hear that his pink-haired idol was in this dimension! Not you, Todo." He felt Todo lightly smack him on the side. That was a good sign, he thought to himself; Todo wasn't weak enough to not retaliate from any of Osomatsu's teasing. "But he says he's gonna send another application soon. Something to help us."

"That's good." Breathed Ichi. Even though he wasn't completely sure about the abilities of Osomatsu's phone, he knew that small device was the same reason their computers got hacked days ago. And for some reason, seeing a crazy cat-lady like Nyaa-chan grab Todo and choke him against the wall.. it somewhat scared him. And he didn't know why.

Nyaa-chan wasn't having any of this. "It's rude to ignore a lady, nyan." She growled, dusting her clothes. Of course, the stains of the soil remained, not that she cared. "And it's more rude to throw a flower pot at someone."

Ichi got his katana ready, pointing his katana at her direction. He heard Todo try to stand up, only to be shushed by Osomatsu that he couldn't participate in a fight for awhile, especially since he nearly died from the lack of oxygen. "We asked for your name already, Ongaku Reika. And correct me if I happen to be wrong, but as president of Flag Corporation, I think I remembered a bit of info from your file." Not as much as Jyushi, but Ichi at least remembered one piece of trivia for every person in Akatsuka. Like Todo being a silly drunk, or Kara being skilled in a variety of skills. "And if I remembered correctly.. according to your file, you disappeared. Five years ago, correct? That was when your file stopped being updated."

At that statement, Nyaa-chan visibly flinched, before scrunching her nose. "Nya? Now you're just being stupid, nyan."

 _No, I'm just being an asshole. A pretty smart asshole, if you will._

Ichi adjusted his glasses, which were now obscuring his eyes. His brother may have memorized every single piece of information that were on every person's file, but as president, he memorized their basic information. "Oh really? Ongaku Reika, currently twenty-four years old. You studied at Akatsuka Elementary and graduated from Akatsuka High, and you planned to pursue a career in the music industry. However, your plans were ruined upon hearing about the death of your parents, who both died during a car crash." With a scowl, he slightly turned behind him, eyeing at Todo and Osomatsu. "..It may not matter much, but Katsuna. If it matters to you, then Ongaku's parents were involved with the car crash that lead to the death of Kyabarie's parents."

Nyaa-chan's eyes widened and Todo's eyes snapped open. "What?!" Though his voice was a bit raspy, he tried his best to force his voice out. "Kara's.. auntie and uncle did die in a car accident, but are you sure it's the same-?!"

"It's the same, one-hundred percent. Once we see Jyushi, feel free to ask him for confirmation if you seem to doubt me." The purple-eyed male interrupted. "It was such a tragedy, was it not? Both parties died, didn't they?" Ichi closed his eyes, sighing. "Kyabarie's parents were coming home from a trip, while Ongaku's parents were on their way to visiting a friend. Ah, but it was a dark, stormy night.. and we have nothing to blame but Mother Nature for that. And the day before your nineteenth birthday, you seemingly vanished without a trace. Everything from your apartment vanished, and your school files.. gone." He opened his eyes, glaring at the girl in front of him. "Which begs the question.. how did you end up here? And with a whip, no less?"

"I was taken in." Nyaa-chan growled. "By a friendly man. He said he was an old friend of mommy and daddy's, so I-"

"You were nineteen when you disappeared, Ongaku." Ichi let out a sigh. "..I do admit that my brother is childish for a nineteen-year old himself, but I am pretty sure that anyone with perfectly functioning brains would find a supposed 'friend' of your dead parents seem suspicious. My brother included.. hence why the only family friend we have is Hatabou and Dekapan." He clicked his tongue. "..This may also explain why your behavior seems to go against your file."

"And why is that?" Now Nyaa-chan was walking closer to them, the sound of her boots clicking against the floor. Osomatsu kept his hold on Todo tighter, but Ichi remained unfazed.

"I doubt your file stated anything about you liking cats at all." Ichi pointed out. It was a stupid reason, sure, but Ichi was sure his instincts were right. "And I won't blame you for hating cats at all! Cats are awful. But when you were younger, you got into an accident involving a tiger scaring the ever-living shit out of you when you and your parents visited a zoo. While I find that rather amusing, I'm pretty sure most of your classmates remembered you as the girl who absolutely loathed cats with a passion."

 _...Did I get it right? If not, I just looked like an idiot for no reason. And in front of Matsuno and Katsuna, no less._

But seeing her grit her teeth, pull her arm back, and prepare to lash out her whip? Yeah, Ichi knew he had pushed some buttons. And probably triggered pretty bad memories.

 _I'm the absolute worse. I guess I really am no different from my father._

"Shut up!" She hissed, lashing her whip, before running towards Ichi. Ichi put his katana in front of him in a defensive stance, preparing to block out any of her upcoming attacks. "What do you know about me?! You don't even know the suffering your own brother goes through!"

At those words, Ichi's defenses suddenly lowered. "What?!"

"Don't you know?! You really are a shitty older brother! Your brother feels as if you only take care of him because you feel bad for him! You're the absolute worst! You know your brother already feels bad about himself because of everything your dad has put him through, but for once in your life, did you ever let him help you?! With every single workload, with every single injury you got.. you always hid it from him, claiming that you didn't want him to worry about you!" She jumped and prepared to whip Ichi, now that she caught his attention. "But you know how it felt to him?! You made him feel as if he couldn't do anything to help you, his beloved older brother!"

Osomatsu and Todo watched in horror as Nyaa-chan prepared to strike Ichi, who had now dropped his katana and was blankly looking into nothingness. "Ichi-!"

 _Is.. is that true?! Then, all this time.. I've been-!_

His thoughts were cut off when he saw a small, golden sphere on Nyaa-chan's chest. And all of a sudden, Nyaa-chan fell to the floor, unconscious. And the small ball of light on her chest instantly vanished.

 _What?! How-_

"Ichi!" Osomatsu ran over to Ichi, helping Todo walk. "She didn't hit you, did she?! Oh my god, what happened to her?! You didn't even touch her! Is she dead?! Did I literally just witness you commit murder?!"

"Not really, no."

Ichi instantly whirled and pointed his katana at the source of the voice. Even with Nyaa-chan unconscious, they still couldn't be sure if she was the only lackey that Lonely's enemy had with her. When they heard the sound of footsteps, probably belonging to more than one individual, Ichi gritted his teeth, Todo made a fighting stance despite his tiredness, and Osomatsu prepared his phone just in case. But as the figure got closer, they could see a familiar-looking masked man made it's way out of the dark.

"LONELY?!"

And alas, it really was Lonely. His mask was still on his face and his cape was torn, but he looked relieved upon seeing them. He immediately ran towards the group, and much to Ichi's surprise, he hugged Osomatsu upon seeing him. It shocked the eldest Matsuno as well, but instead of pushing him away, he returned the hug.

 _Lonely.. was he really worried for us? Is that why he fought Jiguzou himself?_

"Matsuno! You're okay.. and Katsuna and Suuji as well! I sincerely thank the gods above for protecting you.." He then spotted the unconscious Nyaa-chan on the floor, and he immediately pulled away from Osomatsu upon seeing her. The eldest Matsuno expected him to fawn over her in a manner similar to Choromatsu's, but instead, he made a frown. "..Was this girl also an accomplice of the enemy? Such a shame.. oh, and what are those horrendous colors clashing together? She looks rather pretty, but I fear that those stockings do not do her top any justice. And what is the color of her hair? Strawberry pink and mint green? Is she trying to imitate an ice-cream flavor of some sort? What a horrible, horrible sense of fashion."

 _Speak for yourself, Lonely. You pompous ass._

Todo thankfully managed to feel better upon seeing Lonely. Maybe it was because he had the urge to call him out for being a hypocrite, no one knew. "How'd you get here?! No, wait, scratch that.. how the fuck did you survive a maniac with a chainsaw?! And what the fuck happened to you?!" If Lonely thought he still looked like a classy pompous twat, he better get prepared; similar to Todo and Ichi, he was drenched in sweat. There was also a gross smell emitting from him, but Todo didn't dare to ask what the hell it was. Was it the scent of Lonely's sweat mixing with his perfume?! Absolutely disgusting! "You're sweating like hell!"

"Ahhh, about that.." Lonely rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Oh! Before we discuss such things, there is someone I want for you all to meet! Owl, please do come out of the dark now!"

 _..Owl?_

Another figure came out of the dark, but instead of looking like a mess that would rival Lonely and Todo, he looked as if he just woke up from a nap. His black sneakers were untied, a red turtleneck was popping out of his black hoodie, there was a bit of questionable liquid on the side of his black jeans, and his left hand was stuffed in his pocket. However, his right hand was holding a delicate-looking rose. But his facial features were the ones to be questioned; he had hair similar to Osomatsu and Kara, even having the two cowlicks to be mistaken for either of them. There were bags underneath his red eyes, which seemed to be wide-open, literally giving everyone the impression he was an actual owl in disguise.

But Ichi and Todo had the same reaction. "O-OSOMATSU?! TWO OF THEM?!"

A switch went off in Osomatsu's head, and his black eyes made contact with his doppelganger's bloody red eyes. "You.. you're the..!"

"..Hello.." The other him spoke up, voice soft and somewhat raspy. "My name.. is Matsuno Osomatsu.. but.. feel free.. to call me Oso.. or Owl.. I don't really care what you call me.. just as long as you... don't confuse me.. with him.." He extended a hand towards the paralyzed Osomatsu, but to Oso, it didn't seem weird at all, encountering another person who shared the same face and name as him. "It's nice.. to finally meet... the other me.."

If there was anything that could make this night worse, Osomatsu swore he'd just jump out the window. He really needed a long nap after this night was over.


	75. Chapter 75: The Discourse

To meet the other him felt as if he had just looked at a mirror, and his reflection decided to leave the mirror to approach him. Osomatsu could see the differences between him and Oso; The bags under Oso's eyes were darker than Osomatsu, almost as if he hadn't slept in ten years straight. Besides that, his hair was a bit messy, his eyes were red and dull, and he wasn't wearing a formal attire like the rest of them. While the latter was understandable, Osomatsu still couldn't believe that the other him was standing across him, holding a red rose and looking like an actual fucking owl. Now all he needed was a bloody knife, then Oso could actually look scarier than he already was.

 _The nickname makes sense, at least. "Owl", huh? At least Lonely didn't mistake me for him.. or did he?_

"You.." Osomatsu managed to let out, even in his state of shock. Ichi looked ready to pierce his katana through Oso if he got hostile, and Todo, though pained, was trying his best to look intimidating. Lonely was the only one who didn't seem to be getting what was going on, and then again, out of all the alternate brothers, he was the only one who was still unaware of Osomatsu's identity. Todo and Kara knew, and so did the Suuji Brothers, but those two had yet to be injected. This one too, Osomatsu reminded himself. He needed to inject him too before he could get home. "You're the-"

He was cut off when the rose Oso was holding suddenly glowed a bright golden light. A small golden sphere once again appeared on Nyaa-chan's chest, before the sphere suddenly flew over to Oso like a firefly. Oso stared at the sphere for a moment, before holding out the rose towards it. As soon as the rose's petals touched the small ball of light, it vanished, almost as if the light had been absorbed. "There.." He mumbled under his breath. He was either fascinated by the rose, or just fascinated by the light from it. Either way, it seemed as if his face lit up the moment the small ball of light was absorbed. "We got.. the puppet.. and this girl.. there's still.. some left.."

Lonely clapped his hands together, smiling. He was literally the only person in this area who didn't seem to be freaked out at two Osomatsus in the same place. "Wonderful! We can finish your job, just as long as you stick around to help us, as you promised!" He fixed his mask for a moment. "Now, let us continue with the-

"Hold on a fucking minute!" Lonely frowned upon being interrupted by Todo, who was somehow still able to shout, despite the fact that he had been choked earlier and was still in pain. "We can't just continue what we're doing without questioning this! Where the fuck did you find him?!" He pointed a finger at Oso, who was unfazed by Todo's outburst. "The original plan had already backfired seeing as how your little magic trick separated us from each other, something is messing with the cameras and god knows what happened to the guys at the church! We were worried about you getting your head chopped off, and when we see you after I nearly get choked to death by some crazy bitch, you pull that guy out of nowhere?! What the hell, Lonely?!"

Ichi crossed his arms, scowling. "I agree with Katsuna. We didn't even know your enemy had bought acquaintances with him.. and surely, we cannot leave this girl right here. Even if she did try to kill us and she's passed out for some unknown reason, leaving someone sleeping in a hallway is never a good idea. What if she wakes up and finds us again? She's stronger than she looks, and she was able to take on Katsuna and I all by herself. Do you think we can put her somewhere?"

Lonely shrugged. "I doubt she is going to be a threat after this. Isn't that what you said, Owl?"

Oso nodded, turning the rose by sliding his index finger and thumb over the stem. "She's not.. dangerous.. anymore.. since.. she's free now.. so.. if she.. wakes up.. she won't.. hurt anyone.. anymore.." He didn't look up at them as he spoke, only focusing on the rose. That was, until he looked up at Osomatsu, still not blinking. His features seemed to relax a bit, before he let out a sigh, finally closing his eyes. "Let's go.. I can sense.. there's still.. three.. more people.. that remain.. in the.. same state.. as she had been.. earlier.."

The green magician tapped on his own cheek in thought. "Three? Does that count the maniac himself?" Asked Lonely, leaving the devil trio to wonder what they were talking about. Oso nodded at Lonely's question, and Lonely replied with a relieved sigh, before smiling brightly once again. His face was honestly getting on Ichi's nerves, and if Lonely wasn't so vital to this mission, he would have stabbed him already. "That is a relief! Only two more lackeys, and then we face the mastermind himself! Soon, we will end this horrendous party of ours! And we will have absolutely nothing to worry about anymore! Now, shall we head on our merry way-"

"You still haven't told us where you found him!" Todo interrupted again. A vein now appeared on Lonely's forehead, which should have been enough proof that he didn't like being interrupted. Oso wasn't as irritated as he was, however. He focused on the rose on his hand again. "Do you not see what is wrong here?! There are two Osomatsus! Aren't you even questioning that in the slightest?! How about the phone call from last night?! The other Jyushi, the other me, the other you! Aren't you questioning those things at all?!"

Lonely clicked his tongue in annoyance. "You really do get on my nerves, Katsuna Todo.."

Before any of them could initiate a fight, Osomatsu placed a hand on Todo's shoulder to calm him down. "I have so many questions, but.. Lonely, you better answer every single one of them later." Thankfully, Lonely seemed thankful that Osomatsu wasn't going to pelt him with questions, unlike Todo. "For now.. let's ignore the fact that.." Okay, how was he going to refer to Oso? As Osomatsu, as Oso, or as Owl? The fact that Oso was now looking at him with those scary eyes wasn't helping. "..Other me. Alright. Let's ignore the fact that other me right here is literally another me, 'kay? Let's just say he's another doppelganger; the seventh me, okay?" That sounded absolutely idiotic, but hell, who cares? He wasn't the legendary idiot for nothing.

Still. That didn't help the fact that Osomatsu was feeling a surge of emotions going through him. How was he supposed to react to this? Angry? Upset? Shocked? He didn't know. A part of him wanted to feel angry at Oso, as he was the one who had teamed up with Kamimatsu in order to separate him from his brothers. Another part of him didn't want to be angry though. That certain part of him felt.. something, whatever the hell it was. He felt something towards the other him, and it wasn't fear, even if the other looked absolutely creepy.

He didn't even realize he had been staring at Oso, until his doppelganger suddenly spoke up with a voice similar to a robots; monotone and soft. "Is there.. something.. on my face..?" He tilted his head as his eyes softened.

"A-ah, no. Nothing at all." Osomatsu waved his hands dismissively. Oso blinked, before turning back to focus on the rose. He either loved the rose so much, or he was an itty-bit disappointed that his interaction with Osomatsu didn't last longer. Osomatsu was sure there was a tint of sadness on Oso's eyes when Osomatsu dismissed his staring as "nothing at all".

 _..He doesn't seem to be a threat, though. He's more like.. a quiet version of me? A kiddish version of me? What even is he? He's pretty quiet.. well, for someone that is basically an alternate version of me, you'd think he'd be a bit more.. charismatic? Then again, Todo and Choro are both really different from Todomatsu and Choromatsu.._

"Alright, since you three are here, I guess it will be easier to handle my bastard of an enemy. Hm, Owl? Are you coming with us? Or are you going all alone to.. well, do your job all on your own?" He turned to the other Osomatsu. "I think it would be better if we were to stick together, seeing as how we are all going to the same place."

The other Matsuno shrugged. "It... depends.. on the.. situation.." He once again glanced at the rose. Osomatsu wasn't sure if he was just seeing things, but he could swear he could see small yellow particles circling around the rose. "I still.. need.. more of.. 'those'.. to.."

 _Wait.. what does he need? And what for?_

"Osomatsu-niisan?! Todo?! Everyone, where are you?!"

Everyone's heads snapped towards the other end of the hallway, where they could hear someone walking towards them. However, the voice and footsteps weren't anything to be feared. If anything, it was something to be concerned about. Oso still didn't seem fazed by the loudness, compared to Osomatsu and Ichi who slightly jumped, as well as Lonely. Todo, however, instantly reacted to the voice by yelling as well, despite how much his throat hurt from Nyaa-chan choking him earlier.

"KARA?!"

"T-Todo?!" Not even ten seconds later, Kara had appeared from the dark hallway, looking sweaty and drained from energy, but still managed to have enough energy to run. Upon seeing the dark marks on Todo's neck, he ran towards his best friend and instantly hugged him. "Oh my god, what happened to you?! Did someone squeeze your neck or something?! Are you alright?! Do I need to carry you to a hospital?! I'll jump out the window if I have to, Todo! So tell me if you're fine!"

Todo didn't pull away from the hug, and instead, just let Kara fuss over him. He was honestly glad that Kara was okay. He had been worrying about nothing all night, hadn't he? At least Kara seemed normal, fussing over shit like him as he usually did. "I'm fine.. are you okay though? Did.. did you get lost?" That was when Kara had pulled away. Todo only noticed how tired and worried Kara looked up-close. "Dude.. you look like hell. Did you run into something on the way here? Didn't we say you were going to the lobby with Jyushi?"

Ichi's grip on his katana seemingly tightened, though Lonely was the only person in the group to notice. "Jyushi?"

"About that.." He looked down in shame. "I.. I deeply apologize for going against the plan. I really am sorry. But as soon as Jyushi woke up and after Homura-san informed me about the files that Ichi had asked to be delivered.. well, Jyushi and I listened to the name of the criminal we're after, yes? But then again.. remember that Jyushi can instantly remember anything he reads? And all of the files at Flag Corporation are basically in his head?"

Everyone nodded, except Oso and Lonely. Oso looked unfazed and unimpressed as normal, and Lonely looked rather impressed. "That is an interesting gift." Lonely murmured under his breath. "Sweets is truly an unpredictable person isn't he?"

"Yeah.. and about that, after he heard the name, he basically told me to run after you guys. And.." He finally looked up to make eye contact with Osomatsu. Todo wondered if Kara didn't notice Oso in the back as well, along with Lonely. "That.. I should.. look for Osomatsu-niisan.. because.. his mind would break."

 _What?_

"What in the ever living fuck did you just say..?" Todo raised an eyebrow, almost as if he just heard Kara explain something in a language he couldn't even speak. "You should look for us so Osomatsu's mind wouldn't 'break'? What even is that supposed to mean?" Was Jyushi a poet like Lonely now? Oh dear. That would be worrisome indeed, if Jyushi were to pick up Lonely's painful mannerisms.. no one would have the heart to shut him up!

"He said something.. about limits.." Kara panted. Running and trying to backtrack was harder than it looked. "He said.. a person's mind could only take so much, before a certain something.. maybe a traumatic memory, triggers a person to 'break'.. and he said Osomatsu would suffer if he were to break.. so I had to run all the way here from the lobby, and well, here we are." He was out of breath after explaining everything. Geez, he could have summarized it as something else entirely and saved his poor body from pumping up and down like a dying balloon.

"So basically.." Ichi growled under his breath, his eyes darkening. "You left my little brother.. all alone? In the lobby? Where anyone could possibly hurt him?" His grip on the katana was getting shaky, but everyone in the area could feel the temperature of the room suddenly drop. And it wasn't because of the snow outside, oh no. It was because of how dark Ichi's aura was.

 _Oh fuck._

Todo immediately stood in front of Kara with a defensive stance. He knew he couldn't argue with Ichi about this, seeing as how it was for Jyushi's sake and seemingly for Osomatsu's as well. But no way in hell was he letting Ichi hurt Kara. Never again, not after he watched Ichi slam Kara against the floor. "Oi. Put that down.. if you don't." He bit his lip. "I'll be forced to fight you. Kara didn't do anything wrong, he just-"

"Oh, so are you implying it's Jyushi's fault?!" Ichi snapped. "Huh?! Is that it?! That my little brother, who is the supposed victim of some psychopath, is at fault?! For being left alone at the lobby of the same manor he was abused at?! IS THAT IT, KATSUNA?! THAT MATSUNO'S LIFE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY LITTLE BROTHER'S?!"

"Stop." Oso's voice cut through the air.

Ichi took deep breaths, trying to regulate his breathing after his outburst. Kara had shrunk away out of fear from Ichi, but Todo grasped his wrist as a gesture of comfort. Even Lonely seemed rather terrified of the sudden outburst, and Osomatsu was already aware of how Ichimatsu could react when hysterical, and he was certainly terrified whenever Ichimatsu went full-on rage mode, so it was natural that he was surprised from Ichi's outburst as well. "Other me.." Osomatsu looked at Oso, and much to his surprise, he seemed upset.

 _Wait, why is he upset?_

Oso balled his fists, looking at the ground. Thankfully, his grip didn't cause the stem of the rose to snap, seeing as how he seemed to like the rose. "Fighting.. is not going.. to solve anything.. so stop." He muttered.

"What do you know about this." Ichi growled at Oso. "You're.. the Matsuno Osomatsu of this world, right? I know about you. I read your file. It's your fault that Matsuno, the other one, is here in the first place-"

"Alright, stop it right there, Ichi!" Osomatsu stomped his foot to get Ichi's attention. He couldn't let Ichi finish that sentence, not when the other him was obviously distressed over something. "Don't.. don't talk like that to the other me. And.. he has a point. Fighting's not gonna solve anything. So if you're planning on hurting Kara for leaving Jyushi to protect me.. well, I'm at fault here-"

"No life is more important than the other, Matsuno Osomatsu. Your life is as valuable as Sweets'." Lonely crossed his arms as he spoke up, standing in front of Oso. If Osomatsu wasn't mistaken, that was the same thing Todo did to him or Kara whenever he tried to protect them from something. Was Lonely protecting Oso from Ichi then? There was a bit of irritation across Lonely's face. "I do hate having people interrupt me.. and to think that I interrupted someone while they are talking brings shame to my family on the skies above. However." He raised a finger. "If I were in Karat Cake's place, I would have been torn. I'm sure.. that's what Kyabarie Kara felt as well?"

Kara nodded.

 _But of course. He doesn't seem to be the type of person to just mindlessly leave someone behind._

"But he went with protecting Pine instead. We don't know why.. but he did. And.. I'm glad he did. But before you attempt to stab me, Suuji, let me explain why! The reason why I happen to be glad that Karat Cake went with wanting to protect Pine is because.. Owl here happens to be here to do the same thing."

 _What?!_

Everyone turned to Oso, who had shied away from the attention and was now hiding behind Lonely. "Owl.. saved my life earlier. And he helped me take down a scary, puppet-looking man as well. And he told me that there happens to be something in this building.. that wouldn't hesitate to hurt Pine no matter what. I did not question why, as Owl doesn't seem to want to talk about it. I respect his decision, and so should you, Suuji Ichi." Still, Ichi's anger wasn't fading anytime soon. Lonely sighed. "Please.. do not be like that. Sweets talks so fondly of all of you, of how much he adores you all.. and he doesn't seem to mind of any of the flaws you all carry."

"As if that changes the fact that Kyabarie just-!"

"Suuji!" Lonely snapped, somehow getting his rapier from out of nowhere and pointing it at Ichi, similar to how Ichi was pointing his katana at Lonely. "You really are testing my patience tonight, are you not? Utterly unbelievable. Do you want your brother to be upset? At how you are behaving? Hm, he really is correct when he said you were so, so independent."

Ichi finally calmed down enough to ask him a proper question. "What.. what do you mean?"

"For once in your life.. did you listen to anyone besides yourself when you knew you needed help? Did you realize how useless your baby brother felt whenever you turned him down? You think you weren't making him worry? Well, you made him feel utterly useless!" With a snap of his fingers, Lonely pulled something out of his blazer.

It was Jyushi's locket.

Ichi's eyes widened at the sight of it, and suddenly, the metal against his chest suddenly felt colder. "How did you-?!"

"He wanted nothing more than to be of use to you, to your company, and to Akatsuka City. He is still a child, Suuji, and like any child, he wants to help! Especially since your father treated him with such.. hate. So please, Suuji Ichi." He looked at him again, swinging the locket with his fingers. "He did help this time. He helped Owl, who was helping Pine. And I know that if Pine were not here, then you and Tater Tot wouldn't have even met up with me in this area in the first place. And Karat Cake was nice enough to listen to him. Because even if Sweets is such a child.. he happens to be the brains in this team of ours, correct? He is certainly smarter than he looks, and as Karat Cake said; he is able to memorize anything and store it within his head, no matter what. All of your company's data is within his head! Certainly he is not as naive as you think. You have been babying him a bit too much, have you not?"

Ichi finally stopped acting hysterical as realization dawned upon him. Wasn't this the same thing Nyaa-chan was telling him about earlier?

"That's.. actually kinda true." Todo murmured. "I mean, I get that you're protective, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel the urge to protect him too, with how trusting he is. But don't you think.. you've been belittling him all this time? I mean, treating him like a baby and whatnot.."

"..I actually agree. The reason I listened to Jyushi was because.. well, he's already an adult now, isn't he? He knows what is the difference between right and wrong. His reasons are understandable and valid.." Kara added.

"It's not right.. treating someone.. like they can't.. understand.. anything you say.." Oso murmured from behind Lonely.

"I know you love him an awful ton, but god, have you see his room? I'm sure that you, as the big brother, were responsible for it." Osomatsu played with his necktie. "Ichi, he's not a kid anymore. You need to let him grow up. And yes, you can still protect him, because Jyushi is trusting and can't even walk, and there can be times where Jyushi is slow.. but when he does act like an adult, please don't shoot him down or refuse his help when you can clearly see it helps. But," He grinned, rubbing his nose and walking over to Ichi. "Us big brothers really have that instinct where we refuse to let go of our kid siblings. But as the older brother, we have to pray for their happiness." He then placed a hand on Ichi's shoulder. "And that means to let them go if they happen to be ready to face the shitty reality we live in."

 _..And I thought you were the biggest idiot in this group._

Before Ichi could finally swallow his pride and admit that all of them were right, the group of six suddenly heard something crash from a floor above them, along with a blood-curdling scream.

"JYUSHI?!"


	76. Chapter 76: Yet Another Me

"Sir?! Sir, please wake up!" Hatabou's eyes snapped open by the sound of Homura screaming into his ear. Well, not really. She was above him, panicking whether he was dead or not, and.. was she holding a roll of bandages and fumbling them around? Some bandages were wrapped around her head, but it seemed as if she fumbled with them too much, and now, she looked like a mummy. A panicking mummy. But when she saw Hatabou's eyes open, she only panicked even more. "Sir! You're awake!" She squealed, tears forming on her eyes. "I thought that you died! Well, I think it's impossible to die from a computer exploding right in your face, but you're alright!"

Hatabou sat up, holding his head. Damn, he was experiencing one hell of a headache. When he finally regained his senses, he realized he was sitting on a mat, with Homura sitting beside him. He realized that some of the guards and employees from Flag Corporation were now in the church, with the doors wide open. Some of them were fixing the computers or cleaning up damage, while others made sure to keep out anything from outside from going inside the church. Fuyu was sitting on a pew with a doctor checking up on her. Dekapan seemed to be in a better condition, as he was drinking tea out of a mug that was given to him by one of his assistants.

"What happened, jo?"

Homura shrugged, playing with her brown hair. "I don't really know, sir! Something was going on with the computers, and before I knew what was going on.. they blew up on our faces! Everyone's doing their best to fix them up now, but the cameras.. well, they've been destroyed. One was destroyed by Lonely-san, but the others? They were destroyed by something else entirely! I had the entirety of the Individual's Information Department assist the guys from the Information Gathering Department too, since they're in charge of the computers and all. Oh, and a lot of the guards went to the mansion. Some are here, as you can see. Ookina-san passed out and just woke up five minutes ago, and Fuyu-san's.. not feeling well, so I had to be in charge of giving out orders.. I hope it isn't too bad, sir."

 _Homura.. gave out orders, jo? While everyone else couldn't? And they actually listened to her, jo?_

He looked around. He could recognize the employees from the Individual's Information Department assisting the ones from the Information Gathering Department in fixing and setting up new computers. The church seemed less unsettling now, since the doors were wide open and there were a lot of people holding up flashlights. Still, the fact that Homura managed to plan out perfectly was amazing. Especially since she was so anxious. Ichi and Jyushi weren't wrong when they said that she'd be a great boss to a certain department, and Homura had a lot of potential. "You did an astounding job, jo. Handling the situation, I mean. Especially since Ookina-san and Fuyu-san were unable to.. how about you, jo? Are you alright? You were the first one out of us whose computer suddenly exploded, jo."

Homura nodded furiously, despite her messy hair becoming even messier. There were a few black marks on her cheeks, obviously from their devices blowing up, but she seemed fine aside from a few scratches. "Y-Yes! Thank you for the concern, but I'm perfectly fine!"

"I can see that Hatabou is awake! Homura-chan, dearie, thank you so much for helping us out!"

Hatabou and Homura looked up at the person who had spoken. Hatabou realized it was the ex-leader of Jyushi's group of bodyguards. "Ex-leader", because he had been allowed by Ichi to quit his job of being the leader in order to lead a normal life, and even gave him a small shop to start a business at. Hatabou couldn't honestly blame him for wanting to give up such a dark life, and Ichi was nice enough to give him a new start. And that new start happened to be nothing more than being a manager of Ichi's favorite clothing shop.

Masayoshi Kaoru. An ex-policeman from the town outside Akatsuka City, was also the ex-leader of Jyushi's squad of trained bodyguards. Now, he was a manager of a clothing shop at Akatsuka Mall, with his shop known as the "Justice for All" establishment.

"Why are you here, Kaoru-san?" Hatabou asked. The man was wearing a black trench coat and a hat to seemingly hide his identity, but with that voice and the sound of bangles jingling from underneath the coat, he could clearly recognize who the person was. Kaoru was looking at him worriedly, which was natural; Kaoru always fussed about the children back in the days. And by children, it meant Hatabou himself, Osomatsu, Totoko, and Chibita. "Were you invited to the party as well, jo?"

"Oh no! One of my employees got engaged and we all decided to throw a party for her, outside the mall! On the way back, I saw your company's cars speeding up! I was a bit worried of what could have happened to Jyushi-chan, so I stopped one of the cars! It was lucky that it was Ken-san's!" Kaoru clapped his hands together. "Ken-san stopped by to explain what was going on, and I got so worried! Especially since I heard Ichi-chan had come home early from his trip.. I didn't even know Jyushi-chan got kidnapped!" Kaoru cried in distress. In all honesty, he was the only person in the church who wasn't being quiet, not that Hatabou cared. "My poor little sunshine! Oh, but apparently, he's been reunited with Ichi-chan? What are you guys still here for, then? A mission?"

"You could say that, jo." Hatabou murmured."We're trying to catch someone, jo. But the cameras.. basically, Sir Ichi requested backup, since the signals were getting weaker and the cameras have been destroyed by an unknown force. Plus, the computers blew up on our faces, jo." He shrugged. He then noticed the guards from outside interact with more of the guards, except the other guards weren't in the church earlier, nor were they anywhere close to the church. Were they from the mansion then? He stood up from the mat and made his way towards the group, ignoring Homura who was telling him to be careful. "More guards? What's going on jo?"

"Ah, Sir Shonouske!" The guards saluted at the sight of him approaching. They didn't dare to look at him, not without his permission of course. Hatabou was scary, despite his short stature. "Permission to speak, sir!"

Hatabou clicked his tongue. "Granted."

"Sir, Ken-san has requested us to bring the other guards from the church to the mansion, sir!"

He raised an eyebrow. Didn't Ken-san have a squad all on his own? Which was already a lot of guards all on it's own? "Why would he need more guards? I know Sir Ichi's manor is big, but surely he has enough to wander in the building, jo."

"Sir, it's not that."

"Pardon?"

"Sir, it's.. it's Sir Jyushi. He was at the lobby, Ken-san said, and he was sitting at the staircase. But then the lights went out, and well.. when they went back on, Sir Jyushi wasn't there.. there was a girl holding him by the neck, this one lady said. She was apparently.. Sir Jyushi's friend, and she saw.. she saw a girl hold him by the neck, sir."

Hatabou blinked, opening his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Fuyu's reaction from the pew in front. "What?! Jyushi-kun has been.. argh, enough of this!" She stood up with a bit of difficulty, and if Hatabou was correct there was something different about her. Had Fuyu's stomach gotten bigger from last month? Hatabou couldn't say much about the woman, considering he was always busy with work, but he was sure she looked different from last month! "I'll go to the mansion myself!"

"Ah, Fuyu-san!" Homura ran over to her, trying to sit her down. "You're in no condition to run! Think about the kid!"

 _.."Kid"? Wait, is Fuyu-san.._

"Homura-chan, I have to go! The guards may not be able to find him on time! And Jyushi-kun's safety is just as important as my child's..! Jyushi-kun.. he needs someone, anyone, to protect him! He- Hatabou?!"

 _She's right.. someone has to go and save him! Someone has to protect him!_

Hatabou had ran out of the church before Fuyu had finished her sentence, and Hatabou was hoping that he was fast enough to not have Homura or Fuyu, or even Kaoru, chase after him. He knew this was a bad idea, he just knew it. And now, Jyushi was truly in danger, and he couldn't find Ichi. He clenched his fists as he ran through the forest, praying to the gods to protect Jyushi from whatever had grabbed him in the first place.

 _Jyushi, no matter what happens, I'll never break my promise with your brother! So please.. hold on!_

* * *

There were six of them, and thank god, every single one of them had no difficulty trying to catch up with the others when it came to running, because they couldn't afford to slow down. Ichi and Lonely were in the lead, with Osomatsu and Oso behind them, and at the very back was Kara and Todo. All of them relied on their senses to track down the source of the noise, and with the source of the noise being Jyushi, they just needed to look for where he was. If Jyushi's scream was loud enough to be heard from downstairs, then..

 _I can't afford to think of creepy shit right now. I know Jyushi just went through a hellotta pain if he screamed like that, but.. I have to focus._

That was, until Lonely suddenly screeched to a halt, and picked up something from the floor and held it up for everyone to see. It was a small object, but Lonely was somehow able to see it, even in this dark hallway. "What is this?"

It was a small glimmering metal object. Kara's eyes widened. "That's Jyushi's ring!"

Ichi immediately snatched it from Lonely, cupping his hands around the piece of jewelry as if it was fragile. It was, indeed, Jyushi's ring, which was similar to the one that Ichi was wearing underneath his glove. It was an important ring that symbolized they were part of the Suuji Family, and usually, the rings were given to the heir and their wife. But considering they were the only ones left, Ichi had taken it and decided to wear it himself, and gave the other one to his little brother. "How did he drop this?! Matsuno, didn't you slip it on his finger earlier?!"

Osomatsu nodded. "This doesn't make sense.. Jyushi couldn't possibly have removed the ring by accident.. unless someone pulled it off his finger."

Oso tapped on Osomatsu's shoulder, slightly causing the eldest Matsuno to feel shivers up his spine from the sudden contact from the other him. However, Oso pointed to the floor and disregarded Osomatsu's feelings to the entire situation. "There are.. more things.. on.. the floor.."

Upon looking closer, Osomatsu and the rest could see that there were other objects scattered across the floor. It ranged from a short black cape with white pom poms to a pair of familiar-looking boots, as well as a discarded white handkerchief, a cigarette, a pair of rubber gloves, a pair of heels, more rings, and colorful bracelets. Kara picked up one of the heeled shoes with his index finger and thumb, and inspected it. "This is a mess on the floor.. do you think they just dumped their items on the floor by accident.. or they purposely left a trail?"

"But why?" Todo frowned, crossing his arms. "If they left a trail.. that means they want someone to find them?"

 _Well, that was another logical reason to make Jyushi scream.. whoever caused him pain knew that we'd rush to where Jyushi is._

Lonely picked up the short cape and the boots. "This was part of Sweets' outfit... I gave it to him to wear for the evening." He scowled at the sight of the cigarette. "Disgusting. I honestly do not care if people are willing to kill their own lungs with those cancer sticks, but could they at least dispose of their garbage properly?" He huffed, standing up and setting the items that he picked up on the floor again. "I think we are close. There's something warm in the air that I cannot describe.."

"Let's hurry. The air smells absolutely disgusting." Todo said, pulling Kara with him. At least they were walking now, as they were all sure that they were close to their destination. Now Todo was in the lead, relying on his senses to find Jyushi, while dragging Kara to ensure no one would ambush him. Ichi slipped on Jyushi's ring on his ring finger, before following the duo. Lonely was next, leaving Osomatsu and Oso on the back. Osomatsu stuffed his hands on his pockets while Oso continued gripping on the rose as if his life depended on it.

Osomatsu glanced at Oso. He was certainly different Osomatsu himself, but there was something about him that was just so similar.. and it wasn't just the face, Osomatsu literally shared his face with eleven different people, so of course Oso had the same face. It wasn't the color either, since Osomatsu was already expecting Oso to wear something with a shade of red, even if it was only his turtleneck underneath the hoodie. But besides the eyes, there was nothing else that seemed scary about Oso. In fact, he seemed harmless, despite what his memories and Choromatsu told him.

This is the same guy that helped Kamimatsu throw me in this dimension, as well as the same guy who intended to replace me. But.. he's not being hostile. Or arrogant, or anything at all, really. He's.. just quiet.

Oso noticed Osomatsu was looking at him, because even as they walked, he started to speak up, despite not looking at Osomatsu. "..Are.. you.. okay?" He asked in a quiet voice, a voice so quiet, not even Lonely noticed it.

But it was directed at Osomatsu, that, the eldest Matsuno knew. "Oh, I'm fine. Nyaa-chan didn't lay a finger on me." In fact, it was Todo who had actually managed to do any harm; his glare at Osomatsu could have killed him.

The other Osomatsu nodded slowly. "That's.. good.." He replied quietly, before finally looking at Osomatsu straight in the eye. "But.. I was.. asking.. about how.. you were.. in.. my dimension.."

 _Ah. Touchy subject.. I didn't even ask about it. Kudos to you for being as straightforward as I am, other me._

"Oh, uh.." Crap, he couldn't bullshit his way through this. Oso's eyes were staring right into his soul, almost daring him to lie. Why did Osomatsu feel like he couldn't tell the truth either? He just met Oso, there was no way to predict how the other would react.. would he throw him out the window, simply nod and turn away, or straight-up murder him? The possibilities were endless.

 _Please stop looking at me like that._

Oh fuck it. He's gonna say the truth, and he'll kiss the sweet ground goodbye if Oso does decide to throw him. "This week has been hectic. I mean, one way or another, I get involved with something that pretty much tests my survival instincts and could have killed me if I didn't have so much damn luck. The first one with Todo's old yakuza group's temporary boss, then with Hatabou siccing guards on me, then nearly dying from the lack of oxygen after getting a panic attack, Ichi nearly killed me with a katana, and I thankfully dodged a fight with Nyaa-chan. So, uh, everything's chill, as you can see."

 _Oh fucking hell. Why did I have to be sarcastic as fuck?! This guy is going to kill me-_

"Oh.. I.. I'm sorry.. about that.."

 _What?! He's CALM?!_

The two of them stopped walking, and the other four didn't seem to notice. Osomatsu truly felt as if he had just stepped on a landmine, especially without anyone to break a fight if Oso does happen to go hostile. But he didn't seem to be itching for a fight; if anything, Oso looked ashamed of something. Was he upset with himself? "A-Ah?"

"You don't.. have to be.. so nice.. to me.." Oso clenched his fists, biting his lip and turning away from Osomatsu. "Especially after.. what I had Kami.. do to you.. I was.. so.. stupid.. to think.. that.. getting rid of you.. would be the best.. for your brothers.." Somehow, his voice became even quieter. "Who am I kidding.. I can't.. be the judge.. of how you.. raise your brothers.. because.. what would I know..? I am.. an only child.. after all.."

"Oso-"

"What's going on there, you two?!" Todo yelled from afar, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Let's go! I can hear something! It's not too far!"

 _Ah. Right._

Osomatsu grabbed Oso's wrist, which shocked the other. Even though Oso was the reason he was here in the first place.. Osomatsu couldn't help but feel as if Oso wasn't the one at fault here. He probably wasn't, so he gave his usual lazy grin at Oso, accompanied by rubbing his nose as a sign of mischief. "Let's talk more later, 'kay? But for now.. we're not enemies, okay? We're working together. So chin up, 'kay?"

Oso's face lit up, before he nodded. "..Yes.."

Osomatsu smiled and lead him to the group. No matter how much his mind was telling him that Oso had done something wrong, Osomatsu couldn't bring himself to hate Oso. Oso.. was just another brother with the same face.

 _That's right.. Oso's just.. yet another me._


	77. Chapter 77: The Black Queen's Melody

The fact that they've split up isn't helping Hana at all. Nope. When they came across two separate hallways, Chibita and Yuki thought it'd be best if they split up and investigate. So while Iyami and Yuki went together, so did Chibita and Hana. But now, they were utterly hopeless, because they just lost contact of Dekapan, dumped the useless pair of headphones, and they're both probably going to be lost inside the mansion for all eternity. Well, that was an overstatement. Maybe not for eternity, since they could always jump out a window, but in a maze-like manor like this, things were only going to get worst and worst.

"Which room are we in again?" Hana mumbled from behind Chibita, looking around. The room was, like any other room in the entire damn mansion, dark as hell. The curtains were ripped, newspapers and books were scattered across the damn floor, that was probably a broken flower pot on the corner, and there was a dark spot of something on the wall. "Geez, the president's old mansion is a mess! We have Lonely to thank for that! Plus, it's a maze, couldn't Lonely have at least posted signs or directions?! Unbelievable! Did he honestly think we can do this on our own?! Especially since this is our first time here! I'm gonna crush that guy's spine once we see him again! This is unacceptable, letting us act as spies, when we don't even know the place ourselves!"

As Hana continued to rant near the door, Chibita looked around the room and walked around. He approached the dark stain on the wall and scrunched his nose. "Smells a bit fishy.. argh, literally." Actually, scratch that. It smelled worse than freshly caught fish and anything else Chibita had smelled in his entire life, including his sweaty-ass towel after working at the oden stand. Whatever it was, Chibita didn't like it. Using a flashlight would have been easier to identify the stain, but they didn't have that right now. It wasn't their fault for not packing flashlights, no one expected that Lonely would shut off all the lights. And for what, his flashy entrance earlier? The world was full of idiots, and Lonely just seemed to be one of them.

Chibita spotted a small journal on the desk that wasn't too far from the stain on the wall. He picked it up and flipped through the pages out of curiosity, wondering why such a dusty book was on the desk while the others were on the floor. He stopped at a certain page, upon realizing there was a bookmark. Hana finally walked over to him upon realizing that he wasn't listening to her ramblings, but instead, was focused on some dusty journal she picked up. "What 'cha got there? A journal?"

"A dusty one at that. I wonder who owned this.." Mumbled Chibita, as he started to read the words aloud. "Lemme read what it says.. 'I can't take it anymore. He's being completely neglectful of our sunshine, and pressuring our little prodigy into doing better, when he's clearly doing enough! This isn't good for the kids' health at all, emotionally and mentally. It was a mistake giving him chances, especially since he blew every single one of them. I'm such a fool for thinking he would change, especially after I refused to follow his family's tradition. I'm thinking of a divorce, and I'm taking the kids with me. I'll tell him tomorrow, I guess. After.. lunch. Yeah, I'll do that. I'll tell him after lunch, once the kids finish up and go play. This is something that shouldn't be discussed when children are around. This concludes my entry for the day.' What the hell?! Who wrote this, damn it?!"

Hana snatched the book away from Chibita and held it over her head. Chibita was shorter, so she was able to use her hand to keep him away from grabbing the book from her. "Oi, oi! Hold still, short stuff! I'm trying to read.. ah, there we go! 'I just told him. He was furious. I decided to leave his study and stay in mine for the time being. I told Dekapan to make sure he doesn't lay a finger on the kids for the time being. Well. I'm here in my study, wondering how do I tell my babies that I'm splitting up with their-' And that's it! This is some juicy drama right here!"

"Oi, what happened next?!" Barked out Chibita, swatting Hana's hand away from his bald head. "I wanna know what happens next, damn it!"

Hana frowned, almost as if the book had done something to offend her or her very existence. "..That's the end, unfortunately! Look at this." She flipped the next few pages in front of Chibita with a pout on her face. She wasn't happy either, with how incomplete the journal was. "The next few pages are empty! Boo! No fun!"

"Whoever wrote that didn't continue or even finish it? Great. It's just like leavin' a good story in a cliffhanger, damn it! I was quite curious on what was going on too.." Chibita clicked his tongue, placing his hands. "You think it's important enough for us to just take it? I mean, we could always give it to your boss or somethin'.. it probably belongs to someone who used to live here with 'im."

Hana nodded enthusiastically, forgetting the fact that she was irritated at Lonely earlier. "Yeah, yeah! He may know a thing or two about that journal, he lived here before! I wonder how it ends though.. like, do you think a mom wrote it? It sounded as if a mom wrote it, with a divorce going on and all.. and she knew Ookina-san too! I wonder who her kids are, though!"

"Wait.. do you think her kids are-" Suddenly, the door creaked open. Hana went behind Chibita and hid in fear, while Chibita immediately stuffed the leather book in his blazer. Taking out his trusty ladle from god knows where, the one that he had to fix after it snapped in half when Todo used it against Ichi, he pointed it to the door as if it was a weapon. "O-Oi! Who the hell are ya, damn it?! Show yerself, ya idjit! Before I send you home with your tail between your legs!"

The last thing Chibita heard was Hana's scream, before they were both pounced on by a shadow that consumed them, ultimately causing both of them to black out.

* * *

"I can hear something.." Todo murmured under his breath. He still had an iron grip on Kara's wrist, and the blue cavalier didn't seem to mind. Just as long as he could be near his best friend, it was fine. Lonely and Ichi were still behind them, with Osomatsu and Oso at the very back. Todo was initially worried about leaving Osomatsu at the back, but it seemed he was just fine with Oso. Todo was relieved that Oso wasn't a threat at all. "Not as fucking loud as the scream earlier, but I can hear something faint in the distance.. oh, uh, Lonely. There's another cigarette on the floor. Isn't that the seventh one we just passed by? And in this one hallway?"

Lonely scowled. He had taken out his rapier just in case something were to attack them, and, unlike Ichi, he was making sure he didn't accidentally stab a table or two. That didn't mean he wasn't as cautious; he was ready for a fight, especially against the same man who had killed his parents and had hurt countless people. "I hate those cancer sticks so much. Why don't they dispose of their garbage properly? There is literally a waste bin in every single room. It is not that difficult to open a door, walk in, and dump your garbage."

"It's a track, remember? They're trying to lead us to where they are, and it's working. But hell, did they have to kill their lungs just to drop cigarettes? What a mess. They could have at least used something else.. candy wrappers or some shit, I don't fucking know." Ichi shook his head in disapproval, flicking his glasses in order to adjust them. "Not even I smoke that much."

And, as expected by Osomatsu and Oso, Lonely turned to Ichi and made a horrified look at him, a hand on his own heart. Poor Lonely didn't expect someone as sophisticated as Ichi to do something like smoke. But then again, Ichi was the same person who ate such greasy food with a silver fork, whilst doing paperwork and chugging down a can of Dr. Pepper as he screamed out orders. What an absolutely hellish way to live, thought Lonely. But no. He was more disgusted at the fact that Ichi smokes. "You smoke?!"

"A bit. Sometimes. Not in the company building, though. Not in front of Jyushi either. I don't wanna upset him, and I don't want his lungs to be exposed to polluted air either. He's already having a hard time walking." Ichi shrugged. "Jyushi keeps telling me to quit it, though. Lollipops aren't a good alternative. I don't really like sweets as much as he does. But if it makes him happy, I'll do it."

"Why do you do it?" Lonely asked with a frown, crossing his arms.

Ichi shrugged again. "Dunno. It clears my mind out of troubles."

"Yet you are killing your lungs slowly."

"Damn straight-"

"Guys. Shut up." Todo hushed them. "I can hear something. We're getting closer."

"Could you at least describe it?" Kara asked quietly. "Maybe we'll be able to hear it too if we know what you're talking about.."

"It.. sounds familiar.. I swear, it sounds familiar. I just can't put my finger on it.. okay, wait.. now there are two sounds. They're blending together. What the fuck." Todo scowled. "It's at the tip of my tongue.. what the fuck do you call it again..?"

"Perhaps.." Oso meekly raised a finger. "Perhaps.. I can be.. of assistance.." He murmured, quietly handing the rose to Osomatsu.

Todo turned to him. Oso was hiding behind Osomatsu. Did he find Todo threatening? Or was he just not comfortable talking to him yet? Still, if Oso wanted to help.. well, it wouldn't be wrong to trust him, right? Plus, Osomatsu was giving Todo this look that practically told him to accept Oso's offer. "Sure thing, Oso. But how will you help-" He didn't even see Oso suddenly walk in front of him and press both of his thumbs onto Todo's forehead. Oso closed his eyes as he applied more pressure into pressing Todo's forehead. "W-wha?! What are you doing?! Hey, stop that, that tickles-!"

And then suddenly, music started playing, from all corners. Osomatsu's eyes widened. "Whoa.. where is that coming from?!" He gasped. Lonely suddenly whirled around and expected something to come out and ambush them, but much to everyone's relief, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, besides the music playing. Ichi looked around, getting ready to stab something with his katana, but he didn't seem hostile.

Todo flinched, but didn't pull away from Oso, who seemed to be emitting a gold light as he still had his thumbs pressed against Todo's forehead. "A-ah! That's the sound I was hearing!"

"It's.. a piano. I'm sure that's the sound of the piano" Kara closed his eyes. "A piano is playing.. and a music box seems to be joining it. Oh. And the song is rather nice.. though it's a rather fast melody.. it sounds lovely. Don't you think so?"

Lonely nodded. "Owl.. is Owl able to..?"

 _..By the looks of it, other me isn't entirely normal. Not that it's a bad thing. It's kinda cool._

When Oso finally removed his thumbs from Todo's forehead, the golden light disappeared, and he opened his eyes once again. As soon as he let go of Todo, the music faded away, and they could now hear the faint sounds of a piano being played in the distance. "..Kara.. was right.." Oso murmured. "If we.. know what is.. the cause.. of the sound.. our minds.. will be able.. to pick up.. the sounds.."

"..I know that song. The piano and the music box.. they were playing the same song."

Everyone turned to Ichi. Osomatsu tilted his head. "You know it?"

Ichi nodded. "That song.. it's the last one my mother taught me before she died.. as well as the first song I taught to Jyushi. It was the first song he mastered too.. and his favorite one. But that song.. I first heard it from a music box.. that my mother had."

 _Then that means..!_

"Okay, I think I know which room has the sound now. We're not too far, thankfully." Todo grabbed Kara's wrist yet again. "I'm gonna run like hell. You guys ready?" Lonely adjusted his mask, Ichi adjusted his glasses, Oso took the rose back from Osomatsu and clenched tightly onto it, and Osomatsu stuffed his phone back in his pocket. Todo took those gestures as a yes. "Alright. Here we go."

 _Jyushi.. we're coming to save you!_


	78. Chapter 78: Paradichlorobenzene

Two doors may have been broken in one week by complete accident and due to Todo's anxiety, but this time, Todo kicked a door down with a roundhouse kick and sent the wood scattering all over the floor, and it wasn't by accident this time. Due to this, no one had to worry about paying for the repair of doors again. Who even cares about a door, they were here to save Jyushi.

Todo stepped in the dark room with his friends behind him; Lonely had his cape fluttering, due to the large window in the room having cracks, as well as illuminating light upon them, and Lonely had a tight grip on his rapier. Kara was meekly holding onto Todo's wrist, as his free hand adjusted with his own necktie. Next was Ichi, who was now standing beside Todo, his katana pointing at whatever was at the middle of the room, his glasses fogged. Oso was at the very back, holding the rose to his chest, and his usual blank expression on his face, but his hood was now up and covering the upper part of his face. Lastly, there was Osomatsu, who had taken out his phone and prepared to call Choromatsu and the rest.

The room was large, with the stained glass windows being cracked, but still managed to look beautiful due to the color. This seemed to be the only room that didn't have newspapers all over the place, and the room had nothing but a piano in the middle, a piano stool, and a music box on top of the piano. Though there was also a red carpet, which was thankfully clean compared to the other rooms in the manor. The piano seemed to be glossy and was shining due to the light coming from outside.

There was a figure sitting on the piano stool, his back turned on Osomatsu and the others. They seemed to be playing the piano, as every time their arms lowered, their fingers would press against the keys carefully, creating a lovely melody. The music box kept playing, accompanying and complimenting the piece that the figure was playing. But besides the arms and the swaying of hair, nothing else was moving in the individual's body. Their legs remained in their position, somewhat tip-toeing on the floor, and they didn't even bother to turn back to face Osomatsu and the rest, even after Todo kicked down the door in an attempt to surprise whoever was in the room.

Before they could call out to the individual who was playing such a lovely melody, they heard clapping. "Well.. I certainly didn't expect five of you to pop in here! Much less break the door by kicking it down!"

 _Wait.. "five"? But there are six of us.._

Osomatsu then noticed that there was a small golden light on Oso's chest. Somewhat faint, but it was still there. Was it.. was it shielding him or something? Or even weirder.. making him invisible to anyone but them? It was impossible to not see Osomatsu and Kara at the back, but then again.. only Oso was wearing something dark enough to blend in with the dark.. and only Oso was capable of doing something through supernatural means, so being invisible wouldn't be far-fetched as well. None of them decided to question it, thankfully. If whoever was talking couldn't see Oso, they had an advantage.

The voice continued to speak, nonetheless. "Wonderful timing! And such an excellent kick, if I do say so myself! And- Oh? Oh, what is this? I didn't except him to be here!" A deep voice chuckled, yet continued to clap as he mocked the group of brothers. Todo suddenly stiffened. "I knew the supposed 'nightingale', the 'hero' of Akatsuka would be here, it's his party of course, but you?! Katsuna Todo! I haven't seen you since.. last week? The day before Atsushi died!"

 _Wait, what..?_

"Oh my god. You can't be serious." Todo gasped. Lonely turned to him with an obviously confused expression that was begging for answers. "Lonely, your fucking enemy since your damn childhood is the same guy whose yakuza group I was part of! He's the same guy who threatened to hurt Kara if I didn't join them.." He gritted his teeth. "He had Dayon bring me to their hideout, and he threatened me.. that if I didn't join them, they'd hurt Kara! But I thought the boss left as soon as Atsushi died..!"

Kara gasped and Osomatsu's eyes widened. Now that he remembered, Atsushi was only a temporary leader of the yakuza group, and Todo didn't even know the name of the boss! Before Kara or Osomatsu could speak, he heard Lonely click his tongue. "Is that so? What a small world we live in. Well. You can kill him as well then, Katsuna Todo. He has done such a grave sin to me, and to you as well. I didn't think he was a boss of a yakuza group.. and blackmailed you? Such trash this enemy of mine is."

"Don't forget me." Ichi growled. "He planned to hurt my brother, didn't he? I'll cut his fucking throat."

The laughing continued, and it frustrated the group of six that they didn't know where the laughing was coming from. And still, the figure on the piano continued to play, not minding them. "Keep on dreaming, kids. It's good to reach for the stars. I'll admit, Choro was clever enough to invite a large amount of people in the same spot we'd be dueling at.. because he knows that I don't dare to cause a scene. But your mistake, Choro; I had people assist me this time." The laughing grew louder, and it was taunting Lonely so much, he had to cover his ears. "But I guess you did too, eh? So much for 'You and what army'.."

A vein appeared on Lonely's head. Osomatsu blinked once he heard the laughter grow louder. He glanced over to Oso, who didn't seem to be moving an inch. "Hey.. what's wrong?"

Oso looked down on the floor. "Do you.. not remember..?" He asked. It was so soft, almost as if it was a whisper.

"Huh? Remember what-?"

Osomatsu stopped talking once he heard Lonely finally snap. "Koroshi Tougou! Enough with the taunting! Show yourself!" Lonely roared, stomping his foot. Osomatsu's head snapped to Lonely in shock, and Oso let out a small gasp upon hearing the name. But the three clones at the front didn't seem to notice. "This will be the duel that decides everything! I will either succeed in bringing you to justice.. or die while doing so! You have hurt and killed so many people.. and I will bring an end to this! Where is Suuji Jyushi?! Where have you held him captive?!"

 _..Koroshi.. Tougou..?!_

Something inside Osomatsu's head suddenly flipped as soon as he heard the name. His eyes shrunk, he started to shake, and his mind was suddenly remembering things that he didn't want to remember.

A knife pressed against his throat.

His brothers panicking figures.

His father being knocked out cold after eating food with sleeping pills.

His mother trying to protect both her unconscious husband and her children from the lodger.

And Osomatsu could feel something grab his arm harshly and pull him into the coldness of a summer night, leaving nothing but the screams of his little brothers.

 _Oh no. OH NO. NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO,-!_

While Todo, Ichi, and Lonely prepared for a fight just in case Tougou jumped out of nowhere like some sort of nightmare, Kara was the only one that heard the sound of something falling to the floor. When he turned around, he found Osomatsu, trembling in place as his phone was on the floor. Oso was standing beside him, but his eyes were now hidden due to his hoodie, yet Kara could feel something emitting from the both of them, despite the fact that neither of them were speaking.

 _Was it.. fear?_

"Osomatsu-?"

Osomatsu suddenly covered his ears and fell to the floor, and the laughter only grew louder. "Five of you in here? Easy as pie! And- wait a minute.. you.. YOU! You're.. fuck, what's the name of that stupid kid again..? Omari? Omatsu..? Wait, it sounds like that, doesn't it..?" Osomatsu pressed his own palms against his ears even more, and Kara noticed that Oso seemingly shrunk away as well. The other three noticed what was going on, and whirled to them, concerned looks on their faces. "..Ah! I remember now! Your name.. wasn't it.. I got it! Matsuno Osomatsu, right? The only son of the Matsuno couple? From Akatsuka Ward, right?"

Kara, Todo, Ichi, and Lonely felt something leave their bodies. While Oso seemed as if he wasn't moving an inch, Osomatsu was straight-out crumbling on the floor. He certainly didn't expect his worst nightmare to be Lonely's enemy and Todo's old boss. He didn't even think his worst nightmare existed in this world. Why? Why did he have to exist? Why didn't he just go away?

 _GO AWAY, GO AWAY, GO AWAY-_

Something was pushing the side of his body, but Osomatsu couldn't tell what it was. "Osomatsu-niisan?! What's going on?! Osomatsu-niisan?!" It was Kara who was nudging his side, and now, everyone was around Osomatsu in a circle, including Oso. Kara looked up at the owl-eyed male, and even though his eyes were hidden by the hood, Kara could tell that even Oso was worried. Even just a bit. "What's wrong with Osomatsu-niisan?! Why does Lonely's enemy know him?!"

 _Everything is wrong, everything is wrong, everything is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG-_

The small light on Oso's chest disappeared, and he once again pressed his thumbs against Osomatsu's forehead. "Other me.." Oso's hushed voice resounded throughout the room, mixing with the sound of the music box and the piano. "He's.. he's having a.." Similar to earlier, the group of six could now hear whatever Osomatsu was hearing. Todo flinched upon hearing the sounds of screams and laughter mingling together, and Lonely and Ichi both looked disturbed. Kara was, however, much more worried about Osomatsu. "..Oh no.."

"Wait a minute.. two of you..? Ah! I remember now!" Tougou's voice continued. "A guy in white told me! That there's another brat like you! I can't believe I missed that one! Then again, his clothes are as dark as this damn room!" The voice continued to laugh as Oso's head shot up. "A guy in white offered me something really good to finally get rid of Choro! And in return.." The figure sitting on the piano stool finally stopped playing, and the music box went silent. "I have to get rid of him."

"WHAT?!" Todo stood in front of the panicking Osomatsu defensively. "As if I'm letting you lay a finger on him! Why don't you show yourself?!"

Lonely placed a hand on Oso's arm. Oso opened his eyes and looked at Lonely with a questioning look. "Owl, that's enough.. I do not know how you or Pine seem to know Tougou, or how do you even manage to use your abilities to make us hear what he's hearing, but.. Karat Cake." Kara turned to him. "We'll handle this. Owl, you come with us, and help us. Karat Cake, you take care of Pine."

"Oh, I think you'll change your mind. Let's say.. oh!" The voice chuckled lowly. "You give me Osomatsu, the one wearing a suit, and in , I'll give you something nice in return."

"Fuck off." Ichi hissed, standing beside Todo and getting ready to draw his sword. "We won't trade Matsuno for anything."

Again, Tougou chuckled. "You don't even know where I am. But that doesn't matter now, does it? And I'm sure you'll change your mind upon seeing what I have in store.~" Suddenly, the figure that was sitting on the piano stool stood up, but still had his back turned towards them. Ichi's eyes widened upon noticing the figure suddenly wobble.

 _Almost as.. if he has.. difficulty.. walking.. wait a minute.._

"I'm not alone, remember? Though you managed to handle the puppet and that stupid girl.. no matter. I still have a lot of tricks up my sleeve.. but I'm sure you'll like this little show I prepared.. isn't that right, Jyushi-kun?"

 _JYUSHI?!_

The figure finally turned around. It was indeed, Jyushi. But the reason the group couldn't tell it was him was because he had a change of clothes. He wasn't wearing the clothes Lonely had given him, and instead, was wearing a black turtleneck with yellow stripes and long sleeves, black and yellow checkered shorts, and black slippers. Jyushi's eyes were still their usual yellow color, but they seemed to be a darker shade. And they weren't sparkling as they usually did.. similar to Nyaa-chan's eyes and Oso's eyes, they were dull and lifeless.

And Jyushi wasn't even smiling. His face was void of all emotion, mouth closed.

 _NO! That isn't.. that isn't..!_

Ichi was the first to cry out. "JYUSHI!"

Jyushi only stared at him. A part of Ichi hoped that Jyushi would just see him in front of him, and cry out. Jyushi.. Jyushi was a crybaby after all! He was going to realize what was going on.. and he was going to cry out of fear as always. That was an odd thing to think about, since Ichi hated seeing Jyushi cry, but..

 _Please. Please cry.. please show me that you're still..!_

To everyone's shock, Jyushi merely scoffed.

 _That's not my baby brother.._


	79. Chapter 79: Undead Enemy

"Sweets!" Lonely was utterly baffled. It was Jyushi, but at the same time.. Jyushi's natural happiness, the one that Lonely had grown so fond of.. it wasn't there. Not even the somewhat childlike sparkle in his eyes were present. They were dull, lifeless.. they weren't Jyushi's eyes at all. They were soulless. This wasn't the same boy who Lonely had befriended, the same boy that Lonely considered his first real friend.. and the first person he actually grew to care about besides his parents. Whoever that boy was, the one near the piano and the one with the lifeless yellow eyes, that wasn't Jyushi.

"Surprised? He's a good kid. He screamed a lot, sure, but the end result is absolutely perfect!" Tougou chuckled. It was a shame he wasn't anywhere in the room right now. Because if he was, Lonely would have stabbed him with his sword repeatedly. "That man in white.. he gave me a shard of his power.. and said that no matter what it was, it could be my slave. This kid here resisted a lot, you have no idea.. but in the end, he was weak." He started laughing loudly, his laughs echoing in the room. "You should have seen how he cried! He was begging for his 'nii-san' to save him! It took a lot to break his spirit, and once it did.. it was easier to make him my puppet. And look! He's not a noisy little brat anymore. Surprisingly, he's the opposite! I thought he'd end up being something like Reika, but.." He chuckled. "At least

Todo gritted his teeth. "You fucker! What the fuck did you do to Jyushi?! He isn't like that, and I only met him a few days ago!" He growled, before turning to Ichi. "Hey Ichi. Wasn't that weird girl earlier the same? She had the same dead eyes.."

"..Correct.." Oso spoke up, taking the rose our of his pocket. "Tougou.. he said it himself.. that.. he has.. been given.. a fraction.. of Kamimatsu's power.." At the mention of the name, Ichi, Todo, and Kara's head snapped to him, though Lonely remained confused of what a "Kamimatsu" was. "Tougou.. he's in this room.. and he has.. Kamimatsu's powers.. so.. it's impossible.. for them to.. snap back to normal.. unless I.. take 'it' out.."

 _"It"?_

"Do you mean.." Lonely uttered out. He promised not to question Oso, just as long as Oso helped him out, but he was honestly confused; was Oso even human? If he was, where did he get those abilities? Is magic actually real? What is a "Kamimatsu"? The questions are endless.. especially since Oso's eyes were as dead as Jyushi's. "The small golden light that you took from both Jiguzou and that girl?"

"What even was that?" Todo asked. "I mean, we were fighting her, then suddenly, that small light appears, and she's knocked unconscious.."

Oso took a deep breath, walking to the front and leaving Kara to handle a whimpering Osomatsu all on his own. "..Kamimatsu's powers.. stick to one's soul..and.. it's hard to.. overcome it.. and.. those who.. are victim to it.. often pass out.. upon removing it.." He placed a free hand over his chest. "In order.. to use his powers.. to it's full.. potential.. there's something that.. you have to.. sacrifice.." He closed his eyes and squeezed his own chest, a pained look on his face. "It could.. be anything.."

 _Wait a minute.._

"Oi, Oso." Todo spoke up again, except it was a quieter voice. It was for Tougou to not hear his voice, especially since they didn't even know where he was. "Osomatsu-niisan told us last night.. about the reason how he ended up in this dimension." He saw Oso's eyes open. "And you.. you were with this 'Kamimatsu', weren't you? Does that mean.. that you were also-"

"What are you whispering about?" Tougou's voice boomed again. Todo clicked his tongue in irritation. "Heh. Are you thinking that Jyushi isn't going to be a good slave, since he seems to be weak compared to you all? Since you don't seem to think that this boy here is capable of being a good puppet.. Jyushi-kun. Why don't you give your brother and his friends a seat?"

Jyushi didn't even blink and suddenly grabbed the piano stool by the corners, and lifted it up with both of his arms. Before anyone could react, Jyushi used all of his energy to throw the piano stool at the group. Kara grabbed Osomatsu and pulled him close to his chest and jumped to the side, while Todo grabbed Oso's wrist and jumped out of the spot. Thankfully, both Lonely and Ichi were fast all on their own, and managed to dodge the piece of furniture, which had crashed against the wall outside, thanks to the door being broken by Todo earlier.

Todo dusted his clothes and looked at Osomatsu's other self. Oso seemed to be fine, and so was Lonely and Ichi. Kara was lying on the floor though, eyes shut and with Osomatsu's head resting on his chest. Todo instanntly felt worry on his chest. "Are you guys okay?!" Upon seeing Kara shakily raise a thumbs up, he sighed in relief, before turning over to Jyushi, who seemed to be wobbling. "How the fuck was that even possible?! There's no way Jyushi could have lifted that naturally!"

"Heh. That's the power of a god!" Tougou cackled. Jyushi's arms were raised, and he closed his eyes. Ichi's eyes widened upon noticing a golden aura emit from his little brother, and he seemed to be slowly hovering off the ground as well. "This was the power I was given.. to control anyone and their hearts! But it isn't limited to ordering him what to do, oh no. Watch. This." They heard cackling as Jyushi's face scrunched in pain, and his sleeves long draped on his arms as he balled his fists. Four large orbs of light appeared alongside Jyushi. "If you want Suuji Jyushi back unharmed, give me the Matsuno Osomatsu that the man in white wants me to get for him!"

Kara tightened his hold on Osomatsu, who was breathing harshly against his chest. His suit was now a bit wet thanks to Osomatsu's tears, not that Kara cared. His left arm was wrapped around Osomatsu's back to give his older brother support, while his free hand was rubbing Osomatsu's back as an effort to calm him down. "N-No.. there is no way we're letting you have Osomatsu-niisan!"

"Indeed. No life is more important than the other.. we will protect Matsuno Osomatsu, and we will free Sweets from your clutches. Only you will be the loser in this game. Now, stop being a coward, and show yourself, Tougou!" Lonely whipped out his rapier. He had seen so much weird things today, but it didn't matter. He had to protect both Osomatsu and Jyushi, even at the cost of his life. "But I do admit that is a smart move.. using Sweets to attack us.. and knowing full-well that none of us can harm him."

"Oh, you don't know half of it." Tougou cackled. Jyushi's arms were raised higher, but his face seemed to be in more pain. The orbs were lowering to the ground as Jyushi's body was hovering higher. But the lower the orbs got, the more pained Jyushi's face became. He became pained to the point that tears were now streaming down his cheeks, and he was letting out whimpers.

Oso's eyes widened. "He's... conscious..? He's.. he's conscious..!" He noticed Ichi looking at him in shock. "When.. in Kamimatsu's control.. you're not.. supposed to feel.. the pain.. that comes with.. using the powers.. but.. he's obviously.. in pain.." Jyushi's pained whimpering was more than enough evidence, especially since his face was scrunched in pain and sweat was dripping off his forehead as he took deep breaths. "This is.. going to be hard.. pulling off the piece.. of power.. that was.. put into.. his soul.. but.. it's the only way.. to free him.. from Tougou's control.."

"Well, we only have to deal with Sweets, right?" Lonely's eyebrows furrowed. "This should be easy.. we just have to restrain him, then-"

"You really think it'd be that easy? You don't think I know how absolutely fragile this boy's body is?" Tougou mocked. "I don't have just one, oh no. I have six puppets for my show tonight."

"Six?!" Ichi's eyes widened. Jyushi then suddenly let out a loud cry as the orbs glowed brighter, and everyone had to cover their eyes just to prevent themselves from being blind. But Ichi could still hear Jyushi's pained cries despite Tougou's cackling. "Jyushi-?!" Jyushi's cries escalated into screams as the orbs glowed brighter. Ichi could hear something ringing in his ears, similar to the sound of "Ichi-niisan", before Jyushi stopped screaming completely.

The orbs disappeared, leaving four figures to fall on the ground gracefully, before standing up slowly. When they regained their senses, they found Jyushi still hovering above the air, but there were glowing yellow marks, similar to vines, wrapped around his exposed arms, legs, and his face. Jyushi's painted fingernails were still pressed against his palm, and they were sure to leave marks. His eyes were still shut, but his face wasn't as blank as it was earlier; it seemed as if Jyushi was suffering from a bad dream.

 _A bad dream which was unfortunately real._

Ichi's thoughts were cut off by Kara. "IYAMI?! CHIBITA?!"

Everyone's heads snapped to two of the figures. Chibita was on the far right while Iyami was on the far left. They were still in their suits, but there was something about them that seemed dark.. besides the aura they were emitting, and their dull eyes. Chibita was holding a butcher's knife, while Iyami was holding a large scythe that was similar to a grim reaper's. Chibita look incredibly irritated, as if one of them had insulted his cooking, and Iyami looked like a mixture of stressed and irritated, maybe at them for coming in the room too late.

Todo then noticed the other two figures. "HANA?! YUKI?!"

Beside Iyami was Yuki, and beside Chibita was Hana. Yuki was holding some sort of metal pipe with his two hands wrapped tightly around the object, and Hana was standing on her toes. Her left hand's thumb and index finger were pressed against her dress and pulling it as if she was some sort of dancer, while her free hand was holding a dagger. Yuki looked upset, as if he had witnessed something that offended him, and Hana had a calm, yet somewhat creepy smile on her face, which was rare for a fiery person like her.

"Heh! You thought that I only had few puppets? Don't make me laugh!" Tougou laughed. "Sure, hurting someone like Jyushi is hard all on it's own.. but try to hurt your other friends as well!"

"Damn it.." Chibita growled as he fiddled with the handle of the butcher's knife. "You idjits get on my nerves.."

"Me isn't going to let you escape." Came out Iyami's voice, low and raspy. "It would be entertaining to see which one of you survives or not."

"Forgive me.." Yuki whispered under his breath, closing his eyes and looking rather solemn. "But I must do as I must."

"Let's have fun, shall we?" Giggled Hana in a manner similar to Nyaa-chan's, holding her dagger close to her face to show it off. "I love to play around!"

Ichi gasped as he saw two of his closest employees stare at him with such dull expressions. Kara held Osomatsu close to his chest as he saw a murderous glint appear on Chibita and Iyami's eyes. Oso held a hand to cover his mouth, eyes trembling as he watched two of his most precious friends look at them with such hatred.

"And now for the final puppet.. Totoko!"

When everyone turned around, they saw a brown-haired girl in a pink dress standing on the doorway, a broadsword on hand. Her brown eyes were as dull as the others', and she made a small smile as she saw Osomatsu being protected by Kara, and Oso looking at her with such a shocked expression.

"Don't go easy on me, 'kay? I'll show you that girls can be tough too!"


	80. Chapter 80: A God's Essence

There were six of them.. and one would think it's a fair fight. But no. It wasn't. The "good" guys were lacking in members, and that was the best fighter, Osomatsu himself, who was having a panic attack. The supposed "bad guys", or the guys that have been brainwashed by Tougou (they weren't sure about Totoko though), were all ready to murder someone with absolute zero hesitation, even Jyushi himself.. probably. Jyushi was in pain, and was being used like a puppet, so Jyushi obviously didn't know what was going on, despite being slightly conscious enough to feel pain.

Even though both groups had six members, there were only four of them available, as Kara was protecting Osomatsu. Chibita, Iyami, and Hana looked absolutely murderous, but thank the gods that Yuki, Totoko, and even Jyushi just settled for simple creepiness. If Tougou was willing to fuck with their heads even further, he would probably use Jyushi against them, which would make it even harder, as none of them could bare to hurt Jyushi. But Oso was probably friends with Chibita, Iyami, and Totoko, similar to how Osomatsu seemed to be friends with them. So he probably couldn't bare to hurt them.. right?

Then Oso whipped out the rose, and it's shape turned into a spear with a red, torn ribbon wrapped around it. He huffed and pointed it at Totoko with a disgusted look on his face. Well, so much for Oso caring about her at all. Hesitantly, Todo made a defensive stance, glaring at both Chibita and Iyami. Lonely aimed his rapier at Yuki and Hana, but it was obvious that he was hesitant to fight them as well, judging from the beads of sweat on his face. Ichi gripped his katana tighter, eyeing Jyushi.

"Well." Tougou started to chuckle, his voice echoing in the room as Jyushi's fists balled and his face scrunched in pain. Jyushi was being lowered on the ground slowly. "You all seemed to be determined to help them. I didn't put too much effort in those four, but Totoko and Jyushi?" As Tougou snickered, Jyushi's feet finally met with the ground, and his arms seemingly relaxed, as well as his facial features. "Unstoppable. And if you think Jyushi can't be a good fighter.. think again."

A small ball of light appeared in front of Jyushi. Within a few seconds, the ball of light turned into the shape of a ball-tipped cane. When Jyushi's hand came in contact with the cane, the light disappeared. Jyushi was holding on the cane as if it were a rod, rather than the top. He finally opened his eyes again, revealing them to be as soulless as Totoko's.

Ichi's grip on the katana was shaky. "Jyushi! Please, wake up! Don't you know me at all?!" Ichi cried. There was no way in hell that lifeless creature in front of him was his brother. There was no way in hell was that his hyperactive little brother. "It's me! Ichi! I'm your big brother!" God, this was stupid, but it had to work. Ichi refused to believe that his little brother would lose to some magical bullshit so easily.

But Jyushi replied by slightly cocking his head to the side, before he shook his head frantically. Pointing his cane at his own older brother, Jyushi suddenly scowled and made an expression of anger. "Stop it!" He yelled with his own voice, but instead of it being childish as it usually sounded, it sounded so.. pained. And angry. Something that shouldn't be associated with Jyushi in any way possible. He kept shaking his head as more balls of light surrounded him. "Stop lying to me already! Just stop!" He cried angrily, and the balls got bigger the louder he started to shout at Ichi. "Stop it already! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!"

Ichi either felt rage at Tougou for doing such a thing to his little brother's mind, or was extremely heartbroken at hearing those kinds of words come out of his own little brother's mouth. But the moment he saw those lights flash brighter, he knew that wasn't a good sign. Jyushi's face instantly scrunched in pain as he cried, and though Ichi wanted nothing more than to reach out to him.. there was still the others to worry about. "GET DOWN!"

As Jyushi hurled the balls of light at them by outstretching both of his arms towards them, everyone instantly ducked to avoid getting hit, minus Kara, who cradled Osomatsu's currently unconscious figure closer to his own body to protect him. But even with the smoke that was a result from those balls of light hitting and probably causing some major damage to the walls, Oso could see Totoko's silhouette move around. He swung his spear around to block Totoko's sword from hitting him, and once his dull red eyes met with her equally dull brown eyes, he gritted his teeth. "..You.."

"Osomatsu-kun." Totoko chirped with a sadistically sweet smile on her face, one that Oso got irritated at just by looking at it. She then let out a giggle. "Think fast."

Oso could see a smaller figure hold something above their head and get ready to strike. Oso's eyes seemingly flashed for a moment, before he shoved Totoko away to avoid the attack. As expected, it was Chibita. "You idjit.." Chibita growled. "We'd be better off without ya! You're an absolute waste of space!"

"..I know.." Oso clicked his tongue. "But.. I'm not.. letting you.. win.."

Totoko stood beside Chibita, pointing her sword at him again. "Such cockiness, Osomatsu-kun! You weren't like that as a child!" She playfully whined. "But.. people change.. don't they, Osomatsu-kun! You sneaky little snake, Osomatsu-kun! To think that you'd take away someone's happiness for your own.." She smirked as she saw Oso's angered expression. "You really are a selfish scumbag, Osomatsu-kun!"

"Oso-?!" Todo's words were cut off by Yuki swinging the crowbar at him. He jumped off his spot before Yuki's weapon could even touch him, and sent a kick flying towards Yuki's direction. But much to his shock, Yuki was able to block Todo's kick with his own. "Wha-?!" Again, he was cut off, but this time, by Hana.

The small girl had used her small stature to her advantage to press both of her hands on Yuki's shoulders and use him as some sort of boost, her dagger on her mouth sideways. Once she got near Todo's face, she took out the dagger from her mouth with her right hand and swung it at him with a childish smile on her face. It didn't help that her dead eyes were giving her such a creepy look. "Hi-yah!"

Todo felt something trickling down his face as he backed up a bit, stumbling as he did so. He pressed a hand on his cheek and flinched when he felt a stinging sensation. He looked at his fingers and noticed something red staining the gloves. Of course, it was blood. "Another one?!" And it was across the same cut Ichi had made, giving it some sort of X-like shape. Just great. "Tch! Oso, what are we gonna do?! Kill them?!"

"Absolutely not!" Ichi hissed. Jyushi had swung his cane at him as if it was a baseball bat, but thankfully, Ichi had blocked it with his katana. What baffled Ichi most was how the cane was still in one piece, but for now, he had to stop Todo from murdering his employees. "For god's sake, Katsuna! They're my employees! Yuki has a wife, and think about Homura if Hana were to die!" He barked. "There must be some way to stop them!"

"Ah! What Owl did to that horribly dressed girl earlier! You know, the one with the ice-cream-flavor-looking hair!" Lonely added in, using his rapier to block out Iyami's scythe. Sure, Iyami was older, but god, he was still strong enough to take on someone as young as Lonely. Ichi and Todo were both impressed that Lonely was gutsy enough to shit-talk Nyaa-chan's fashion sense even during a fight. "That small ball of light! Owl, what did you refer to that thing again?! You took the ones from Jiguzou and that girl, correct?!"

Thankfully, Oso answered, dodging Totoko's sword and Chibita's butcher's knife. "It's.. a God's.. Essence.."

"A what-?!" Ichi noticed Jyushi's face scrunching in pain yet again, as Tougou's mind-control forced him to jump place to place, as well as hit Ichi with a rather sturdy object that was sure to make him bleed if Jyushi put all his force into it.

"It's.. Kamimatsu's.. source of power..!" Oso gritted his teeth. It was getting harder to fight two people at once.. and with only a spear too. A shift in forms would be better, Oso thought. The spear immediately changed it's form, and it was now a large hammer, which he carried and handled with no difficulty. He prefers weapons like axes and hammers anyway. "Only I.. can rip.. it out.. as it is.. attached.. to one's soul..!" Totoko swung her sword at him, but with a snap of his fingers, he was able to teleport from behind her. Still, he couldn't hit her with a hammer, as her reaction time was so fast.

 _Rip it out?!_

Hana laughed maniacally as she ran up to Todo with her dagger ready to strike, but Todo was too busy fighting off Yuki that he didn't notice her. Still, before she could slice Todo's neck from behind, someone had rushed in front of her and blocked her attack..

 _With absolutely.. nothing?!_

"Wha-?!" She shrieked as she was blown back by some sort of energy, and she hit the wall. "Owie! That hurts!"

Even Yuki was blown aback by whatever caused that energy wave, but when Todo turned around, his eyes widened. "KARA?!"

His childhood friend was panting, and Osomatsu's cellphone was gripped tightly around his hand. "Todo.." He looked at the small cut on Todo's face, and it was still bleeding. God, they all looked like a mess. "Are you alright?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! IT'S YOU I'M WORRIED ABOUT!" But before Todo could ask Kara how he did it, he noticed Hana running towards them again, and he heard Yuki's footsteps as well from behind.

Kara's arms linked with Todo's from behind, and a beeping noise came from Osomatsu's phone. Todo shut his eyes for a few seconds, but when he opened them again, Hana was back at the floor, and Yuki was now coughing and struggling to get up.

 _It was the phone!_

"T-They just sent.. a new application.." Kara panted again, slowly slipping his arms away from Todo's. His grip on the phone was now shaky too. "It's.. it's useful.. but it drains.. you for a while.. as it absorbs the energy from your own body.. to create energy waves.. and it depends.." He hit his own chest with a closed fist, trying to gasp for more air for him to breathe. He closed his eyes and pressed his back against Todo's to prevent himself from falling to the floor and probably passing out. "On a person's.. determination.. to protect themselves.. or the people around them.."

"But where's Osomatsu-niisan?!" Todo looked around frantically, slightly causing Kara to stumble and fall. Osomatsu was slumped against the wall, but at least he was far away from their supposed battlefield. "Oh thank god.. he's okay, isn't he?" He prevented Kara from falling to the floor by wrapping Kara's arm around him. "O-Oi. Don't fall, Kara!"

Hana didn't seem to be planning on getting up, and Yuki himself was now having a hard time trying to get back at Todo as well. Oso's eyes flashed for a moment, before he teleported away from Totoko and Chibita, and into the air, just above the unconscious Hana. His hammer turned back into a rose, and Oso's eyes closed shut as he started to whisper words under his breath, a golden light emitting from him. "Let the gods.. take what is their's.. and end such madness.. caused by.. the darkness.." He opened his eyes, and a small golden ball of light appeared on Hana's chest, similar to Nyaa-chan's. Immediately, he reached out to it with his bandaged hand.

Hana's eye peeked open, before gasping. "NO-!"

Once his hand came in contact with the sphere, Hana let out a quiet gasp, before passing out against the wall. Oso got back on the ground, the small golden light floating above his palm. He put the rose over the floating ball of light, and it was gone as soon as the rose's petals came in contact with it.

Totoko angrily gritted her teeth at the sight, Chibita clicked his tongue, Todo and Kara watched the scene happen with amazement in their eyes, and Yuki looked incredibly irritated. Choro had noticed Oso's little trick and smirked, more determined to fight back against Iyami, and help his clones defeat the others.

The sounds of metal clashing snapped everyone back to their thoughts.

Jyushi and Ichi were still dueling.

 _One out of six.. it's too early to celebrate._


	81. Chapter 81: Brother's Struggle

Hatabou had no idea how long he had been running, but here he was, running around the Suuji Mansion in complete panic. Upon bursting by the doors earlier and nearly scaring the shit out of the guests, he had demanded Ken-san to assist him as they looked for Jyushi. But they were accompanied by six, demonic and rather annoying girls, with the supposed oldest woman in the group claiming that she would help them. He would have said no, but he was on a rush looking for Jyushi, that he barely cared if some random gaggle of girls decided to tag along. And miraculously, even though all six girls were wearing heels, they all had no difficulty running after them.

Hatabou was in the lead, with Ken-san following behind and holding up two flashlights to lighten up their path. The eldest of the girls, Sokomi, had said something about a girl in a pink dress whisking Jyushi away after a black-out suddenly occurred. Hatabou honestly hoped that Jyushi was okay, and so was Ichi. He had went through such measures to prove his loyalty and worth to the Suuji Family, and no way in hell was he leaving them to die. However, upon spotting something at the end of the hallway, he snatched one of Ken-san's flashlights and stopped running, flashing the light at the object that was slumped at the end of the hallway.

Three out of six sisters screamed, and it was Dokomi, Rokomi, and Shikomi. Slumped against the wall seemed to be a headless body, with it's head, a puppet-like face, sitting on it's lap. As Hatabou approached, despite Ken-san and Sokomi's warnings about not doing so, he grabbed the head. He was sure Dokomi would get a heart attack if he threw the head at their direction.. but he wasn't a jerk, so he just set the head back at the puppet's lap once he was done inspecting it. There was also a large hold on the doll's chest, as if someone punched through it. It was odd. "It's just a doll, jo. Nothing to be scared of."

 _Someone punched through the doll's chest and decapitated it too? That's pretty brutal, jo. Even if dolls aren't alive.. who tears off a doll's head without cringing at it? Then again.. didn't "he" like to decapitate dolls back when we were still kids, jo? And at school too.. he was such a creep at times.. but he was really friendly, jo. If only more people tried to understand him as much as Chibita and I did._

"Let's hurry, jo. Jyushi and Sir Ichi might be in trouble. Ken-san, let's clean that later, jo. Sir Ichi hates dolls." Hatabou snapped his fingers. Ken-san nodded and followed Hatabou as he lead the way. Dokomi clung to Rakomi's arm as she tried her best to avoid eye contact with the decapitated doll, while Rokomi held Shikomi's hand to lead her away. Chikomi followed behind them, arms behind her back. She was the only one in the group of sisters who didn't seem terrified at the sight of the doll. Sokomi silently followed behind Hatabou and Ken-san. "Ken-san, did the others find anything of importance?"

"Sir, they said they just more broken flower pots and dirt everywhere, sir. I'm going to tell them about the doll, sir, so they don't need to report it to me later, sir- sir, what is that on the floor?" Ken-san flashed his light on yet another object on the floor. It was smaller than the creepy doll, and it didn't seem as scary. It was a cat plush. "Oh! Sir, isn't that Sir Jyushi's stuffed toy? The one he carries around a lot?"

Hatabou ran over to it, and picked it up with his free hand. "..Oh. Yeah. It's Jyushi's, jo. The one Sir Ichi made for him as a project. Does that mean we're close? Hopefully.. Jyushi doesn't just drop stuff like this, jo." He frowned. "Why is everything all over the place, jo? First, some creepy doll. Then Kiiro-kun's over here.. I swear to god, this mission was far more dangerous than anticipated, jo. And this manor is a mess, jo. Ken-san, collect the doll later. One of you girls hold Kiiro-kun." Hatabou tossed the cat plush over his shoulder, and Sokomi caught it with ease. "Speaking of which, why are you following us, jo?"

"I was talking to Sweets.. I mean Jyushi, before everything went to hell! I talked to him and Mister Lonely yesterday too." Sokomi said, fiddling with the paw of Kiiro-kun with her fingers. "And.. I'm worried. He seemed.. like a really nice kid, but he was sad. So I wanted to make him feel better by talking to him.." She remembered her harsh words towards Flag Corporation and how heartbroken he looked upon hearing them. But Jyushi didn't seem like someone who worked for Flag Corporation! "D-Does he really work in Flag Corporation?"

"Not officially, ma'am. He doesn't get paid for what he does, but you did hear what he said earlier, right? He's Flag Corporation's ultimate database." Ken-san replied, knowing that Hatabou wouldn't do such a thing unless Hatabou was bored or wanted something to distract himself from the stress. "He's our president's little brother, as well as only family."

"Only family?" Rokomi spoke up. "Where are their parents? I always thought that President Suuji looked rather young in the newspapers! Isn't he supposed to be in college or something? I mean, he is rich. And I didn't know the president even had a brother!"

"Sir Ichi refused to go to college, just so he can finally take over his own company, and finally have time for his brother. It doesn't really matter, since Sir Ichi is pretty smart, jo." Hatabou distractedly added, looking around. There seemed to be more damaged pots with wilted flowers, but some of the paintings had fallen on the floor, so glass was everywhere as well. Hatabou scowled, not liking the mess. "Geez. You would have thought that Lonely would at least clean the place up- huh?"

Hatabou picked up a small item from the ground and inspected it. It was nothing much to the others, just a small badge shaped like a pine tree, that to others, may resemble a green cloud. To others, it may seem like a worn-out badge, one small enough that only a child would wear it with pride. But Hatabou ran his thumb on the surface of the badge, eyes trembling as he stared at it.

There were only six badges like this, because he was the one who made them, back when he was a child. It was obvious it was made by someone that was either nine or ten years old; it was sloppy, the paper was peeling off the cardboard and everything, and the color was fading.

He had one of his own, back at Flag Corporation. He was sure Chibita, Totoko, and Iyami had their own as well. He didn't know if those other three kept their's, but he sure as hell kept his. Kaoru also had one, and when they met again a few years ago, Kaoru had even showed him that he kept the badge. But.. if they had the five badges, and this was the sixth one..

 _There is only one person careless enough to damage such an important thing.. and lose it as well._

At full force, he decided to run to where his instincts may lead him, ignoring the cries of Ken-san, Sokomi, and the rest of the Onnanoko sisters.

"S-sir! What's going on, sir?!"

"H-hey! Come back!"

"Aren't we going to stick together?!"

"What's wrong?!"

"Hey, short stuff! Slow the fuck down!"

"Hey, hey! Where are you going?!"

"You're not just gonna leave us here, are you?!"

 _There's no doubt about it.. it's "him"._

* * *

Hana was down, so there were only five left. Yuki seemed to be weakening, which was good for them. Iyami wasn't being too much of a hassle against Lonely, but since his weapon was longer, Lonely had to make sure he didn't get hit. Oso was back with facing both Chibita and Totoko as his own, while Todo decided to weaken up Yuki even more, with Kara's assistance. That left the Suuji Brothers, with a brainwashed Jyushi trying to whack his own older brother with his cane, and Ichi wasn't even fighting back; he was using his katana to block Jyushi's cane, because he would rather die than hurt his own little brother.

But the more Jyushi moved, the more pained his face became. Shutting his eyes again, he raised the cane above his head, prompting more balls of light to appear. When Jyushi pointed the cane at Ichi, the balls of light were shot at his direction. Ichi used his katana to slash the balls before they hit him, and though he managed to dodge every single one of them due to how fast he was, he was still pained whenever he saw Jyushi's expression as he fought against him. He never expected Jyushi to be strong, but Tougou's brainwashing was to be blamed for that.

Jyushi was in pain, that much was obvious. He'd cry out whenever he was forced to fight even more, but whenever Ichi called out to him, Jyushi would always respond angrily. And it was the first time in his life that Ichi ever heard Jyushi so angry. It didn't matter if it was brainwash tactics or whatever; Ichi hated hearing Jyushi so upset. It also didn't matter if he looked like an idiot; Ichi would do anything if it meant having his little brother back to normal. "Jyushi! You're just tiring yourself out! Drop your weapon, let's end this meaningless fight!"

Again, Jyushi gritted his teeth in anger and pain. The more the fight went on, the more pained Jyushi's voice became. And Ichi hated every second of this fight. He wasn't supposed to engage in a duel with his own baby brother, especially since his brother was being mind-controlled! "You don't know me at all!" He yelled again, gripping his cane tightly. "Stop it already! Your words are meaningless!"

That statement hurt even more than being defeated by Todo and nearly getting killed by Lonely. While on any normal day, Ichi could say that he, indeed, knew everything about Jyushi, as Jyushi was his little brother. But after the fight with Nyaa-chan and his argument with Lonely..

 _Do I really know him as I thought I did? Or.. did I neglect his issues just as bad as dad neglected his existence? Did I think that.. having his trauma and bad memories blocked was the best option? And not think about.. this bits and pieces that Jyushi still remembers? Am I.. that bad of a brother? Oh my god..._

If that was the case, he wouldn't even be the least surprised if Jyushi truly did hate him deep down. Thankfully, he was snapped out of his thoughts by Jyushi lashing out at him again, and he blocked the cane with his katana again. "You need to stop this. It's not going to go well for you at all." He hissed under his breath. It wasn't directed at Jyushi, it was directed at Tougou. "Why don't you just show yourself, Tougou?! Instead of hiding behind my brother-"

Out of nowhere, Tougou's voice started to chuckle again. "Hiding? That's utterly silly. Where did you get such assumptions, you pompous brat? But if you think I'll be affected by such threats.. let's see how you feel upon hearing his voice again."

The force that Jyushi had applied on his cane suddenly decreased, and his eyes softened. Ichi noticed that Jyushi once again looked pained, and he slightly stumbled back, away from Ichi. For a brief second, Ichi could see the sparkle in Jyushi's eyes come back. "It hurts.." Muttered Jyushi, trying hard to keep his eyes open. "It hurts so much, nii-san.."

Oso's head snapped towards the pair in surprise upon hearing Jyushi's voice, but he had to turn away quickly in order to dodge Chibita and Totoko again. Ichi's eyes widened. Jyushi's eyes were back to normal, and his voice didn't seem as angry as he was earlier.. this was the real Jyushi. This was the real Jyushi, and he was in intense pain. "JYUSHI!" He dropped his katana in an instant, running over to his brother.

After dodging another swing of Yuki's crowbar and holding up his arms, Todo yelled out to Ichi. "ICHI NO! IT'S A TRAP!"

Even Jyushi, though pained and tired, seemed to notice his older brother running towards him. "Nii-san.. no.. don't..!"

Ringing on his ears was a voice only he could hear, sickly sweet and soft. Jyushi felt shivers up his spine just by hearing it, and his chest constricted, leaving him with a difficulty to breathe in. "It's time to go back to sleep.. Jyushi-kun. Say goodbye to your Ichi-niisan."

 _NO! NOT AGAIN! ICHI-NIISAN!_

Jyushi's eyes flickered back to being lifeless before Ichi could even come in contact with his hand, and he swung his cane at Ichi in full force. Ichi reacted a few seconds too late, and as a result, was hit by Jyushi's cane. He was blown away by the impact and landed on his back, his katana out of reach. He could hear Kara and Todo cry out his name, as well as Lonely call out to him by his last name. "Argh, fuck..!"

Jyushi grabbed Ichi's katana from the floor as his cane disappeared into the air, almost as if it was dust. With his blank expression, he slowly started walking to his brother, mumbling words under his breath. "Kill.. kill.. kill.."

"ICHI!"

Oso cursed as he looked around him. Osomatsu was slumped against one corner, unconscious, and so was Hana. Todo was holding back Yuki, and Kara was helping him. Lonely was trying to hold back Iyami with his rapier (and cards), but Iyami was miraculously strong enough to force Lonely to back against a wall. Jyushi was slowly approaching Ichi with a katana on hand. Oso would have jumped in there with teleportation, but he was feeling drained from using too much of his energy earlier, so teleportation was out of the question. Totoko was in front of him, smirking, while Chibita had an annoyed expression on his face.

"Whaddaya know." Chibita growled. "Looks like that friend of your's is gonna get slaughtered. And by his own brother nonetheless."

"What's the point of telling him, Chibita-kun?" Totoko giggled. "Osomatsu-kun is just trash. He's not going to be able to stop this, isn't he?"

"Yeah. He's trash."

"Scum!"

"Garbage."

"Worthless!"

 _I wonder when they are going to run out of insults.. tch, how do I get to him without having to.. oh!_

His hammer turned back into a rose as he shut his eyes, a golden light emitting from him. He needed to use as much energy as he could, but if he wasn't able to teleport out of the hole he had fallen in.. he might as well buy enough time for the rest.

 _Tougou's obviously not anywhere in this room.. but maybe if I can sense where he is, it'll be easier to attack that certain thing.. and it'll automatically weaken everyone he is controlling._

"Huh? What now? Are you planning on giving up, Osomatsu-kun?~"

"Wow. You really are garbage."

"ICHI!"

"J-Jyushi..! What are you..?!"

"Kill.. kill.. kill.."

 _Wait a minute.. is Tougou..?!_

"JYUSHI!"

"DIE!"

 _Is Tougou.. in JYUSHI?!_


	82. Chapter 82: Monochrome Dreamland

It was a black and white world where Jyushi was being held captive right now. While his physical body may appear normal (besides the dead eyes), his "soul" or "heart", or whatever the hell Tougou decided to call it, was trapped within a black and white world, full of nothing but empty papers flowing upwards. Jyushi was sure this was his state of mind, as he was trapped and was in no control of his body, and he was held up to the air by thick black vines that were disgustingly sticky against his skin.

The odd thing was, even his clothes seemed to change. He wasn't wearing anything besides a white shirt with exactly five black stripes, and equally black shorts. It seemed even his state of mind had an odd sense of fashion, and didn't even bother to give him any socks.

He didn't like showing his legs, but no way in hell was he wearing pants. It was already a challenge to wear shorts without falling off to the side. His legs had some bruises on them, a permanent reminder of what had caused his legs to be frail in the first place, hence why Jyushi preferred hiding them with long socks. But for now, with his arms above his head, he couldn't do anything. In this black and white world where there was nothing but blank papers falling from the sky and covering the ground, Jyushi knew it was hopeless to do anything else.

Especially since a certain someone happened to be floating around him with such a cheeky grin on his face. Jyushi only met this man earlier, when that girl, Totoko, removed his blindfold and he saw the man holding something in front of him. Before he knew it, he had ended up here, feeling pain all over his body. He knew this man was a criminal, he had done a lot of horrible things that he shouldn't have done.. but the fact that Jyushi felt bad for this one only added to his self-loathing. He was feeling bad for a criminal who had done so many bad things, and it was all because of a certain thing on his info that changed everything.

Still.. having his wife die wasn't an excuse to justify all the people he has hurt. But for Jyushi.. it somehow.. did? Jyushi hated himself for that. Tougou was a criminal, tragic backstory or not.

Jyushi let out a pained whine as the vines around his arms and legs squeezed a little bit. And by little, he felt as if his bones were getting crushed. The man, Tougou, looked like he was as old as Iyami. Or maybe older, but definitely not any older than Dekapan. The man was wearing a full-on brown attire, giving off the impression that he was as old as he looked. Upon hearing Jyushi's distress, he let out a sadistic chuckle. Obviously, he liked seeing others in pain, and that was something Jyushi learned the moment he had felt a warm sensation on his chest piercing through his heart. The last thing he heard before blacking out was the sadistic laugh of Tougou.

"You seem to be in pain, Jyushi-kun." Commented Tougou, arms behind his head and legs crossed as he floated. He was the only one who seemed to like how the laws of reality didn't apply in this black and white world. "Care for me to help?"

Jyushi shook his head weakly, not bothering to speak or to look up at Tougou's face. The feeling of something in his chest was already painful enough, especially since the power Tougou had given him was draining his energy. While his physical form had been busy fighting and bouncing place to place, Jyushi was the one who felt the pain across his body. And he hated every second of it. He felt as if something was squeezing his chest and preventing him from breathing, and he couldn't even do anything but stay silent.

 _I want my nii-san.._

He was lonely. He wanted Ichi here with him, so he could talk to his big brother. Maybe even Kara too, since he was such a nice guy and had such a calming presence about him. Todo was fun to talk with too, because he was actually nicer than most people thought. Lonely too, since he was interesting and could do magic tricks, and despite his tendency to let negative things slip out of his lips, he was a truly kind person. Even Osomatsu, who was from another dimension. He had a brotherly instinct about him, and Jyushi loved the fact that he was like that; protective of his brothers, but still fun to be around with.

He loved his brothers and friends. He hated this world where he was restricted.

"Hate" was a big word that Jyushi often refused to use, but.. there was no other way to describe the feeling that was coursing through his veins. He had let out angered words at Tougou earlier, though the man had sent those statements out of his physical body's mouth, making it seem as if he was yelling at Ichi. He didn't hate Ichi, Ichi was his older brother! But Tougou had made it seem as if he did. And he hated him for that.

He heard all of Ichi's pained words, yelling at him to stop. Jyushi didn't know whether it was out of pain by seeing Jyushi act that way towards him.. or if Jyushi actually managed to hurt Ichi, physically. Either way, Jyushi didn't want to hear that ever again. He'd rather stay in this world full of deafening silence rather than hearing his own older brother suffering. Ichi had done so much for Jyushi.. and Jyushi never wanted to see him in pain. If anything, he wanted to see his brother to do what he loved.. to see him rule the world, if possible.

"You're a quiet kid, aren't 'cha?" Then there was this asshole, trying to make small talk. Jyushi knew it was incredibly rude to ignore someone when talking, but as much as he hated being rude to someone, he just realized how much he hated Tougou's voice as well. He hated Tougou's voice even more than the fact he was going to act so, so rude. "You know, I got this one story. You'll crack up when ya hear it."

Jyushi doubted that.

"It's about Osomatsu-kun."

Oh. Well, never mind then. Jyushi was all ears. He raised his head up a bit, worry visible in his eyes. "Osomatsu..?"

Tougou smirked. "I knew you'd be curious. After all.. that man in white said something about you and the four other brats having some sort of connection to him.." He clicked his tongue, kicking his legs a bit to float in front of Jyushi. The younger male's face was a bit of a mess; his hair was ruffled a bit, there were beads of sweat on his forehead as a result of trying to break free from the shadow-like vines, and it was obvious he had been crying, as his eyes were somewhat puffy. "Well, after my wife had died, I fell into deep, deep depression.. and then a part of me decided that.. fuck everything! Who cares if it's against the law! Doctors always said that getting a hobby was the best way to get my mind off things.. and so I did!"

 _..You can't be serious. Please tell me that everything he did.. wasn't just for the sake of some sick, twisted hobby._

"I tried everything. From fishing to painting, hell, even gardening and doing one of those stupid clay pots. But nothing ever seemed to satisfy me.. so I thought to myself; 'What if I went against the societal norm?'. And that was when my mind thought of all the crimes that I could commit.. and I decided to do the first thing that I thought of! Stealing something would be fun now, wouldn't it?"

 _Does.. does Tougou-san have some sort of mental condition then? As a result from his depression? Did he.. did he "break"..?_

"I started off some place simple.. Akatsuka Ward. I originally thought of breaking in a random-ass house as anyone would.. but silly me ended up sick! It was a winter day, and I forgot to put on heavier clothes! And guess who passed out on the snow?" He chuckled. "When I woke up, I heard the sound of a brat playing with his mother, telling her that he was gonna be the best in his class.. he was like fifth grade at the time. And then this ol' guy served me some tea and told me to stay 'til I got better, and his wife agreed. Nice people. But guess what the name of their only son was?"

 _Oh no.._

"Nice kid. His name was Osomatsu. 'Course, I didn't tell him or his parents why I came to Akatsuka Ward. As far as they were concerned, I was just a lodger." He smirked. "A terrifying lodger. I got better during Christmas Eve, and since I already memorized the house at that point.. I decided to steal the lady's jewelry box and her husband's family heirloom, some sort of brooch. But before I had time to leave the living room and make a run for it, that brat.." He clenched his fists. "Walked in with a damn lamp. But I couldn't let him tell his ma and pa now, would I? So I made a deal with him."

 _Did.. did this happen to Osomatsu-niisan? Or just the Osomatsu-niisan of this dimension?_

"The stuff I already got was valuable.. but dang, the Matsuno Household had a lot more to offer, and so did the entirety of Akatsuka Ward! I was able to get a lot of stuff with the brat's help, and I gave him a beating whenever he tried to struggle.. and one day, his parents found out. And it was because of one thing.. that little brat's eyes had become lifeless. I accidentally scared the kid a bit too much, he no longer had any hope of stoppin' me." He clicked his tongue yet again. Suddenly, he grabbed Jyushi's face with his hand harshly, forcing Jyushi to look at him. "I hate brats so much. I was able to hide for years 'til I had realized that it wasn't stealing that I liked, oh no." He smirked, watching as Jyushi looked terrified at the sight of him sadistically smirking. "Hurtin' people was much more fun. And I got to thank that brat, Osomatsu, for helping me realize that. I heard that ever since I left, kid's never been the same."

 _He.. he hurt.. Osomatsu-niisan.._

"So I did it a lot, and damn. Hurting people was so fun! I most likely wanted to see them.. break, rather than straight-up killing them. Ya know how I told ya that the brat's eyes became lifeless? And he never became the same ever again? Well, that was it. I wanted to see more people end up like that.. but they were too damn stubborn, and I ended up having to kill them." He chuckled lowly at Jyushi's terrified expression. "You.. you're father did some pretty bad things to you, didn't he? And your brother had been forced to help you block those memories out.. I was curious to see how you'd look and act when your mind breaks. And hell, you even have the same face as the brat I should have killed all those years ago!"

 _..You can't break what's already broken.. not anymore.._

"Speaking of which.. that brat, Choro, also has the same face, doesn't he? See those scars on his face?" He finally let go of Jyushi's face. "Of course you haven't. That freak show thinks he's some sort of superhero. But if you do see his face.. well, I made sure it was obvious that he was my enemy." He snickered. "The kid's tough. And he's determined to bring me down. As if I'd let him.. now." He floated away from Jyushi. "Duty calls. I'll be tauntin' your older bro and seeing how everything's been doing, so you stay here and behave, got it?"

Jyushi made no response.

That didn't seem to do well with Tougou. He grabbed Jyushi's face again with anger visible in his features, and Jyushi instantly trembled on the spot. "I said.. got it?" He growled.

"Y-Yes!" Jyushi squeaked out in fear, nodding frantically. This man.. he reminded him so much of his own father. And it terrified Jyushi.

Tougou snickered yet again, as Jyushi closed his eyes and tears streamed down his cheeks. "Once those brats are done, and I get the other Osomatsu for that man in white.. I want to see how you act when you're truly hopeless. That'd be fun. Maybe you'd be the same as Osomatsu-kun?" He let go of Jyushi's face. "See you later, Jyushi-kun."

When Jyushi opened his eyes, Tougou was already gone. He look down again on the pile of papers that were piling up on the ground, and he let out a choked sob once he remembered that he wasn't the one in control of his own body.

Tougou was.

 _Nii-san.. I'm sorry.. I wasn't strong enough.. I truly am an evil child.._

* * *

"What are you waiting for, Osomatsu-kun?" Totoko taunted.

Oso slowly opened his eyes. He was right. Tougou was inside Jyushi, and the small light of Jyushi's life seemed to be dimming away. His rose once again transformed into a weapon; this time, a bow. Totoko was still in front of him with her sword on hand, as well as Chibita, with his butcher's knife. He noticed that Lonely was now backed against the wall, with Iyami scooting closer, dragging his scythe on the ground. Yuki was pinned on the floor with Todo holding both of his arms above his head, and Kara trying to keep Yuki from kicking Todo's stomach. Lastly, there was Ichi, slowly backing away from an equally slow-moving Jyushi, who was holding his katana.

"Kill.. kill.. kill.."

 _..Yuki is currently the weakest.. and Iyami assumes he has the painful magician cornered.. got it. I can't attack Totoko or Chibita right now, but if I get Iyami's.. I have everything set up._

He immediately stretched his bow, aiming it at Iyami. The arrows were charged with a golden aura. He had used his time to analyze Tougou's whereabouts, as well as recharge his energy. Thankfully, Totoko and Chibita were so focused on defending themselves from him, they hadn't noticed that he wasn't aiming at them. He was aiming at Iyami. "..You're mine."

As he let go, the arrow went straight to Iyami's back, but it didn't hit his back; a small golden light had appeared the moment the arrow was about to hit Iyami, and instead, the arrow went through the golden light instead, prompting Iyami to shriek and the golden light so spasm out, blinding everyone in the room once again. Jyushi stumbled backwards and covered his eyes with his sleeves, giving Ichi more time to run away from him. Todo and Kara stopped what they were doing to cover each other's eyes to avoid being blinded. Lonely used his cape to cover his eyes, especially since Iyami was in front of him.

"SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!"

Using Iyami as a distraction, Oso ran towards him and grabbed the light with his bandaged hand, as his weapon transformed back into a rose. He closed his eyes once again as a golden light emitted from him, taking deep breaths as he got near. "Let the gods.. take what is their's.. and end such madness.. caused by.. the darkness.." Iyami fell to the floor with his face against the ground, and Oso stood in front of Lonely with the light floating above his palm. Again, he let the light get absorbed by the rose, before turning to Yuki. "You.. as well..!"

Yuki let out a choked cry as a golden light appeared right above his forehead. Todo's eyes widened. "Ah! It's Yuki's-!"

Totoko let out a growl. "I won't let you win, Osomatsu-kun! Because in this game.. the only winner should be me!" She hissed, running to Oso with her sword, ready to strike. "DIE, OSOMATSU!"

Lonely immediately pushed Oso out of the way and used his rapier to block her broadsword. His rapier was thinner, but he managed to block Totoko's sword far enough from his face. "Arghhhhh..! Owl! Go! Do your job! I'll hold her back! Tater Tot, Karat Cake! Back up, Owl's going to handle Snow!" He slightly turned to Ichi, who had backed up a bit from Jyushi, who was slowly recovering, Ichi's katana still on hand. "Suuji Ichi! Go with Karat Cake, your brother is absolutely dangerous right now!"

"Hey!" Totoko barked, swinging her blade yet again. "HOW DARE YOU?! IGNORING ME WILL RESULT TO YOUR DEATH!"

 _Oh dear. First those six demonic girls, then that horrendously dressed woman from earlier, and now this? What's going on with women these days?_

Chibita rushed to Totoko's aid, but Todo immediately grabbed Iyami's scythe from the ground. As Chibita jumped above him, Todo used the scythe to block Chibita's attack. "Gah! You're small, but hella terrible, alright! Geez, no wonder your ladle is tough enough to take on Ichi's katana!" Todo didn't want to hurt Chibita, but he had to disarm him somehow. As Chibita went back up at the air due to the scythe, Todo prepared to launch a kick.

While Lonely fought with Totoko, and Todo fought with Chibita, Kara and Ichi had rushed over to Oso, as he had just taken the small ball of light from Yuki. "He's fine now.." Oso murmured, letting the rose absorb the ball of light yet again. "We still have Totoko.. and Chibita.. and Jyushi.. and Tougou.." He clicked his tongue. "And Tougou's.. inside Jyushi.."

"WHAT?!" Ichi glanced at Jyushi again. He was wobbly as he walked, but there was this murderous glint in his eyes. Ichi never thought he'd be scared to see Jyushi holding such a sharp object.. well, he always was, because he always thought Jyushi could hurt himself by accident, but this time? Jyushi showed no hesitation or remorse about hurting his own brother. "How do we get him out-"

They were cut off as Lonely was shoved at Todo, some of his items that were hidden in his blazer falling out, such as Jyushi's locket and a deck of cards. Todo's head had hit against the wall and Lonely had been knocked out due to the impact. Todo struggled to push Lonely off him, but ended up passing out as well, some blood seeping out of his head. Thankfully, his fingers were still twitching, indicating that Todo was still alive.

Now there was only Oso, Kara, and Ichi, against Chibita, Totoko, and Jyushi. Osomatsu, Todo, and Lonely were all unconscious, and so were Hana, Yuki, and Iyami.

 _Oh my god. We are doomed._

Ichi couldn't hurt Jyushi, Totoko and Chibita were a pain in the ass, and Kara didn't even know how to defend himself! Oso's rose transformed into an axe once again. Jyushi was ready to stab someone, Totoko was getting more restless, and Chibita didn't look like he was planning on giving up soon. He had no choice in this situation. "Drat..! We needed.. those two.. since they were.. the best fighters.. but now.. there are only three of us..!" He glanced at Kara. "You.. you need.. to deal.. with Chibita..!"

Kara's eyes widened. He absolutely hated fighting and was sure to be killed in an instant. Especially since he was against someone who was much more deadly than he looks..

Oso noticed his doubt, and with a snap of his fingers, a small ball of light appeared, similar to the one Jyushi had summoned earlier to use as a cane to attack Ichi with. Carefully, he pushed the ball towards Kara with his finger. "Use this.. as your weapon.. and I'll handle.. Totoko.. and Ichi.. will handle Jyushi.." With a huff, he ran towards Totoko, swinging his axe. Totoko laughed maniacally as she used her sword to block his axe yet again.

"Hah! This is rather fun, Osomatsu-kun!" Totoko mocked. "You truly are trash!"

Oso growled. "Shut.. up..!"

Kara meekly touched the small ball of light with his index finger, and in a second, it turned into the shape of a metal skewer. Kara was confused for a second, before he realized Chibita was running towards him.

 _Am I really going to use a kitchen utensil as a weapon- WHO AM I KIDDING, THIS IS THE SAME MAN WHO USES A LADLE AND IS CURRENTLY USING A BUTCHER'S KNIFE! OF COURSE THIS IS NORMAL!_

With a bit of hesitation, Kara managed to block out Chibita's attack with the metal skewer. Chibita growled. "Finally gutsy now, idjit?!"

 _This.. this is for Todo's sake!_

As Oso continued to fight with Totoko, and Kara finally started his fight with Chibita, Ichi grabbed Lonely's rapier from the ground, as well as Jyushi's locket, before stuffing it in his pocket. Though he was much more used to handling the katana, he needed something to block the katana with. He had already seen Lonely handle it, and he hoped it was the same as handling a katana. Both were swords, right? "Jyushi.." He glanced at his suffering brother. "I'm gonna get that bastard out of you.. and I'm sorry if I hurt you." He whispered, removing his glasses and hanging it on the collar of his polo. "I promise. I'll save you."

 _Mom.. forgive me. But this is for Jyushi's sake..!_

He ran towards Jyushi with a shout, swinging the rapier. Jyushi reacted quickly, blocking the rapier with Ichi's katana. "Well." Jyushi spoke up with a monotone voice. "Looks like you're no longer hesitating, Suuji Ichi." Ichi looked up at Jyushi's face. It was still blank and his eyes were still empty. "Heh. But your brother is hesitating too much.. he truly is a weakling."

"SHUT UP!" Ichi slashed the rapier yet again, reminding himself this wasn't Jyushi. Tougou was controlling Jyushi, forcing him to fight.. and say such things. "My brother.. my brother is not a weakling! So shut up-!"

Jyushi outstretched a palm to Ichi's chest and pressed against it as his eyes started to glow. It wasn't long before Jyushi's expression became pained once again. "Nii-san.. it hurts..!" He cried out.

Ichi's eyes widened.

 _Tougou, that bastard! Is he using Jyushi's voice to..?!_

"It hurts so much.. nii-san.. where are you..?"

 _Oh my god. No, no, no, NO-_

"Nii-san.. I'm sorry.. I wasn't strong enough.. I truly am an evil child.."

 _JYUSHI, NO-!_

Taking advantage of Ichi being distracted, Jyushi threw him to the other corner of the room, away from the other four, before teleporting over to him. Ichi struggled to stand up as his legs wobbled, finding it hard to breathe. When he opened his eyes, Jyushi was already in front of him, the katana on his shoulder. "J-Jyushi..!" Crap, he couldn't find the strength to walk anymore..!

"This is the end." Jyushi nonchalantly spoke, tears streaming from his blank eyes. His grip was trembling, but it was obvious he was going to stab Ichi, regardless whether he regretted it or not."Nii-san.. I'm sorry.."

Oso and Kara were unable to rush to Ichi's side due to Totoko and Chibita blocking them. "ICHI!"

Ichi closed his eyes and prepared for the end.

 _I'm sorry.. I couldn't save him.. mom..!_

He remembered every single promise he had made to Jyushi.. and every single one of those, he was sure to break.

 _"Let's visit mama with lots of flowers one day, nii-san!"_

 _"Let's throw another wedding for the next lucky ones, nii-san!"_

 _"Let's have a Halloween party next year, nii-san!"_

 _"Let's go to the park once you come back from France, nii-san!"_

 _"Nii-san.. let's always be together, okay?"_

This was how he was going to die? By the hands of his own brother, who was being mind-controlled?

 _This is the absolute worst way to die._

He expected to feel the katana piercing through his chest. Or neck. Hell, even the stomach area. But he felt nothing.

..Well, he did feel something wet stain his polo-

 _Wait a minute-_

When he opened his eyes, he saw.. red. A lot of red.. on his clothes, on his hands-

Then he saw the person standing in front of him, protecting him from Jyushi, as well as the same person whose blood was staining his clothes.

Even Jyushi looked shocked.

"HATABOU?!"


	83. Chapter 83: Checkmate

Todo and Lonely only woke up to the sound of screaming, not so long after they were knocked out. Choro rubbed on his temples with a whine, while Todo hissed from the stinging pain from behind his head. But when he opened his pink eyes, he saw six identical girls by the doorway, all screaming in sync, a man that happened to look like a police officer carrying a flashlight with one hand and a walkie-talkie on the other, Kara blocking off Chibita's butcher's knife with what seemed to be a metal skewer, Oso blocking off Totoko's broadsword with an axe, Ichi at the far back of the room, back pressing against the wall, and Jyushi facing him with a katana stabbing through something..

 _Wait._

"HATABOU?!"

Hatabou stood in front of Ichi, arms spread wide, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead, breathing harshly, and gritting his teeth. The pain of having something piercing through you was too much to be described in mere words, but that wasn't what Hatabou was focused on; seeing one of his friends, especially Jyushi, in a way like this.. it was much more painful than the katana piercing through him. This.. it was Jyushi, yes, it was Jyushi holding the katana.. but it wasn't Jyushi at all. His eyes were lifeless.. and as silly as it sounded, Hatabou knew that it wasn't Jyushi's heart.

 _Whoever you are, I will never forgive you for doing this to Jyushi._

"You.." Jyushi let out a gasp, his arm trembling. "Hatabou.."

As painful as it was, Hatabou forced himself to make a smile. He knew it wasn't a good idea, as everything hurt so much, but.. he had way too much emotions coursing through him. He had no idea why the hell there were two Osomatsus, or why Kara was fighting someone with a skewer, or why Hana and Yuki were on the floor.. but Jyushi was in front of him, and whatever was controlling him had tried to make Jyushi kill his own brother. But the reactions.. it was a sign that Jyushi was still in there.

He just had to wake him up.

"Jyushi.." Hatabou was having trouble trying to speak to the point he forgot to add his verbal tic at the end of his sentence. Not good, he thought. Jyushi's eyes were trembling now, darting over to Hatabou and the katana. He had to show Jyushi he was okay, if he wanted Jyushi to snap out of whatever was controlling him. So, even if he wanted to, there was no way in hell was he making comments about the katana. "You.. heh, wow, you're so fast. I almost thought you'd get to Ichi.. argh!" Oh my god. He was coughing up blood. He knew it was blood, it was impossible it wasn't-

Jyushi suddenly pulled the katana out of him, causing him to scream in pain. He fell to his knees and started coughing, not noticing the dark look Jyushi had on his eyes, even darker than the one he previously had.

Lonely tried to get up, and so did Todo, but both males flinched at the sudden pain on their bodies. Totoko had thrown Lonely hard enough to knock him and Todo out, and her strength was something that shouldn't be underestimated, even as she was looking at Hatabou with a hint of shock on her face. Chibita was the same, and it gave Kara a bit more time to crawl out of Chibita's area and against the wall, right next to the unconscious Osomatsu. The group of sisters huddled together in fear, watching the scene play out, while Ken-san stood in front of them defensively, just in case someone were to attack them.

"Jyushi.." Hatabou tried talking again, covering his mouth with his hand. Something fell out of Hatabou's coat pocket as he started talking, and it made no noise as it fell to the floor. Hatabou grasped at the small object with his fist, before coughing again. "Jyushi.. you've grown strong.. heh.. I'm proud of you.." Tears were forming on his eyes as he continued to talk. "I remember when we were kids, before I left for Akatsuka Ward.. you were always so clingy to Ichi.. and when I left, I met a friend that always reminded me of you brothers.. and that was Osomatsu."

Todo and Lonely could see Oso flinch at the mention of his name.

"..I always wanted him, Chibita, Iyami, Totoko-chan, and Kaoru-chan to meet you guys! I wanted my friends from my different lives to meet and be together! Because.. my friends are all special to me! And I've always.. been alone.." He coughed even more, ignoring the blood seeping through his fingers. "But.. I knew it was impossible.. since.. I was always taught to focus on priorities first.. and that was to serve Flag Corporation!"

Ichi's eyes widened. He had never thought his childhood friend would be so loyal to Flag Corporation to literally take a shot for the company's president. Especially with the harsh words Ichi had told him days ago.. "Hatabou.."

"And that's why.." Hatabou's fingers had a tight grip on the carpet, while his free hand was still covering his mouth. It hurt so much to raise his voice, especially with the amount of blood that he was loosing, causing him to get dizzy. "I would do anything for you brothers! I swore my loyalty to you two ever since I learned how to talk! And that is why.. I want you to stop this! Whoever you are, whatever you did.. you're not Suuji Jyushi!" Tears finally fell from his eyes, both from the pain and from revealing his weaknesses in front of so many people. "The real Jyushi would never hurt Ichi! Because Ichi is what is most important to him! No matter what would happen to him, I know for a fact that Jyushi can never hurt Ichi!"

 _Because if Ichi were to be gone from this world, even if there was me, Ookina-san, Chiisana-san, Warai-san, or even Fuyu-san and Yuki-san.. there is no one in this world that can replace Ichi!_

"So please! Just stop this! I knew that you would be someone great the moment you were born! This.. you don't need to suffer anymore! Just stop this already, Jyushi-!"

He was cut off when something stabbed through his back similar to how his stomach was pierced through earlier. "You talk too much." Jyushi said in a low and monotone voice, eyes dark.

Hatabou looked at him with fearful eyes, expecting Jyushi to snap out of it. But he didn't. He continued to stare at him with his dark eyes, not caring about the katana piercing through him. It left slowly. And then it went down again. This time, in a different spot.

"You're.. annoying.."

"J-Jyu...shi.."

Again, it left, before it went down again. That was probably the fourth hole in his body.

"You.. you're annoying.. just.. shut up!"

"Jyu..shi!"

"Stop talking, stop talking, stop talking!"

"S-stop.. it.. hurts..!"

Everyone was watching in horror as Jyushi continued to stab Hatabou with the katana, his shrieks echoing in the room. Sokomi had let Shikomi and Dokomi hug her out of fear while her other sisters clung into her for comfort, Todo and Lonely were unable to let out any words, as if they were choking on their own words. Kara was no different, watching the scene play out with horror. It wasn't long before he clenched his chest and turned away, but Todo was sure he had already vomited out his lunch from earlier.

Ichi was petrified on the spot, watching as his childhood friend was stabbed numerous times by his own little brother.

 _No.. nO.. HATABOU.. THIS ISN'T REAL.. THIS ISN'T REAL.. HATABOU..!_

Oso's breath hitched as he watched Jyushi finally pull out the katana, the blood spilling everywhere, and Hatabou's screams just disappeared. There was a mess on the floor, and it was Hatabou's own corpse and blood. Jyushi put the katana over his shoulder, nose scrunching in disgust at the sight of Hatabou's dead body. He looked at it for awhile, before exposing his finger to run over the blade of the katana. "Messy." He mumbled, before pointing the katana at the terrified Ichi. "Now it's your turn to die.. brother."

Ichi looked at Jyushi. This couldn't be happening. Jyushi's eyes were dark before, sure.. but now, it seemed as if they were truly lifeless. It wasn't Jyushi anymore; it was Tougou within Jyushi, using him like a puppet. Was Jyushi.. too far gone? Would Jyushi be impossible to save now?

 _No, please, god, don't.. don't do this to me.. I.. I lost my mother.. and I just lost Hatabou, my important friend.. so please.. don't let him win.. don't take Jyushi away from me too.._

The sound of Totoko laughing cut through the air. It seemed as if she was the only one happy, seeing as how irritated Chibita seemed to be at the mess. "Ahahaha! Well done! The boss'll be so proud! I'm sure he's already happy! I didn't think we'd get to lay a finger on them, with this trashbag being surprisingly good! Now," She pointed her sword at Osomatsu again, who wasn't even looking at her. "Let's resume, shall we-"

"SHUT UP!" Osomatsu grabbed her by the neck, glaring at her. She dropped her sword and started clawing at his arm, but upon seeing Osomatsu's eyes, she flinched. Somehow, they were even more red than they previously were.. as if they were glowing. "You.. Tougou.. you went.. too far.. this time.." He growled under his breath. "..You can break me.. you can destroy me.. how many times you want.. and whatever way.. you want.. but.. don't you ever.. do anything.. to the only people.. who truly cared.. about me..."

"Get off me!" Chibita barked at Totoko.

"Don't tell me what to do, short-stuff!" She hissed in reply.

Taking advantage of the fact they were arguing and too busy doing so instead of fighting against him, Oso snapped his fingers. Two small balls of light appeared above Chibita and Totoko. The two of them only noticed this too late, as Oso had teleported right in front of them. "Now.." He reached out to both spheres with his hands, a barrier forming around him in order to prevent Chibita or Totoko from interrupting him. Closing his eyes, he started to mumble words under his breath. "Let the gods.. take what is their's.. and end such madness.. caused by.. the darkness.."

"I won't.. let you!" Hissed Totoko. "I promised.. that I'd do anything.. to protect..!"

"I'm sorry.." Oso opened his eyes once again, as he grabbed both spheres with his hands, before closing them. "..But.. what I'm doing.. is more important.. Totoko-chan.."

Totoko let out an ear-piercing shriek, and so did Chibita, as they finally fell to the floor, unconscious. The two balls of light circled around Oso's hand. But instead of letting the rose absorb them as he did earlier, he turned to Jyushi, who was still staring at Ichi with a katana pointed at his direction. Ichi was petrified, shaking in place, but his face was a mixture of anger and fear.

Todo and Lonely immediately rushed to Oso's side. "Did.. did Jyushi really just..?" Todo panted. But before he could ask, Oso already nodded, his eyes darkening. Jyushi turned to them and pointed the katana at their direction instead, and Todo could see some of Hatabou's blood on Jyushi's cheek. "Dear god.." He muttered. "Did Jyushi just kill..?"

"Sweets did no such thing!" Lonely spoke up. "It is that bastard.. it is Tougou who has done such a thing!"

"WHAT EVEN IS GOING ON HERE?!" Sokomi shrieked, causing Ken-san to flinch from the loudness of her voice. "F-first.. that girl over there kidnaps Jyushi.. and next thing I know, he just.. killed someone!" She clenched her fists. She was never a cowardly girl.. but any normal person would be scared of seeing their friend straight-up murder someone who swore their loyalty to them! "What is going on, really?! Is this party meant to make us forget our problems?! Or did they just increase?!"

"Nee-chan.." Sokomi heard her sisters talk in unison, trying to calm her.

"You!" Lonely turned to Ken-san, pointing a finger at him. "You lead those maidens out of here, it's too dangerous! And please, usher everyone out of this manor this instant!" He clicked his tongue. He didn't expect to have another person die at the hands of Tougou.. this was the last straw, Lonely thought. No matter what, he will end this hellish night.

"B-but what about them?!" And by "them", Ken-san meant Totoko, Chibita, Iyami, Yuki, and Hana.

"WE'LL HANDLE THIS!" Lonely snapped. "I don't want anyone getting hurt anymore! No one.. no one deserves the fate Hatabou suffered through! Not when he only wanted what was best for the people he sore his loyalty to!" He clenched his fists. "Please.. please, just leave! We will end this night without having anyone else die!"

"U-Understood!" With slight hesitation, Ken-san immediately lead the six girls out of the room, letting Rakomi and Chikomi drag out a stubborn Sokomi.

"NO! I DEMAND AN EXPLANATION! WHAT'S GOING ON?! SWEETS?! SWEETS!"

Kara shakily stood to his feet as Sokomi's voice faded from the hallway, rubbing his arm out of anxiety. Kara could admit that he had witnessed a lot of things ever since he got involved with Matsuno Osomatsu. But seeing a murder wasn't one of them. Especially one that was caused by the person who seemed to be one of the nicest people he's ever met in his life.

Ichi still had his back against the wall. "You.." He swallowed the lump on his throat. He saw Oso play a bit with the small balls of light by flicking them with his fingers, while Todo brushed his hair back, sweat trailing down his face. Lonely adjusted his gloves a bit, remaining focused on Jyushi. Kara, who was at the other corner of the room, tried his best to stand his ground. "What have.. what have you done..?"

Jyushi looked at him again with those dead eyes that Ichi hated so much. "I ended his life." Was Jyushi's only reply.

 _Using Jyushi's voice to say such things.._

Five against one wouldn't be fair, especially if that one person happened to be Jyushi. However, this was different. Normally, Ichi would think it was a silly thought if Jyushi were to pick up a katana and actually fight. Jyushi couldn't even walk without assistance. But Ichi just witnessed his childhood friend get murdered, and while one could easily blame Tougou for that.. it was Jyushi's body who did all the work.

Hatabou was killed by Jyushi's hands..

"...Let's end this, Tougou..." Growled Oso, extending both of his hands. His weapon had long turned back into a rose, and it seemed to be releasing five more balls of light, and adding with the other two that Oso just got from Totoko and Chibita, there were seven in total. "..Jyushi seems.. to be.. a tough nut.. to crack.. and saving him.. from Tougou.. won't be easy.." He clicked his tongue. "And.. there is no way.. to save him.. besides this method.. that I plan.. to do.."

"Is there any way to still save him?!" Kara cried. "He can't remain like this forever!"

"..He won't.." Oso mumbled in reply. "But.. it's gonna.. be hard.. trying to save him-"

"I DON'T CARE!" Ichi snapped. "I DON'T CARE WHAT IT TAKES! IF IT MEANS SAVING MY BROTHER FROM THE SAME GUY THAT JUST KILLED HATABOU, THEN DO IT!"

"..Very well.." He opened his right hand, the one with the glove. In a second, five of the seven golden spheres flew over to each person in the room; one for Kara, one for Todo, one for Lonely, one for Ichi, and the remaining three for Oso. As soon as they touched the sphere, a golden light surrounded them. "If that seems.. to be the case.. then I shall.. take you all.. with me..!"

The light glowed brighter, and as it touched Jyushi's body, he started to scream in pain, tears welling from his face. Once the light finally dimmed away, the five clones were no longer in the room, and Jyushi's body fell to the floor.


	84. Chapter 84: Paranoid Doll

When Lonely opened his eyes, he realized that he was no longer wearing his formal attire from earlier, which made him curse a bit under his breath. Those clothes of his were rather useful when it came to magic tricks, but he did have to admit that his new clothes were quite.. comfy. A white shirt with three stripes, and black pants. Oh, and he was barefoot. The clothes seem to be rather comfy, and he would be lying if he were to say he preferred the suits that he wore daily.

He looked around him, noticing his other clones wearing similar clothes, except the number of stripes differed. While Lonely's had three, Todo's had six, Kara's had two, Ichi's had four, and Oso's had only one. They were all barefoot, and Lonely could see there were some sort of marks on Todo's left arm. He also noticed that both of Oso's arms had bandages. While he wanted to ask both Todo and Oso about the things on their arms, he was more curious on where they were and how they got there. He had already accepted the fact that there was something supernatural going on, something that he would question once everything was over, but..

 _Oh my god._

"Where are we?! Is this some sort of other dimension bullshit again?!" Todo screeched. For one, they were all floating. Second, this place seemed empty, with nothing but papers either falling from the sky, or flowing upwards, but the ground, if it existed that is, was covered in more papers. Third, all papers were blank. "Wait.. where's Osomatsu?!" Oso gave him a look, and Todo remembered that both of them shared the same name. "Not you, the other one!" And by the other one, he meant the same one who had managed to drag him in this chaotic bullshit in only a week. Not that Todo minded, since he had "willingly" helped Osomatsu in trying to get back to the other dimension, but still!

"He's.. at the physical world.. since he's.. unconscious.." Oso reminded him, looking around the area. "But as for.. where we are.. we're inside.. Jyushi's mind.."

 _What?!_

"Why is it full of papers then?! This isn't Jyushi!" Ichi barked. He was sure that Jyushi wasn't the kind of person to think about such blank things. Jyushi was a fun person, and he refused to believe that this place, this black-and-white world where only papers seemed to exist, was Jyushi's mind. Thankfully, he could float in this world, so he used it to his advantage to grab one of the papers with his index finger and thumb. "He's not a workaholic like me. Why would there be papers here? He doesn't do paperwork, I don't let him do that kind of stuff at Flag Corporation.. so why..?" He mumbled, fiddling with the blank piece of paper.

"..Files.." Oso said, turning to Ichi. "Those are.. not.. paperwork.. rather.. they are.. the files.. he has read.."

Kara's head shot up from looking at the papers on the ground and Ichi let out a gasp, slowly letting go of the paper. "You mean the all the files Jyushi has read?! This is.. this is too much, isn't it?! I know Jyushi can memorize anything, but this amount?! There can't be this much people at Akatasuka City!"

"Besides, they're all blank!" Todo added, floating over to Kara.

"True.. they are.. all blank.." Oso grabbed one of the papers and showed it to Todo and Kara. "But.. that's only because.. these are meaningless.. to us.." He then proceeded to rip the paper in half, and as soon as he did so, it turned into dust. A few seconds later, the dust suddenly formed back into paper. "But to Jyushi.. each and every file.. each person.. is important.. and each file.. has a story.. that only he understands.. and no matter what.. he can't forget.. the face.. of every person.. he has encountered.. before.." He turned to Ichi. "He's talented.. at remembering faces.. and understanding.. the reasons.. why people do.. bad things.. but because of this.. he doesn't know.. how to hate.." His eyes softened for a moment. "...He's.. a truly.. good person.. so.. it is Tougou.. who did.. such a thing.. and used him.. to do.. his work.." Oso clicked his tongue. "He's here.. somewhere.."

"So this world is just full of the files Sweets has read?" Choro asked, crossing his arms.

"Not.. necessarily.." Oso mumbled. "This world.. not only contains.. these files.. because.. don't you think.. there are too many.. papers.. fluttering around..?"

Ichi fiddled with the sleeves of his shirt. "I agree. I know Jyushi read a lot of files.. but not this much."

"Exactly.. not everything here.. is just files.. that Jyushi.. has read.." Oso floated away from the group, before signalling the rest to follow him. "You see.. this world.. is the mental state.. of a person.. and.. they can only.. end up here.. when under the influence.. of Kamimatsu.. think of it.. as a place.. where your soul.. goes to.. while your body.. is unconscious.." He closed his eyes, as a golden aura radiated from him. "This.. is the Monochrome Dreamland.. and this place.. is where his memories.. his dreams.. and his nightmares.. are stored.."

"Then.. why are there only papers here?" Kara asked nervously.

"..That might be because.. Tougou.. is in here.. and Jyushi.. is forcing himself.. to hide.. his fears.. if he wasn't.. then these papers.. around us.. wouldn't be so blank... and fragile.. but even if.. we destroy them.. they would put themselves.. back together.." Oso murmured. "Since.. we don't know.. where exactly Jyushi is.. it's better.. to hear.. where he might be.. so please.. remain quiet.. for the time being.."

Todo grabbed Kara's wrist as soon as the golden light had appeared, and now that Oso has asked them to be quiet, Lonely was wondering what prompted Todo to grab his friend's wrist like that. He noticed Todo give a nod to Kara, and they seemingly understood what the other was saying, even without words. Ichi continued to look around the black and white world with a frown, probably wondering about the whereabouts of his brother and worrying about him.

Lonely crossed his arms and sighed, as Oso did his thing. Nothing much to do for now besides wait and hope for the best it seemed. He really hoped this night would end soon, and without any more deaths. Hatabou.. he didn't really expect Hatabou to be killed. Sure, it was shocking for all of them, especially Ichi, who was Hatabou's childhood friend.. but he didn't think Hatabou would disregard the plan and run over to the manor. And amazingly enough, he managed to reach them just before Jyushi could stab Ichi.

 _He didn't deserve to die though. Judging by his words.. he was truly alone, just like me._

Loneliness was a feeling he was used to.. well, feeling. So he never truly understood what it was like to have friends. He didn't understand Todo's protectiveness towards Kara, or why would Kara stay with such a violent person like Todo. He never understood why Hana was so chatty with a quiet girl like Homura. He never understood why Homura would never excuse herself from a long chat from Hana. Even Fuyu and Yuki.. he couldn't understand why they were so close to one another, to the point they'd get married. Hell, they were expecting!

Lonely never learned how to socialize. The only people he'd interact with were Tougou's victims.. and even then, he'd fail in protecting them. So what was the point in being close to people who would probably die? Even calling them by their names seemed like something only friends would do, hence Lonely decided to use nicknames to make things better between them; as long as he wouldn't call them by their names or whatever people would naturally call them.. he wouldn't grow attached to them.

 _So why do I feel so worried for Sweets..?_

It hurt. That painful feeling on his chest earlier hurt, but since he was in Jyushi's mind or whatever the hell Oso called it, he couldn't feel it now. Still. The mere thought of Jyushi suffering somehow made Lonely feel bad, even more so than Tougou's other victims. What was it about Jyushi that made him differ from Tougou's other victims? What was it about Jyushi that made Lonely want to protect him even more? There was nothing that differed Jyushi from the rest.. he was yet another clueless victim, scared out of his wits, one that Lonely would most likely fail to protect-

 _Oh my goodness._

Lonely had never felt so happy to talk with people before. As he was socially awkward, he knew he had no chance in society. To him, the people in Akatsuka were his audience. There was no need to pick favorites..

 _But I can't deny it. I have considered Sweets as my friend._

Sometimes, he really did hate himself for being such a hypocrite.

* * *

Everything hurt.

Everything hurt so much.

From his arms to his legs and to his heart, everything hurt. And Jyushi's vision was now clouded by his own tears.

He had killed Hatabou.

He had killed Hatabou in front of Ichi, in front of Ken-san.. and Sokomi, Rakomi, Rokomi, Chikomi, Shikomi, Dokomi, Todo, Kara, and Lonely..

He had killed his own childhood friend.

He had killed the person who had swore loyalty to him..

He had killed the person who swore to protect him with his very life and grant each and every one of his wishes.

 _I am a murderer._

Jyushi's head was kept low as Tougou continued to laugh in front of him. He was a happy fellow, but his source of happiness came from nothing more than seeing Jyushi suffer. He had forced Jyushi to say things he would regret saying with his own voice.. and had forced Jyushi into doing something that would haunt him for years. Hatabou was dead, and it was all Tougou's fault-

 _No. It's my fault. Tougou-san's not to blame.. it's my fault.._

Of course it was. He was the one who held the katana, right? As he thought about the matter even further, Tougou once again grabbed his face with both of his hands. But this time, it was surprisingly gentle, and Tougou was smiling at him as he cried. "You did good." He snickered. Jyushi's eyes were dark and lifeless now, not a sign of life to be seen. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, and if Tougou were to let go of Jyushi's face, he'd look like a limp doll. "You're a good puppet. Stronger than Totoko or Reika, even! And I had those two longer than you.. heh, you really do have potential. And you finally broke.. I didn't think I'd do it while I was chilling in here too."

Jyushi didn't answer. His senses were numb, and he couldn't even think straight.

"But, whatever you're thinking, it's probably right." Tougou smirked, looking at him in the eye. "You're a cold-blooded murderer! Absolutely heartless! To kill one of the people who truly cared for you.." As unsettling his smirk was, Jyushi didn't seem to react to it much, besides a flinch. He was scared. He was more scared than he was earlier. "You're the worst. If you really believe that your 'Ichi-niisan' could save you.. think again."

 _Ichi-niisan was looking at me with fear.._

"Your nii-san no longer loves you." Tougou said. Jyushi's face against his hands were cold, even the tears that streamed down. "You really think your nii-san would still love you? After what you did? Please. Hatabou-kun was more useful to Flag Corporation than you ever will. And because of you... you endangered two of his employees too! Hana-chan and Yuki-kun, was it? Hana-chan has a meek friend that worries about her 24/7! And Yuki-kun's expecting a baby with his wife! And you only endangered them! Such a bad child you are!"

Jyushi flinched upon hearing that statement. "Nn.."

"You truly are an evil boy." Tougou was amused at Jyushi's reactions. "You honestly thought your brother cared for you? You're just a burden that he was forced to take care of! And your mother? It was your fault she died! If anything, your father was in the right, Jyushi-kun. He was doing everyone a favor.. but you had to make your mother feel so sorry for you. You even forced your brother to kill your own father! You're the reason your own family fell apart, Jyushi-kun."

 _Please.. stop this.._

"Nobody will save you, Jyushi-kun. You're my puppet now. So," He made a grin. "Do you accept? Either I leave you in here to rot in your own hatred.. or you come with me? Whaddaya say, kiddo? You're only nineteen, you have a whole life ahead of ya. And besides.. no one would come for you anyway. So what is there to lose from coming with me?"

The remaining parts of his sanity, maybe. But Jyushi's mind was now broken, not thinking straight. There was nothing right in his head anymore and Jyushi couldn't feel anything but pain. Despite what his judgement told him, the voices in his head said otherwise.

 _"You are nothing more than an evil child!"_

Weakly, he nodded.

Tougou was satisfied by the answer. "Good. Very good."

As Tougou said those words, the vines holding his arms up suddenly tightened. From the ground, more vines appeared, and this time, they wrapped around Jyushi's legs. It was still a disgusting sticky feeling against his skin, but Jyushi couldn't bring himself to care. The papers that fluttered around him suddenly started to turn into dust, one by one, and the black and white world seemingly lost the brightness, leaving only a black color. Tougou started to laugh as he let go of Jyushi's face and spread his arms wide, the world around them both falling apart.

Jyushi faced the pile of black dust below him.

 _This Monochrome Dreamland.. is the first hell._


	85. Chapter 85: Hollow Promise

_"Someone.. anyone.. help me.. please.."_

Oso's eyes snapped open upon hearing something ring in his ears.

 _"It hurts.. so much.. and it's so dark.. and cold in here.. please.. save me.."_

It sounded so pained, like the owner of the voice was struggling to get his words out, almost as if he was choking on something.

 _"I.. I want my nii-san.. I'm scared.. Ichi-niisan, where are you..?"_

Wait a minute.

 _"I can't.. I can't take it anymore.."_

 _Jyushi..?_

He got the reply he wanted, thankfully.

 _"I'm scared.. I'm really scared.. Ichi-niisan.. where are you..? Everything is so.. dark.. I can't see anything, nii-san.."_

Even though Jyushi didn't really answer him, at least he got a reply.

 _Jyushi.. Jyushi, can you hear me?_

 _"H-huh..? Who.. who are you..?"_

 _I am Matsuno Osomatsu._

 _"Osomatsu-niisan..?"_

Ah. Did Jyushi mistake him for the other Osomatsu then? Oso would have corrected him, but Jyushi sounded so terrified.. he needed reassurance, Oso knew. Well, it wouldn't be too bad. After all, he was Osomatsu as well.

 _...Yes. I am Osomatsu-niisan._

 _"Where.. where are you..? Please.. please help me.. it hurts.."_

 _I'll help you, don't worry. How does it feel?_

 _"I can't.. I can't see.. and I can't.. move.."_

 _..Alright. I'm going to save you, so please. Hold on for me and for your nii-san, okay?_

 _"...Okay.."_

 _Good. So please.. rest, will you?_

 _"..I'll rest.."_

 _..We'll be there when you wake up. Promise._

It was Jyushi's voice that was echoing in his head, something only he could hear. He noticed that the Monochrome Dreamland seemingly darkened in atmosphere. The papers fluttering around them were turning into dust. Black dust, that is. He turned around to check if it was as bad as he thought, and much to his frustration, it was. The papers that were below them were now dust, and they were piling up rather quickly. Oso floated up a bit, seeing as how the dust might be able to touch his feet soon. He wondered how many papers turned into dust while he was trying to pick up Jyushi's voice.

He noticed that Kara seemed to be panicking by the sudden change, and Todo's grip on him had tightened out of instinct and protectiveness. Ichi looked worried as well, and so did Lonely, as they floated over to him, surrounding him in a circle. Kara was beside Todo, who was beside Lonely, who was beside Ichi, who was beside Kara. Oso felt a bit suffocated at the lack of personal space between him and his four clones. "What's going on, Owl?" Asked Lonely, fiddling with his fingers. "It.. it suddenly became like this.. what is going on?"

It seemed that the Monochrome Dreamland was falling apart, Oso noted. Besides the fact that it was darker now and most of the white things in the area were now black as coal, some of Jyushi's "memories", also known as the papers fluttering all over the place, were starting to turn into black dust and fall on the ground like snow. Oso decided to reach out for one of the papers that were still in an alright condition, but upon touching them, they immediately turned to dust as well. The papers stopped fluttering upwards too, and instead, it was the black dust that was fluttering upwards, slowly but surely.

 _If his memories are this brittle.. that can only mean one thing._

Though Oso wondered how to say it without having to suffer through extreme reactions from Jyushi's older brother. No use sugar-coating it, though. This was a matter between life or death, and plus, Ichi was somehow still okay, after seeing his childhood friend get brutally murdered and all. Ichi could handle the news. "...Jyushi.. Jyushi is.. Jyushi is slowly dying.."

In an instant, Ichi shot up at him, and Oso immediately knew his ears were going to bleed from the purple-eyed male's shouting. But before he could speak or even yell at him about it, Lonely beat him to it, and Oso honestly felt grateful for that. "Sweets is dying?!" He cried. This couldn't be! Not when he finally acknowledged Jyushi as his friend! Not when he finally realized how nice it was to have someone who understood him! And Hatabou's sacrifice couldn't be in vain! Hatabou died to protect Ichi, just so Ichi could save Jyushi! "Owl, where is he?! We have no time to lose! If he is dying-"

"Then there's a chance to save him!" Kara finished Lonely's sentence with desperation on his voice. Of course he was worried; despite only knowing Jyushi for days, there was a feeling in his chest. And that was a feeling to protect.

Oso nodded, watching as the papers around them turn to dust. "His memories.. are staring to.. disintegrate.. and pile up.. but as long.. as the real him.. doesn't fall down there.. we still have a chance.. to save him.."

 _If he falls on the pile of dust below.. he himself will turn into dust as well.. and his physical body will fail to function, thus, ultimately causing his death. And that's not good._

"Everyone.." Oso turned to face them. Kara looked a bit terrified, but then again, who wouldn't be? Hearing about Jyushi's condition must have worried him immensely, but then again, Kara tended to worry about everyone. There was Todo, who looked determined. Determined to kick Tougou once they found him, probably. Lonely looked as worried as Kara, with his fists balled together. Ichi, however, looked angry. Oso would have thought it was him, but it seemed Ichi was looking at the ground, meaning he was angry at Tougou. "Let's go.. and save.. Jyushi.."

Everyone nodded in unison, equally determined to save Jyushi from his fate. Oso closed his eyes, letting the golden light from earlier surround them yet again.

 _Then.. let's go and free him from this nightmare.. before Tougou makes it worse._

* * *

The vines wrapped around Jyushi's arms and legs were probably tight enough to leave marks on his skin. Not that Jyushi cared. His eyes were half-lidded as he faced the pile of dust underneath him, and Tougou was in front of him, laughing maniacally as everything started to fall apart slowly. Still, the shadowy vines were the only thing keeping Jyushi up in the air, and despite the black slime that was disgustingly sticky against his skin, Jyushi made no effort to fight back. Not when Tougou was here.

"It's working! It's working! Soon, you'll be a better puppet than the previous ones were! You'll be unstoppable!" He cackled, turning to Jyushi once again. "Do you know what this means?! I can use you to finally get rid of that pest! He won't be able to fight you, not when your brother is around! And not only that.. I can use you to overtake Flag Corporation as well! The most influential company in all of Japan.. and every single person there listens to you! It will be perfect! You carry the family name.. and no one dares to oppose against Flag Corporation!" Again, he grabbed Jyushi's face. The latter didn't really like how it felt, but did he dare to fight back? Of course not. "You'll finally be useful for once in your damn life! Isn't that great?"

No it wasn't.

 _Because Flag Corporation is the proof of how hard Ichi-niisan worked in order to get in top of the world._

But, once again, Jyushi went against his judgement and nodded weakly.

"Good boy! You're less of a brat than I thought you'd be! Such obedience!" Tougou laughed, making eye contact with Jyushi. "You'll be useful, kid. Really useful. Your dad was such a moron to think you could never be useful." Okay, Tougou was now sending mixed signals at him. Didn't he just tell him earlier that his dad was in the right? "I mean, as long as you have your family's blood in you, you're evil, no exceptions. No matter how nice your brother thinks you are.. there is evil coursing through your veins. How your dad couldn't see that, I have no fucking clue."

 _I'm.. I'm not.._

Tougou suddenly scowled. "Heh? You said something about not being evil, kid?"

 _H-Huh?! How can he-_

"Read your mind? Heh! Simple." Tougou smirked. "But that's a story for another time. Do you honestly believe you haven't done anything wrong? Well, let me list out a couple of things ya did wrong, kiddo. First," He let go of Jyushi's face. "You were born. Second, you made your mom care about ya. Third, because of reason number two, your dad hurt you, which forced your brother to kill your dad. Fourth, the entirety of Choro's party is to protect you from me.. look at the amount of people you endangered. Hatabou-kun died too.. and it was you who was holding the katana, not me."

Jyushi made a whimpering noise.

"You know it's true. Stop denying it." Tougou snickered. He moved his hands and pressed his thumbs against Jyushi's forehead. "Now, be a good boy and listen. Close your eyes." With slight hesitation, Jyushi listened. "Heh. Now, relax. I'll do all the work." He murmured. As Jyushi's eyes were closed, he didn't notice a gold aura emit from Tougou. Tougou also closed his eyes as he rubbed his thumbs against Jyushi's forehead in circles. "Now let's see.. what are you afraid of?"

Jyushi's body stiffened, but he couldn't pull away due to the vines wrapped around his legs and arms. His head started to throb from what Tougou was doing to him. "Ngh..!"

"Let's see here.. oh. Well, there's your dad for one.." Chuckled Tougou, pressing his thumbs against Jyushi's forehead harder. "What else.. is your dad really your biggest fear? Wow, he must have been such a jerk.. oh. Oh what's this? Is this.. your brother?"

Jyushi tried to frantically shake his head, but Tougou had a tight grip. "N-no..! No..!"

 _But it's true, isn't it?_

"..Really? You're scared.. of your own brother? Why, I thought you admired him and loved him.."Tougou genuinely sounded shocked, but a few moments later, he chuckled darkly. "Heh. This is a surprise. You're scared of your own brother, the same guy who did everything for you because he 'loved' you. Pathetic. Why are you even scared of him in the first place? Is it because he killed your dad for killing your mom? Or, better yet, it's because he looks so much like your dad?"

 _No, no, no, no, no-_

"It is, isn't it? You're scared of your dad. So of course you'd be scared of your own brother, who even acts like your dad at times." Jyushi tried to pull away from Tougou, but the older man wasn't letting him. "So what would happen if I made your nightmare a reality? I mean, your brother's absolutely sweet to you.. but let's say I made him act like your dad. Hm, what would be your reaction, Jyushi-kun?"

 _Please no..!_

"Silence means yes." Tougou decided to ignore the voices inside Jyushi's head. "Don't worry, Jyushi-kun. Your brother's gonna be alright."

 _Liar._

"He won't lay a finger on ya. I can't say the same for the other brats, though. Well, better say goodbye to each and every one of 'em." With a low chuckle, he pressed his thumbs harder against Jyushi's forehead. Jyushi let out a pained cry as Tougou's golden aura seemingly went to him instead. "Now, you should rest. Kids shouldn't stay up past their bedtime, yes?"

When he pulled away, Jyushi's body went limp, nearly falling if not for the vines wrapped around his arms and legs. Jyushi struggled to look up at Tougou, but found himself unable to breathe. Plus, everything hurt.

So instead, he decided to fall asleep, with his only reassurance being the voice of Osomatsu from earlier.

 _"..We'll be there when you wake up. Promise."_

 _..You promised.. so I'll.. wait for you.._


	86. Chapter 86: Revelation

When Kaoru, Homura, Dekapan, and Fuyu managed to get to the room after meeting Ken-san at the lobby and after trying to catch up to Hatabou, they were already expecting for the worst; upon meeting Ken-san earlier, who was trying to calm down a girl and her five identical sisters, he had immediately explained the situation. There was a creepy decapitated doll on the hallway, so if they see one, they shouldn't freak out. But other than that, Ken-san also told them some other interesting things; Yuki and Hana were knocked out, so obviously that got Fuyu and Homura worried. Kaoru also seemed to be worried for Iyami, Chibita, and Totoko, which made sense, since he was close to those three.

But then they heard other things.

 _"Sir Shonouske Hatabou has been murdered, sir."_

And when they all frantically asked who did such a thing to Hatabou, Ken-san looked down, almost in shame for what he was going to say.

 _"It's..Sir Suuji Jyushi, sir. Sir Suuji Jyushi stabbed him repeatedly with Sir Suuji Ichi's katana. But there was something wrong with him.. he wasn't acting like himself at all, sir."_

Dekapan wouldn't believe any of it, naturally. He refused to believe such a thing. But instead of getting angry at Ken-san for saying such things, he suggested they all hurry up before things could take a turn for the worst. Besides Ichi and Jyushi, he also knew Hatabou ever since he was born. Those three boys were childhood friends, and he refused to believe that the youngest one in their little group murdered one of them. Besides, why would Jyushi kill Hatabou? And where was Ichi when it all happened? Surely, Ichi wouldn't watch his beloved little brother kill one of his only friends!

There was no door, meaning someone had broke it. So when they stepped inside, they immediately noticed everything in the room; the unconscious bodies of Osomatsu, Chibita, Iyami, Yuki, Hana, Totoko, and Jyushi, as well as a corpse. And that corpse belonged to Hatabou. There were multiple weapons and items on the ground, such as a metal skewer, a butcher's knife, a scythe, a dagger, and a metal pipe.

Immediately, Fuyu ran over to her husband and placed his head on her lap, as Dekapan pulled out a long black fabric from the corner of the room and used it to cover Hatabou's body. "D-Dear?! Are you okay?!" But upon hearing his breathing, she calmed down. "Oh.. oh thank goodness.. I didn't know what I'd do if you were dead.. especially since.." Tears started to come out of her eyes. "Ah. No use for crying.. Yuki, dear, wake up. Please."

"Hana-chan!" Homura cried, placing her smaller friend on her lap. She almost looked like an actual doll with how peaceful her expression was as she slept, but that only worried Homura even more. "A-Are you okay?! Wake up! Wake up, please!"

With how loud Homura was crying, both Yuki and Hana cracked their eyes open. "Ergh.. Fuyu..? What..?" Yuki groaned.

Fuyu immediately smiled in relief upon seeing Yuki wake up. So her husband was alright.. well, that was good. If he wasn't.. it would have hurt her so much. "Yuki-kun. We're at the old Suuji Manor."

Hana wasn't as tired as Yuki was, however. "Homura-chaaaaaaan! You're crying is too loud! I can't sleep!" Hana suddenly whined, placing a hand against Homura's cheek as if to push her away. She then started to pat Homura's cheek repeatedly, but if it was meant as a slap, it didn't really hurt. "You do have a loud voice! I knew it.. give me five more minutes, no way in hell am I getting up. Also, gimme a pillow, blanket, a teddy bear-"

"No!" Homura hugged Hana. "You're not sleeping! You're awake, and I'm glad you are!" She started sobbing. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost my best friend.."

"Oof! Why so sappy all of a sudden? Geez, you're so sappy, you put trees to shame!" Hana was tiny compared to Homura, so her face was being pressed against Homura's chest. "Did something happen? Why is everyone so worried- oh my god!" She pulled away, jumping out of Homura's lap, and turned to Yuki. "Yuki-san, we were being mind-controlled! Remember?! Chibita-kun and I were looking around the manor because we split up! And then we met up with you and Iyami-san after being swallowed by some gross, dark thing! And then we saw Jyushi-san! He was being held captive by this creepy old man.. and that girl!" She pointed at an unconscious Totoko, and Kaoru seemed to be trying to gently wake her up. "It was her!"

"Ah! I remember!" Yuki clapped his hands together. "That man.. he had Jyushi-kun captive! And he told us that if we wanted him safe, we'd have to do as he says! And I remember facing off against Todo-san, with Kara-san trying to help him.. oh dear, I must have hurt him!" He looked around frantically. "W-Where is Todo-san and Kara-san?"

"I can't see Sir Ichi or that Lonely guy either!" Hana pouted. "They left us?! Meanies!"

"Geez, can you not be so noisy? Idjit.." Chibita growled, leaning against Iyami. Kaoru had managed to successfully wake both of them up. "Ergh.. I don't feel so good- KAORU-SAN?! YOU'RE HERE?!"

The ex-policeman looked at Chibita. Well.. he was still small, but he certainly grew a bit. He then remembered that it's been years since they last saw each other too. "It's a long story, Chibita-kun! Though I hope you'll stick around once the party's over. Oh, and please try to wake up Totoko-chan! I still have another person to take care of!" He stood up from his spot, rubbing Chibita's head, before walking over to Osomatsu. "What happened to you? You're sweating so much, Osomatsu-kun."

Osomatsu cracked an eye open. For who knows how long he fell asleep, but when he woke up and saw Kaoru's face, he jolted upwards. "K-Kaoru-san?! Wait, what happened.."

Then it clicked.

He passed out after having a panic attack over hearing Tougou's name.

 _Ah. So that's what happened. How shitty of me.. why the hell am I still scared over something that happened like eleven years ago?_

Osomatsu never understood why he was still scared of Tougou. Didn't he get arrested? Ah, but that was at his dimension. In this dimension, Tougou was apparently Lonely's psychopathic enemy that had planned to kill Jyushi. But that was all he knew. He didn't even know how Jyushi ended up in this room, the last thing he remembered was bursting in here with some guy playing the piano, and upon hearing Tougou's name, he panicked. He also remembered Kara trying to soothe him, but after that, nothing else. He couldn't understand what just happened.

 _First, Todo kicked the door down.. and then Tougou started talking.. and then Choro yelled out his name.. I think I got a panic attack.. and that's it. Wow. I can't even remember anything. Dang, and they had a fight too? I missed out a lot!_

Sitting up, he looked around him, and noticed that there was a blanket over what seemed to be another person's body on the floor. But besides that, Yuki seemed to be struggling to get up, but his wife was helping him stand. Hana seemed to be up and chipper, stretching and all, while Homura was kneeling down beside her, fussing over Hana's condition. Kaoru helped him stand up, though his legs were wobbly. Iyami did the same to Chibita, and helped him up. Dekapan, however, was still kneeling on the floor, gently stroking Jyushi's sleeping face.

Osomatsu walked over to where his phone was, picking it up carefully and inspecting it for any damages. He noticed another application on the screen.

 _So.. this must be it? Did.. did any of them use it? Where's Kara? And Todo, Ichi, and Lonely..?_

"Who's underneath the blanket?" Osomatsu asked as he turned to Kaoru.

Suddenly, Kaoru looked at the ground, and so did Fuyu and Homura. Dekapan turned away from Jyushi with a somewhat hurt look on his face. Iyami, Hana, and Yuki looked at each other in confusion, while Chibita seemingly realized what happened.

"Me was unconscious." Iyami raised a finger tiredly. "Me remembers fighting Lonely.. and then having something hit me. Me passed out soon after."

"So was I." Yuki meekly added. "I was battling against Todo-san and Kara-san.. I think something was pulled out of my chest. I feel better now, though."

"And I was battling with him too, until something hit me!" Hana turned to Chibita. "Chibita-kun, do you know what else happened? I'm pretty sure we all passed out!"

Chibita looked at the body that was covered by the blanket. "...It's Hatabou."

Hana and Yuki looked at each other in confusion, while Iyami scowled. He would have crossed his arms, but he was doing as Kaoru told him; trying to wake up Totoko by gently patting her face. "Me thinks it's rude to cover up someone with a blanket like that!"

"It ain't rude if the guy's dead, Iyami." Chibita mumbled.

At that statement, Osomatsu suddenly flinched. "D-dead..?"

"..I was bein' controlled by something. And so was Totoko. Three of us were left standing before Hatabou died.. and that was me, Totoko.. and Jyushi over there." Everyone turned to the unconscious Jyushi on Dekapan's arms. "But.. I don't blame 'im. He was being forced to fight against his brother after all. I remember.. hearing Osomatsu scream out after hearing Tougou's name. Then he passed out.. but we were being forced to fight against you guys. Hana and Yuki were fightin' Todo, but Kara joined in to protect him. Iyami was fightin' Lonely. Totoko and I were fightin'.." He turned to Osomatsu. "..Wait a minute.. we were fighting you.. but we weren't..?"

"..Osomatsu was unconscious when we were all fighting." Iyami spoke up. "And the one you were fighting.. he wasn't wearing formal clothes, right? He was wearing a hoodie. And his hair was messy, his eyes were red.. it wasn't this Osomatsu. If me remembers correctly.. there were two Osomatsus that time. This one, but he was unconscious and Kara was holding him.. and another one was fighting alongside Ichi, Lonely, and Kara."

While everyone looked at each other in confusion, Dekapan joined in. "So are you implying it's the other Matsuno Osomatsu? The one of this world?"

"They're.. they're not implying anything." Osomatsu looked at them. "He was here. I know it. He was helping us.. the other me. He apparently saved Lonely from Jiguzou, and stopped Nyaa-chan from choking the hell out of Todo.. and I'm sure he helped the others as well." He could feel it in his gut, and it was best to trust his instincts.

Everyone else couldn't understand what they were talking about, and Hana voiced their thoughts. "I don't get it! Other Osomatsu? Two of them? Is that about the other-dimension-crap you guys were talking about earlier? 'Cuz I don't get it!"

"..Hana." Hana turned to Dekapan. "Osomatsu-kun right here.. he's not one of us. Now, I'm not saying he's an alien.. but he's not from this world."

Yuki jolted a bit. "I.. I always felt something around him. That something.. was off." He looked apologetic as he said that. "I'm not saying that I never trusted Osomatsu-san!"

Kaoru placed a hand on Osomatsu's shoulder, worry visible on his features. "But he has the same face as my Osomatsu-kun! Plus, he says he remembers every single moment of his childhood.. so who else could he be? This is Osomatsu-kun!"

"No he's not." Dekapan glanced at them. "He's Osomatsu from another place. Not ours. He's not Osomatsu-kun."

"S-so.." Homura twiddled her fingers together. "W-who is.. Osomatsu-san.. really..?"

"...I am me." Osomatsu replied, taking a deep breath. He saw Chibita and Iyami give him nods, as well as Dekapan. He didn't plan on getting this much people involved with his problem, but it seemed as if he had no choice. "..I know all of you, but.. in a way, you guys aren't you? I've been friends with Chibita, Iyami, Hatabou, Professor Dekapan, Totoko-chan.. but in a way, they're different from you guys." He was honestly so bad at explaining this, and he silently wished that Todo and Kara were around to help him.

"So.. what makes you different from the Osomatsu here?" Fuyu asked, trying to remain calm.

"..From where I came from, Homura-chan happens to be Jyushi's girlfriend, for example." At that statement, Homura turned red. "But in this world, I'm pretty sure Jyushi doesn't have romantic feelings for anyone. And from where I came from, Fuyu-san and Yuki-san aren't even married yet. They just started dating last Christmas." Fuyu and Yuki looked at each other upon hearing that. "And.. Katsuna Todo, Kyabarie Kara, Suuji Jyushi, Suuji Ichi, and Kodoku Choro, also known as Lonely.. they're my little brothers."

Out of everyone, Hana was the only one who seemed to be amazed at hearing such a thing. Iyami and Chibita looked at each other, before glancing worriedly at Osomatsu. Fuyu and Yuki looked shocked, as well as Homura, but Kaoru looked rather.. upset?

"So.. have you been tricking us this whole time?" Fuyu asked in disbelief. It made sense to her. Osomatsu had been pretending to be part of their world ever since they met him.

"Did you.. just use Jyushi and everyone else then..?" Yuki muttered. Jyushi trusted him an awful lot, and so did Kara, Todo, Ichi, and Lonely. It was odd enough that someone as carefree as Osomatsu could befriend someone like Todo and Ichi.

"Is your friendship with Jyushi-chan fake then..?" Kaoru added in.

"Does that mean.. that you're only helping us because they happen to look like your brothers?" Out of everyone, Osomatsu didn't expect Homura to deal the killing blow.

Hana remained silent, surprisingly.

This was what Osomatsu was afraid of since day one; that no one would believe him.

 _I mean, it seems so far-fetched.._

"One of the reasons I'm helping you guys.. and one of the reasons I broke in Flag Corporation.. is because I need to find my way back. My brothers need me. And in this world, Matsuno Osomatsu is an only child. But from where I'm from, I'm not an only child." He could feel something warm streaming down his cheeks. "But.. I'm not here to make things worse.. if anything.. I just want everyone to be okay before I leave. I refuse to leave after seeing how dangerous everything is.. plus, I can't necessarily just leave either. I need to have the other versions of my brothers with me. But.. I don't want to see any version of my brothers suffer! Even if they're as timid as Kara, as dangerous as Todo, as naive as Jyushi, as prideful as Ichi, or as painful as Choro.. my brothers don't deserve to suffer."

 _Deep down, they're the greatest little brothers anyone could ask for._

"I just.. want them back. But I'm not letting other versions of my brothers suffer." Osomatsu looked down. "It's not right.. and deep down, I'm their eldest brother. It's my job to protect them."

 _..Am I crying?_

"Despite what I want and the measures I'll go through just to get them.. not once have I ever thought of using anything against them."

 _And that's the truth._

"..I believe you!"

Osomatsu looked up at the one who spoke.

 _Hana?_

The smallest girl in the room nodded. "I said so before, didn't I? On the day you met our president!" Hana chirped, smiling brightly and walking over to him. "I don't think Osomatsu-san is a bad person! Sure, I'm kinda.. upset, that you didn't tell us what was really going on! I mean, you technically lied to Jyushi-san by saying the reason you broke in was because you wanted to visit him.. but besides that, you've been.. protecting him and everyone else, haven't you? When I first saw you, I noticed you were protecting Kara-san and Todo-san! And you didn't seem to be willing to fight against the president, even if he did point a katana at you!" She grinned. "But Flag Corporation finds a way! If you told us about who you really were, then maybe we could have found a way to get you back home!"

"..I mean, we found a way to get your information from another dimension. It wouldn't be hard trying to find a way.." Dekapan mumbled under his breath.

It was loud for Hana to hear though. "What?! You guys never told me!" She suddenly pouted. "What else are you guys keeping from me?! Better say it now, before I throw a tantrum!"

Yuki looked at his wife for a moment. "Um, Fuyu and I are expecting a child-"

"EHHHHHH?! WHAT NEXT?!" Hana balled her fists.

"I used to be a policeman before becoming the captain of the bodyguards!" Kaoru suddenly joined in, but it seemed as if he wanted to tease Hana.

"HAH?!" Hana was going to die from a heart attack if she kept acting like that. Homura worriedly looked at her, and seemed to be experiencing second-hand embarrassment. "Whatever! I'm asking each and every single one of you later! But for now," She turned back to Osomatsu. "At least that we know something's special going on with you! Now that we know, you won't be sugar-coating anything anymore, Osomatsu-san! We know, and I believe your intentions are good! So of course I believe in you!"

"...I as well." Homura meekly stammered out. "A-And I'm sorry for saying such a thing earlier! Forgive me!"

Yuki bowed apologetically soon after. "What I said was definitely unnecessary.. I'm sorry for doubting you, Osomatsu-san."

Fuyu nodded in agreement. "By the way you act.. you're not as suspicious as Yuki and I thought you were.. you're just a lost kid."

Dekapan huffed. "..You have expressed nothing but genuine concern towards Jyushi these past few days. I believe you now."

Osomatss could see Chibita and Iyami silently cheer for him.

 _Everyone.._

"Ah, but do you happen to know anything about the thing that controlled us then? Seeing as you're from another world.. you must know something about weird shadows popping out and eating us?" Hana suddenly piped up. "Hey.. there's definitely something supernatural going on here!"

"You just noticed that now..?" Chibita sweat dropped. "I couldn't understand much of what that old man was saying, sorry."

"..I did hear a few things.." Osomatsu looked up. He couldn't understand them.. but even in his unconscious state, he heard what everyone was saying. "Something about a man in white.. giving Tougou power.. to control people-" Something clicked. "Man in white! That's it!"

"Did you find something out?" Iyami asked him. It was a miracle that Totoko was still unconscious with the noise they were all making.

"It's Kamimatsu!" Osomatsu grabbed Chibita by the shoulders, shaking him. "Kamimatsu must be in this world too! If the other me is here, and has weird-ass powers.. there's a chance he got it from Kamimatsu! Plus, he's the only guy I know that wears white from head to toe and has magical bullshit! I mean, he's the reason I ended up here in the first place!"

"Lemme go, idjit!" Chibita slapped Osomatsu's hands away. "But if he's here.. how did Tougou get powers?"

"Didn't he say something about trading Osomatsu-san for Jyushi-san?" Hana spoke up again. She seemed to be extra-chatty tonight, Osomatsu noted. "Whoever that man in white is, he definitely wants Osomatsu-san! But Tougou seems to want Jyushi for his own reasons.. so even if they did trade Osomatsu-san for Jyushi-san.."

"There's a chance that's fake. This 'Tougou' person would most likely take Jyushi-chan with him after getting Osomatsu-kun too." Kaoru added in. "Tougou.. I swear, I've heard that name before! Before Chibita-kun, Totoko-chan, Hatabou-kun, and Iyami met Osomatsu-kun.. I was the first one to know Osomatsu-kun, the one from this world. But.. I think I remember something involving him? What is it..?"

"B-but!" Homura stammered out again. "We're going off-topic! What truly happened here? Who killed Shonouske-san?"

 _Ah. She's right._

"There's no doubt it was Jyushi." Chibita clicked his tongue. "Totoko and I were the last ones to get knocked out.. I saw Jyushi try to stab Ichi. But Hatabou was fast enough to jump in and protect him.. and Jyushi stabbed him multiple times."

Fuyu gasp, then covered her mouth with her hand. "J-Jyushi couldn't have done such a thing, Chibita-san!"

"Ken-san said something about Jyushi not acting like himself, correct?" Dekapan looked at Jyushi's sleeping face. "If Hana, Chibita, Yuki, and Iyami were mind-controlled.. who is to say Jyushi didn't end up the same way?"

"And Totoko-chan was in the same state, wasn't she?" Kaoru looked at Totoko worriedly. "Poor girl."

So we got those figured out; Hatabou was murdered.. because of Tougou using Jyushi as a puppet to kill him. So it's not Jyushi's fault, it was Tougou's. And that Tougou has powers from Kamimatsu.. still doesn't explain where the others are though.

As if to answer all his questions, Osomatsu suddenly heard a voice.

 _"Other me. I see you're finally awake."_

He jolted. "Oso?" He turned around the room, looking around frantically for another person that resembled him. But there was nothing.

"Osomatsu-kun?" Kaoru worriedly placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "Are you alright?"

"Other me? Where are you?" Osomatsu looked around. "Where's Lonely? And Kara, Todo, and Ichi?"

 _"Calm down. You can't see us, but we'll explain later. But can you do me a favor?"_

"A.. favor..? Of course."

 _"Jyushi is.. well, there's something obviously wrong with him."_

As if to prove his point, Jyushi suddenly made a pained cry as his face scrunched in pain. Dekapan brushed some of Jyushi's hair out of his face, placing a hand on his forehead. "Jyushi?"

"Is he okay?" Fuyu and Yuki walked over to Dekapan. "He's sweating.."

"Is he having a nightmare?" Homura asked worriedly.

 _"The girl's right. Jyushi is having a nightmare."_

"Ah! Really?"

"Oi, Osomatsu, who're you talking to?" Chibita asked with a raised eyebrow.

"..It's the other me." Everyone's heads snapped to his direction. "I don't know how he's doing it, but I can hear his voice in my head! And he's talking to me.."

 _"..I'll explain later. For my favor.. I want you to wake Jyushi up."_

"Hah? Wake him up?" He glanced at Jyushi. It seemed as if he was having a hard time to breathe, and he was also sweating. Dekapan shifted a bit, so that Jyushi was lying on his lap. Fuyu took out a small fan from her dress and started to fan him, wondering if it was too hot in the room. Hana and Homura were now kneeling beside him as well, worriedly glancing at one another every few seconds. As for Yuki, he had taken out a handkerchief, and started wiping Jyushi's cheek, as it was stained with some of Hatabou's blood from earlier. "He's having a nightmare, right?"

"..It's not any normal nightmare."

"Huh?"

 _"Do anything in your power to wake him up. If you don't.. well, he's going to die, basically."_

In an instant, Osomatsu had run over to the small group on the floor. "Dekapan-san, please give me Jyushi for a minute." Without hesitation, Dekapan gently handed the sleeping Jyushi to Osomatsu. Jyushi's body was on his lap, but his head was lying on Osomatsu's shoulder. "Alright, other me. I just have to wake him up, right?"

 _"Yes."_

"Well that's good. I mean.." He let out a sigh. "I'm the absolute worst brother to sleep next to in the futon after all."


	87. Chapter 87: Tainted Hands

After managing to send his message to Osomatsu, Oso let out a sigh of relief. Just by looking around him, he knew something was wrong. Besides the fact that everything was dark, the papers were slowly disintegrating, and the world around them seemed to be crumbling, he noticed that Ichi seemingly slowed down a bit. Just to stay on the safe side, he had decided it would be best to let his other self help, even after he only just woke up from his rather long nap. Besides.. they were going to need all the help they can get, since Jyushi's peaceful slumber was slowly turning into a nightmare. And if it gets worse, there's a chance Jyushi's mental state would shut down, and he'd die instantly.

Judging by Jyushi's voice earlier, he was slowly being weakened, which worried Oso a bit. Had Jyushi given up? If he did, Tougou could take over Jyushi's body if Jyushi himself were to give up his life and just die.. but Oso wondered why would Tougou even dare to take control of Jyushi's body. Then again, Tougou was messed up enough to commit murders as a hobby, so Oso thought it was best to not question such things anyway. Tougou was smart enough to use Jyushi against Ichi anyway, so he probably has his reasons why he decided to pick Jyushi of all people to possess.

Lonely was a far better choice, right? Then again, he'd have to lower Lonely's guard, and despite the green-eyed male's oddness, he was rather quick and would not hesitate to slice you if you do so much as offend him with your fashion sense. There was also Todo, who was obviously strong enough to break down a door. Kara was a good substitute for Jyushi too, since Todo can't hurt him, but Ichi can. Speaking of Ichi, he would probably be as deadly as Lonely, but if he were to be possessed by Tougou.. well, some of them were bound to get hurt.

Not that Oso cared.

 _I didn't even want to get involved with this._

Still. Jyushi's soft voice was ringing in his head, begging Oso to save him from whatever Tougou had done.

 _And I don't intend to break my promise. Let's just hope that other me succeeds in waking Jyushi up._

As he managed to spot what seemed to be vines from the distance, he felt one of his clones suddenly grab his arm. Naturally, he turned around, only to find Lonely looking at him with concerned green eyes. "Owl. Something's wrong with Suuji Ichi. He's not just slowing down.. but I think he's sweating a lot too. Do you think he is tired?" Bullshit, they were in someone's mind, how the hell would they even feel tired? Oso wanted to tell him what he thought of it, but Lonely honestly looked so concerned about the purple-eyed male. "..You, Karat Cake, and Tater Tot go ahead. Suuji Ichi and I will catch up."

Well, Oso didn't expect Lonely to say such a thing. But Kara and Todo seemed worried for Jyushi, and Todo was obviously fidgeting on his spot. "...Alright.. you two.. come with me.." Oso nodded, leading the other two away.

Lonely floated over to Ichi, noticing that the other seemed to be in pain, as he was clutching his head with both of his hands. "Suuji Ichi, are you alright?" Lonely asked, carefully putting a hand on his shoulder.

Ichi slapped it away with a growl. "I'm fine." He hissed.

 _Typical Suuji Ichi; not accepting any help even though he clearly needs it._

"Surely you aren't." Lonely clicked his tongue in annoyance. He noticed that Ichi's eyes seemed to be flickering as well, from being full of life and worry to being.. lifeless and empty? Concerned, Lonely once again placed his hand on his shoulder. "You are definitely not alright. What is wrong? Your eyes are seemingly changing, Suuji Ichi."

Images were flashing in Ichi's head, and he let out a hiss of pain, forcing himself to rid of those images in his head. He couldn't make out what they were trying to tell him, but Ichi swore he saw someone below him, looking at him with scared yellow eyes.

Wait.

 _Yellow eyes?_

"Suuji Ichi?" Now Lonely was definitely worried about Ichi. His breath was shaky now, and he wasn't even looking at Lonely directly. "Suuji Ichi? What is wrong?"

Lonely was talking to him, but Ichi couldn't even hear the other's voice, nor could he feel the other's hand against his shoulder. Ichi closed his eyes to focus on the images better, but when he opened his eyes, he was no longer in the Monochrome Dreamland.

He was.. back at the Suuji Manor. He looked around him, realizing he was inside the bedroom he and Jyushi used to share. Toys were scattered on the floor, as well as books and papers with scribbled drawings, a tattered box of crayons lay on the floor with the crayons all in one spot of the room, and instead of Lonely's voice, Ichi could hear the faint playing of a music box. He looked around frantically, wondering what was going on; those toys and drawings shouldn't be there, they should be at Jyushi's room at Flag Corporation's highest floor, and he couldn't remember carrying a metal rod earlier-

 _Wait a minute._

He looked at his own hands. They were.. a bit too small now, weren't they? Well, not too small, but his hands were smaller than usual. And the ring wasn't present, which baffled him, as he never took off the ring.

Turning to the side of the bedroom where the mirror was, he realized that he looked somewhat.. younger? Like a teenager? His hair was still scruffy, but his glasses weren't rectangular in shape; they were oval, similar to his glasses when he was a child, before he switched to much more "professional" glasses once he turned fifteen. He wasn't wearing the attire he donned when he awoke in the Monochrome Dreamland either; he was wearing a purple jabot suit, with black pants and shoes.

"Niichi?"

He snapped his head to the source of the sound, and his eyes widened.

 _Jyushi?!_

Except it wasn't.. or was it?

Because even if Jyushi was shorter than him.. he couldn't recall Jyushi being that short. As in, shorter than Hatabou, Hana, hell, even shorter than Chibita.

It was a younger Jyushi, probably about ten years old, with blushing cheeks and big eyes full of naivety and innocence. He was wearing a yellow sweater with paw-print patterns and and black shorts with yellow star patterns. The cowlick was present, and his yellow eyes were gleaming with childishness and curiosity, with his arms wrapped around a stubby giraffe plush which had it's tongue stuck out and a bright yellow star on it's belly, which meant it was a toy for children. There was also a string with a ring attached to the toy, meaning it would do something once the string was pulled.

"Niichi! Are you okay? You look sleepy!" Jyushi spoke up again, his voice an even higher pitch than the one Jyushi possessed.

..When was the last time Jyushi even called him "Niichi"? That was just a nickname Jyushi called Ichi, as well as his first word, since back then, Jyushi had no idea how to pronounce "Ichi-niichan". Didn't Jyushi stop calling him that once they grew up-

 _Oh._

If he was back to being a teenager, then Jyushi was back to being a child. Of course.

"I.." He had no idea what was going on. Why was he back to being a teen? Why was Jyushi a child again? What was going on? Wasn't he at the Monochrome Dreamland earlier, with Lonely fussing over him?

 _..And Jyushi's legs.. he.. he can still walk?_

Did he go back in time thanks to some other magical bullshit? "Niichi." Jyushi called out to him again, obviously worried, which snapped him out of his thoughts. "Are you okay? Niichi.."

"..Of course." He murmured as a reply, watching Jyushi as his head perked up at Ichi finally replying. Happily, Jyushi ran off to the other side of the bedroom with his giraffe plush, giggling as he dropped down the floor and started to play with his other toys. Ichi looked around the room, and despite the questions ringing in his head, he approached his little brother, who was giggling happily as he started to scribble on the papers with his crayons, swinging his legs.

 _Hmph. How annoying..._

Wait.

Did he just.. think Jyushi was annoying?

 _What am I thinking..? Jyushi's not annoying. He never was. He's just a bit.. excitable at times.. and hyperactive.. and rather loud._

"Niichi, niichi!" Jyushi called out to him happily, waving his arms around. "Look at this! Look at what I drew!"

Walking over to his younger brother, Ichi didn't know why his grip on the metal rod (from who knows where) was getting tighter with each step he took towards his brother. Jyushi was as excitable as always and shot up from his spot, waving a paper around, which probably had his drawing in it. "Alright, alright. Calm down, I'll check it out."

 _You damn brat._

Ichi stopped walking. There was that damn thought in his head again.

"Niichi?" Again, Jyushi became worried upon seeing his older brother stop in his tracks. He dropped the drawing, and walked closer to him. "Niichi? Is your head hurting? Not good! Maybe you need rest!"

 _Maybe you need to shut the fuck up-_

Ichi shook his head. He needed to get those thoughts out now. He has never thought of such things about his brother before, as he didn't see anything negative about his brother; Jyushi was such a kind soul who inherited his kindness and talents from their beloved mother, and Jyushi never judged anyone for what they were. Ichi knew that he loved his brother.. so why was he thinking of such things? Normally, when he saw Jyushi so happy, he'd feel happy as well..

 _What is going on with me?_

There was then another voice in his head.

 _"Ichi, I want you to do something for me."_

His eyes dilated upon hearing that voice, and he immediately lost focus of Jyushi, who was now in front of him. He tried to reply, but no words came out. The voice was so familiar.. but he couldn't put his finger on it. What was it about that voice that made it seem so familiar?

 _"It is a simple task. Here. Hold this."_

"Niichi?"

 _"Your little brother.. Jyushi.. trusts you the most. So I want you to do this little favor for me. If you do, then you won't have to go to school today. You can leave the work to me as well."_

"Niichi.. what are you doing..?

 _"I want you to hit him as hard as you can. It's your choice whether to kill him or not. But you can hit him anywhere you want and however you want."_

"Niichi.. you're scaring me.."

 _"It's simple, isn't it? Even you can do it.. I know you can, Ichi. Besides.. it's not healthy keeping all your anger in you. It's best to blow some steam, correct? And Jyushi is such a brat.. isn't he? Well.. I'll let you 'play' on your own now. I have duties I must attend to.. oh, and remember; do not leave any evidence if you do plan on killing him."_

"N-Niichi.. what are you doing with that..?"

Ichi pinned Jyushi down by grabbing his neck and pinning him on the floor. Jyushi's struggles and pained cries went unheard as Ichi raised the rod over his head, his eyes slowly turning empty.

And he swung the rod down.


	88. Chapter 88: Darkness Resonates

Osomatsu just realized this was going to be harder than he thought. Jyushi was breathing, thankfully, but despite the amount of noise Hana and Chibita made, accompanied by the high-pitched voice of Homura crying out from being teased by Hana, and the noisiness Kaoru and Iyami naturally provided just by talking to one another and catching up, Jyushi still wasn't waking up. He had adjusted his position by a bit, so one of his hands were keeping Jyushi's head on his shoulder, while the other was rubbing Jyushi's back soothingly, a comforting gesture in case the nightmare was a pretty bad one.

He remembered doing this to his brothers when they had nightmares back then. They didn't occur as much, but Osomatsu still remembered what he had to do, thanks to his mother. So instead of panicking like Fuyu and Yuki, or pretending to not be worried like Dekapan, he remained on the floor with Jyushi's body on his arms, seemingly calm and composed. He was humming a tune that he was sure only he and Jyushi could hear, but he knew he had to keep Jyushi in a quiet environment, and not in a chaotic one.

So, trusting his natural big brother instincts, he continued what he was doing, ignoring the fact that he himself was worrying so much over Jyushi's condition. "Jyushi.." He whispered, not wanting the others to hear what he was about to say. "I.. I'm sorry for passing out. Were you the guy playing the piano earlier? I didn't notice.. I was busy panicking over Tougou bein' here as well. Heh. Sorry if Osomatsu-niichan is the worst. But.." He held him tighter. "If.. if given the chance.. I'll do anything for you, Jyushi. No lie. You're.. you're as important to me as my brothers are. As Todo, Kara, Ichi, and Choro. You guys.. if anything were to happen to any of you.. heh, onii-chan will never forgive himself. Sorry for being incredibly sappy.. but that's the truth. If I could just wake you up, Jyushi.."

Jyushi suddenly whimpered, and held tightly onto Osomatsu's suit, almost as if he would fall if he let go.

 _Ah. Is he..?_

"Jyushi.." Osomatsu whispered again. Talking loudly might startle Jyushi, even while he was asleep. "You.. you heard me.. didn't you? Well.. you're having a bad dream. It's time to wake up, don't you think? Onii-chan's getting worried about you.. I already miss your loudness, Jyushi. Seeing you like this hurts me so much." He ruffled Jyushi's hair softly, something he tended to do after Jyushimatsu came home from baseball practice. It was a calming gesture, something that Jyushimatsu liked, almost as if he was petting an energetic puppy. But for now, it was Jyushi, who seemed to be experiencing a nightmare. Osomatsu would give him comfort, if it meant saving him from the nightmare that would eat away his mind. "It's okay.. none of those things you're seeing are real.. so please, for onii-chan.. can you wake up now?"

A whimper came from Jyushi again.

 _Can Jyushi.. really hear me?_

He held his brother tighter, stroking his cheek gently with a gloved hand. Jyushi's expression was pained, and tears were streaming down his cheeks. As much as it hurt Osomatsu to see one of his brothers like this.. he continued to talk, for Jyushi's sake. He needed to soothe him first though. "Jyushi.. can you really hear me..? If you can.. can you at least react? Please.. Onii-chan's worried for you." He asked gently.

Jyushi whimpered yet again, holding onto Osomatsu's suit tighter. It seemed as if Jyushi wanted to bury his face on Osomatsu's clothes out of instinct. Maybe he wanted to be safe? Or warm, it was rather chilly, and Jyushi was wearing nothing but a sweater and shorts after all. "Nii-san.."

 _Oh my god.. he can hear me after all!_

Hana and Chibita stopped their chatter upon hearing Jyushi's soft voice suddenly murmur out Osomatsu's title as the eldest brother. "Oh my goodness! Is he waking up, Osomatsu-san?! Jyushi-san?! Are you waking up any time soon?! Everyone's at the edge of their seats! I can't take this suspense anymore!" Hana shrieked, bouncing back to them on the floor. She started to tap on the floor impatiently, cheeks puffed, as if she was pouting. "What?! Still sleeping?! Should we make more noise then, Osomatsu-san?" Hana asked worriedly. "I can make so much noise! Just say the word!"

"I.. I don't know if you guys should. I mean, he only replied when I talked to him directly.." Osomatsu was honestly so lost. "But.. it seems like he can hear me.. but he can't wake up." What on earth was haunting him? Osomatsu felt bad about being unconscious as soon as they got in the room, but no one can blame him for being so terrified of Tougou that it gave him a panic attack. But for now, he continued to calm down Jyushi and gently try to wake him up. He cradled Jyushi's body closer to his. If Jyushi was scared.. well, at least he could offer him some comfort. "You.. you can hear me, right? But you can't wake up.. what's going on in there, Jyushi? Can you at least tell onii-chan?"

"...N-Niichi.."

Osomatsu raised an eyebrow. "Huh? 'Niichi'? The hell is that? Sounds like food." And now, Osomatsu was hungry.

Dekapan seemed to know what it was though, as he turned to their direction. He had been at the dead Hatabou's side ever since he gave Jyushi to Osomatsu, and this was the first time he talked after letting Osomatsu do his thing. "It's a nickname. Jyushi used to call Ichi that when he was a baby, since he couldn't pronounce Ichi's name that time. He dropped it once Ichi became president to the company, since he thinks it's best to call him by a formal title." Dekapan shrugged. "And by formal, he decided to switch from a nickname to simply 'Ichi-niisan'. I don't get him sometimes.."

 _Formal title? Who has time for bullshit like that? They're brothers, for fuck's sake. They can call each other whatever they want.. except for "Trash", "Shitty", "Garbage", "Useless", "Fappymatsu", "Risingfappyski"-_

Despite that train of thought, Osomatsu looked down worriedly at Jyushi, who was still gripping onto him as if his life depended on it. "Is he.. calling out for Ichi then?" Makes sense, since Ichi was Jyushi's biological brother. It only made sense for Jyushi to want his real brother for comfort. For some reason, that made Osomatsu feel a bit.. bad. He didn't know why, he just did. "You must be looking for Ichi, huh? Poor guy.. Ichi's not here, sorry, but.. I guess I can offer you some sort of comfort until he does come back."

 _Speaking of which, where the hell is Ichi? And Oso, Kara, Todo, and Lonely.._

"...Why does his.. voice sound so pained then..?" Homura quietly spoke from her spot, with Totoko resting on her lap as Iyami and Kaoru were busy doing something else to watch over the other girl. Despite that, everyone turned to her, and her face turned red upon realizing she had been heard. "A-Ah! J-Just ignore what I just said!"

"No no no! It's not a bad thing, Homura-chan! That was actually useful information, so there's nothing to worry about!" Fuyu waved her hands together to prevent Homura from feeling bad. "You seem to be the kind of person that understands the tones of voices, Homura-chan!"

"Oh! It's because Homura-chan was so good at acting back when we were at high school!" Hana rubbed her nose similar to how Osomatsu did, and she did it as an act of pride, before putting her hands on her hips. Homura seemed flustered about the comment she got from her best friend. "So of course she knows about the tones of voices and whatnot!"

"So.. Jyushi sounds pained?" Osomatsu looked back at Jyushi. "..Do you think he's calling out for Ichi then, Homura?"

Homura shifted a bit on her spot, surprised that all attention was now on her. "Oh! Um.. i-in my opinion, so you could ignore it and stuff.. I.. I think.. it's more like he's trying.. to keep him away..? O-Or I could be wrong, so there's no need to think about it too much!"

 _Jyushi? Keep Ichi away? ..Why though?_

Still, he appreciated Homura for at least telling him something interesting. "..I see. Thanks for telling me." Osomatsu gave a grin at Homura, before turning back to his little brother. "Whatever's hurting you in that nightmare of your's.. I'll definitely wake you up. That's a promise." He felt Jyushi somehow calm down in his grip, and he made a relieved sigh. "Alright. He can hear us, that's a given. So.." He closed his eyes and cradled his little brother's head, before he started humming a tune. Well.. he wasn't as good as a singer as Karamatsu was, who was often the one offering lullabies.. but as the eldest, Osomatsu had to know about this kind of stuff.

 _If there's anything that can calm down someone from a nightmare.. it's a lullaby.. so Jyushi.. please wake up soon.. I don't want you to die in your sleep after all. Tch.. if only one of those guys were here to help.. I can't do this alone, Jyushi.. onii-chan's not as strong as he looks.._

* * *

"Suuji..?" Lonely backed up a bit. Ever since Ichi started gripping his head, he had stared blankly into Lonely's very soul. However, just now, Lonely could feel a dark aura resonate from Ichi.. and now, Ichi's eyes were darker than before, and they were dull. "Suuji Ichi? What is going on with you?" Lonely may have sounded a bit more scared than he usually was, but that was because he didn't have his rapier with him, and Ich looked like he was ready to tear out Lonely's insides with his bare hands. And that did not sound so good.

Especially since Ichi was saying something under his breath in such a murderous tone. Dear god, Lonely hoped he wasn't referring to him. Without weapons to fight with, he was sure Ichi could skin him alive if given the chance. "You annoying little brat.."

 _Oh? Now who could he be referring to?_

Lonely really wished he didn't tell Oso, Kara, and Todo to just hurry on without them. This was a bad idea. "Well.." He had no weapons with him. Fuck. Not his cards, nor his rapier. He was going to die without weapons. "Uh.. you happen to be more.. barbaric than usual." Bad thing to say, but fuck it, he couldn't find the right words. Not while he was backing away slowly from someone who had such a murderous glint on their eyes. "...Ah.. you do happen to look a bit more.." Pick a nice word, pick a nice word. Make it subtle that he looked like some sort of murderer right now, Choro thought darting his eyes everywhere. "Dangerous, than usual."

 _Way to go, Kodoku Choro. This surely must be the night you will die. Thanks for being such an idiot._

Ichi didn't seemed offended, but the growling sound he made was enough to startle Lonely. "Your fault.. it's your fault that she's dead.." He muttered. His dark aura seemed to be going darker as he spoke with such a venomous tone. "You're a mistake.. you shouldn't have been born.. you truly are an evil child.."

 _..Definitely not me._

But who was he talking to then? Lonely was now sure it wasn't him.. if it was about him, he'd straight-up slap Ichi for saying things such as "You shouldn't have been born". Regardless of who he was talking to, he huffed. "Are you addressing me? Look, Captain Katana; if I wasn't around, your brother could probably be dead by now." He crossed his arms, scowling. "You really are an ingrate.. even if it is not I who you are addressing, saying such things is already considered rude enough-"

He was cut off when a small ball of light appeared in front of Ichi, and formed into a shape of a katana. Ichi grabbed it, and in an instant, lunged himself at Lonely.

Even in this world where reality itself seemed warped, Lonely managed to dodge it by kicking his legs. He would have preferred jumping from one spot to the next, something he was used to doing, but there was no floor to bounce on. Ichi was too slow for his tastes, but instead of pointing it out and mocking him as he would usually do to an opponent, he looked at Ichi worriedly. "What are you doing?! Stop that!" He barked. When Ichi slashed the katana at him again, Lonely clicked his tongue in irritation. "Now you're just annoying me! Where did you even get that?! Stop that this instant, Suuji Ichi-!"

The katana went through him.

His eyes widened.

..for he felt no pain?

 _What-_

Immediately, his body started to glow, and the light consumed his entire body, before the light had disappeared, leaving nothing but a small, green sphere. Ichi extended his arm and opened his palm, leading the green sphere, and closing his fist around it.

 _"Remember what you have to do, Ichi."_


	89. Chapter 89: The Black Knight

"You think those two are alright? Ichi and Lonely, I mean." Kara asked meekly, holding onto Todo's hand as they followed after Oso. Sure, it might be weird to see a grown man such as Kara holding someone's hand, but they were literally in another world, which was also the mental state of one of their brothers. Besides the fact that it was creepy all on it's own, Kara absolutely needed comfort right now. And what better comfort could he receive than one from his edgy childhood friend? "I'm a bit worried for Ichi, especially. Didn't he look in pain earlier?"

"He did. It's like he was having a headache." No use sugar-coating that fact, Todo thought, keeping his grip on his best friend tight. The fact that gravity did not exist in this world meant it was going to be hard for them to face any upcoming dangers, if there were any. Todo was used to kicking his enemies, but this world made him feel as if he was floating on water; it slowed down his movements, meaning Todo was at a disadvantage if something were to attack them in this world. "We can only hope he gets better soon. I mean, we're so close to saving Jyushi, right? Hopefully, this night finally ends once we do that.. this has been a rather hectic party, and we only met Osomatsu-niisan last week. I can't believe we got involved in this much dimensional bullshit in only a few days. Fucking hell."

 _I didn't sign up for this much bullshit since I joined that yakuza group weeks ago. Damn you, Tougou._

Never in his life had Katsuna Todo expected that he'd be dragged into something like this. He knew he was a magnet for trouble, an unlucky child, but damn, Osomatsu was even more unlucky than him. Not only did he have anything from every corner trying to kill him and the people around him, but he also had to keep every single one of them, the alternate versions of his brothers, safe, so he could get back home. Osomatsu was truly the unluckiest one in their group. Not only that, but Todo's ex-boss, Tougou, also happened to be the true leader of the yakuza group that recently disbanded due to Atsushi's death.

"Well.." Kara spoke up again. Maybe he sensed the aura of worry that Todo was emitting? Kara was the one who was good at reading people, almost like a parent. "We decided to join this hunt of his willingly, correct? It's only fair we help him with his burdens."

 _Kara, bless your pure soul for not noticing that we are practically the burdens that Osomatsu-niisan has to carry around._

Well.. he could blame Todomatsu's memories for making him want to help Osomatsu, despite the fact that this was dangerous. As long as Kara was okay, at least. "Yeah.. you're right."

As Kara and Todo continued their chat, Oso remained silent and focused on finding Jyushi, and possibly, Tougou. Oso couldn't help but feel something was off, almost as if he regretted leaving Lonely with Ichi. But he had no time to worry, as he lead the way to Kara and Todo. The only thing he could do was to silently pray that nothing bad would happen to those two. He could feel they were getting closer, and as he floated, he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to contact Jyushi.

 _Can you hear me, Jyushi? I think we're getting close to where you are right now. You just have to hold on a bit longer. And then we'll save you from Tougou. I promised that, didn't I? ..Are you alright, Jyushi?_

He waited for a reply. Nothing. Oso opened his eyes, before closing them again and trying again.

 _Jyushi? Are you alright? Please reply. I'm rather worried._

Again, there was nothing.

Oso was growing worried as he opened his eyes, a hundred possibilities in his head. "You two.." He turned back to Kara and Todo, who had now stopped talking once he called out to them. "Stay alert.. I sense.. there's something wrong.." Could Tougou be doing something? This was the Monochrome Dreamland, where nightmares could come true if Tougou managed to get under Jyushi's skin and pushed the right buttons. Not literally though, Oso thought with a scowl. "..The world.. is breaking apart.. which must mean.. Tougou did something.. to break Jyushi's mind.."

"Break?" Kara frowned. "That's.. what Jyushi told me earlier. That if I don't get to Osomatsu-niisan quickly.. Osomatsu-niisan's mind would break." He still felt guilty for leaving Jyushi in the lobby.. if he was there, he could have prevented Tougou from possessing Jyushi, and maybe this night would be over.

"..He was right.." He turned a bit to Kara. "..You are lucky.. to have.. reached him.. even if he did.. go through.. a panic attack.. at least you.. were there.. to soothe him.. and now.." He made a small smile, something that surprised Todo and Kara. He looked so.. devoid of all emotion earlier. But the smile was gone as soon as it appeared. "Well.. he's awake.. and he's okay.."

"Thank god.. he had one hell of a panic attack back there, didn't he? He even passed out." Todo sighed in relief. "Anyway, are we close to Jyushi now?"

 _Hopefully._

Despite that, Oso decided to lie. "I can feel we're getting close." It was getting a bit more chilly as they approached what seemed to be a tower made out of shadow-like vines. He blinked. He didn't see that earlier.. did it get big while he wasn't looking? "..Not good.. this wasn't.. here earlier.." He murmured, eye twitching in annoyance. "They're not.. supposed.. to be that big.."

"Is that supposed to mean anything for us then?" Todo asked worriedly.

Oso shook his head. "...Well.. it does mean.. something.. for Jyushi.." He took deep breaths. As they got closer to the the tower of vines, it seemed as if his chest was constricting. "What could be.. going on?" He clicked his tongue. "Those vines.. aren't supposed.. to be here.. unless the owner's soul.. is trapped.. and even then.. they shouldn't get.. that big.." He closed his eyes yet again, trying his best to detect Jyushi's voice. If Jyushi couldn't find the power to reply, could he at least give Oso a sign that he was still alive?

 _Jyushi.. please.. let me see your heart._

As Oso closed his eyes, he watched as a small yellow light appear in front of him, just floating alongside a purple light, a green light, a pink light, a blue light, and a red light. All of them were glowing brightly, with the exception of the yellow light, which seemed to be dimming. When Oso reached out to the yellow light, it seemed to only float farther away from him.

 _..Jyushi's slowly dying. He must have lost the strength to even reply.._

"Oso?" Kara placed his free hand on his shoulder, wondering why Oso seemed to be reaching into nothing. "Is something wrong."

"Let's hurry.." Oso opened his eyes and huffed. Looks like stalling was only going to be a waste of time. "We need to.. save Jyushi.. quick.. because.. I'm not.. letting 'him'.. win this fight.."

"Really now?"

The three of them turned around upon hearing the voice behind them. In an instant, Todo's grip on Kara's hand tightened. "Y-You're..!"

Floating in front of them was a man older than them, with a sadistic smirk. Todo hadn't got a chance to see his ex-boss' face before, but he instantly knew this was Tougou. "Nice to see you again, Katsuna Todo! You're still a little rebellious kid? And this must be Kyabarie Kara! Why, I only see him in pictures! He really does look like you!"

Todo backed away, bringing Kara with him in a defensive stance. So this was how Tougou looked like? Todo knew it was wrong to judge books by their covers, especially since he underestimated Osomatsu once and got his ass handed to him by the same person, but Tougou.. he looked a bit too old to be doing something like this. This was the same man who started a yakuza group and possessed Jyushi's body? He was just a few inches shorter than Todo, but still...

 _He's a dangerous man. But.. he's not that dangerous.. is he?_

Unlike Todo, however, Kara immediately felt a dangerous presence within Tougou, as his grip on Todo's hand tightened. "S-So.. you're Tougou..?" He stuttered.

Tougou smirked, politely bowing with a hand over his chest. "I very much am Tougou. Koroshi Tougou. It is very nice to meet you, Kyabarie Kara. Your best friend was such a wildcard. He still is." He chuckled at Todo's pissed off reaction. He then looked at Oso, who was looking at him with blank eyes, but they were definitely emitting hatred. "And you! It has been.. eleven years? I still want to thank you for being the cause of my little hobby. Why, I remember when you were a child! So energetic and talkative.. and then 'that' happened."

"Shut up.." Oso growled, a small ball of light appearing in front of him. It transformed into an axe the moment he closed his fist around it. "You.. you ruined my life.. you ruined my childhood.. you ruined.. me.. as.. a person.." He hissed in a venomous tone. "I'm not.. letting you.. do the same... to Jyushi.. I'm not letting you.. ruin anyone.. the same way you ruined me.." He heaved the axe on one shoulder. "Now.. where is he..? Where is.. Jyushi..? Speak up.. or I won't.. hesitate.. to chop your head off.."

Tougou chuckled. "You're even quieter than I remembered! I'm really the best, aren't I? Calm down.. you're such a hasty child." He snickered, snapping his fingers. In a second, the world around them started to rumble, and the dust below them started piling up and surround them, as Tougou spread his arms and laughed maniacally. "In this world, I am the ruler now! Jyushi-kun has now given up! He can't go on anymore, not when I'm here! Fear is the only thing that can ruin a person.. and I completely destroyed that small hope that he had left! That small hope that you would save him! You're too late, Osomatsu-kun! Too late!"

"Kara.. don't let go." Todo told his best friend as his grip on his hand tightened, trying to keep his voice calm instead of shaky. Todo wouldn't admit it, but he was actually terrified now. With the black dust surrounding Tougou as he laughed.. Todo couldn't help but think of the devil. Tougou was a demon. "Whatever happens, do not let go of me." He was the absolute worst when it came to calming other people down.

Still, Kara listened, nodding frantically. "What's going on..?"

Oso gritted his teeth, glaring at Tougou. "He's.. he's using Jyushi's mind.. he's.. he's the one.. in control.. of Jyushi himself.."

Tougou grinned yet again. The dust that had piled up formed into what seemed to be vines that were similar to the ones earlier. "That's right. Jyushi's mind is mine now. This brat is mine. I won, Osomatsu-kun."

 _No you haven't._

"Not yet.." Oso's eyes darkened. "You haven't won.. not yet.. Tougou.." He opened his palm, revealing a golden sphere that slowly turned into the shape of a locket. Once the light surrounding it disappeared, Kara and Todo noticed that the locket was similar to Jyushi's. "What have you done.. to Jyushi..? But.. no matter what.. I'll break him out.. of the spell.. you put on him.." He put the locket over his neck. "I will.. not let you.. ruin his innocence.. the same way.. you ruined mine.."

"I'd like to see you try, Osomatsu-kun." After he said that statement, a dimming yellow sphere appeared on Tougou's palm, before he flicked it to the piles of dust that were forming into vines. The small dimming light started to manifest into a shape of a human figure; first the arms, then the legs, then came the hands and feet, as well as the head. When the light disappeared, it left a floating body, unconscious, and one that looked so familiar.

Todo's eyes widened. "JYUSHI!"

The vines immediately grabbed Jyushi's arms and legs and hoisted him upwards, his head looking down. The small yellow sphere from earlier seemed to be on Jyushi's chest, and it was dimming.

"W-What have you done to him?!" Kara cried, realizing that there were bruises on Jyushi's legs. But other than that, there also seemed to be bruises on his arms and his neck. Kara was sure there were more underneath his shirt.

"Oh, I didn't do such a thing." Tougou laughed, floating over to Jyushi. "See him? He's done this to himself. Because he's a coward and let fear take over him." He grabbed Jyushi's face harshly with his hands and lifted it up, showing the trio Jyushi's bruised face. His expression was pained, and there were traces of tears on his face. He was barely breathing as well. "It's because Jyushi-kun is nothing more than a useless puppet!"

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!" Todo's eyes flickered with rage as he lunged himself at Tougou, ready to punch him, when a figure that was surrounded by a purple light appeared before him.

 _WHAT-?!_

"Todo..!" Oso immediately went in front of Todo and blocked him from the slash of a katana with his axe. "Tch..! You are..!"

The light disappeared as the figure slashed his katana through the air, forcing Oso to jump back, as well as Todo. "Utterly foolish! You cannot fight me if you have no weapon!" He roared. "Saving a broken doll is just a waste of time! Begone from this place!"

"ICHI?!" Todo looked at Ichi, then at Tougou. Ichi's eyes seemed to be as lifeless as Jyushi's eyes from earlier, similar to Hana's, Iyami's, Chibita's, Yuki's, Totoko's, and Nyaa-chan's when they were being controlled by Tougou. "You bastard! What did you do to Ichi?!"

"Oh, I didn't do anything to the brat." Tougou chuckled, tilting Jyushi's face to his direction. "Jyushi-kun did, however. And it's all because he was afraid of his own brother. How pathetic!" He spat.

Oso's eyes darkened even more, as a red aura emitted from him. He closed his eyes and focused on trying to calm himself. He couldn't let hatred overcome him, as hatred clouded one's mind. "You.. you..!"

 _"Osomatsu-niisan.."_

Oso's breath hitched, but he kept his eyes closed.

 _Jyushi..? Are you still..?_

 _"Please.. help me.. Osomatsu-niisan.. it.. it hurts.. so much.."_

Oso slowly opened his eyes. He could see Jyushi cracked an eye open, unbeknownst to Tougou. Ichi was hovering with a katana, ready to slice someone up. Oso then looked at both of his sides; one of Kara's hands were on his chest, as if trying to regulate his breathing, while Todo's fists were clenched as he gritted his teeth, wanting nothing more than to punch the shit out of Tougou.

Taking a deep breath, Oso summoned two more small spheres, letting them float over to Kara and Todo. The sphere in front of Todo turned into the shape of a metal bat, while the one in front of Kara turned into the shape of a spear.

 _..I promised didn't I? Well.. I don't plan on breaking my promise._

He swung his axe to the side, glaring at the possessed Ichi and the maniacal Tougou.

 _No matter what happens.. I will save you.. because I am your older brother._

* * *

Osomatsu was in the middle of humming a lullaby when Jyushi's grip on his suit got tighter, and he started emitting a gold aura. Hana had been happily joining Osomatsu's humming as well, just sitting next to Chibita and shaking her head to the non-existent beat of the lullaby, when Jyushi's pained cry cut through the air. Immediately, Hana scrambled to her feet and stood protectively in front of Homura, the unconscious Totoko on Homura's lap, and Chibita. Dekapan stood up in a defensive stance, and Iyami and Kaoru prepared for the worst. Yuki stood in front of his wife, sweat dripping off his forehead.

A large orb appeared i the middle of the room as Jyushi's pained cries became louder. Osomatsu tried to calm down his distressed younger brother by hugging his head close to his chest, but Jyushi only started to cry even more as the orb glowed brighter. "Shhh... Osomatsu-niisan's here.. don't cry, Jyushi, don't cry please.. it's going to be okay, onii-chan's not going to let anything hurt you.." Osomatsu whispered as he closed his eyes to avoid being blinded by the light, hoping that Jyushi would calm down upon hearing his voice.

Once the light disappeared, a figure fell gracefully on the floor, cape fluttering. Osomatsu slowly opened his eyes after he noticed the light had died out, and Jyushi stopped crying. The figure seemed to be wearing a formal suit similar to Osomatsu's, but besides that, Osomatsu couldn't see anything else. The cape also seemed to be a bit torn at the bottom. Osomatsu still couldn't see clearly, because not only was it dark and the figure was wearing equally dark attire as well, but his eyes were still adjusting to the scene before him, as a bright light had literally flashed in the room not too long ago.

"Well, well, well!" It was probably the figure who was speaking. His voice sounded so familiar to Osomatsu though, but Osomatsu didn't dare to look up from his suffering little brother. Who the hell was going to fight them now?! Can't they take a break for at least a few more minutes?! "What do we have here? It looks like the target himself has awakened! Such a shame, such a shame! This play could have continued further if he just remained asleep like that little brat in his arms.. then maybe everything could be easier to handle, do you not think so?"

 _Wait a minute. There's only one sassy fucker in this dimension.. and that's.._

He looked up. Osomatsu's eyes widened.

"LONELY?!"

The others immediately put their guards up upon hearing his name. If one would focus, they could see that Osomatsu was right. Lonely was standing before them in his attire from earlier, but his eyes were now dark. Iyami immediately knew what that meant. "Osomatsu! Lonely is possessed by Tougou!"

 _He is?!_

"Well, this play certainly got a bit more interesting!" Chuckled Lonely with that painful accent of his. But instead of feeling cringe, Osomatsu felt shivers up his spine. Lonely sounded even more scary now, so Osomatsu hugged Jyushi closer to him out of protective instinct. "You didn't think I was leaving the story like this now, did you? How boring for the hero to end the adventure.. so the hero decided to turn into a villain himself! Absolutely outstanding, if I do say so myself!" He clapped his hands together as he eyed at the unconscious Jyushi. "But I do get tired sometimes. So why not end this play with a bad ending, hmm?"

Osomatsu's grip on Jyushi tightened. He couldn't find the strength to stand.. but he wasn't leaving Jyushi. He wasn't leaving his little brother behind. Not again. "No.. I won't let you have him!"

Lonely's face scrunched into annoyance, as he took out a white handkerchief from his blazer and placed it over his hand. Once he removed it, he revealed the rapier in his hands and discarded the handkerchief immediately. "Oh? Well, I would hate to use force, my dear Matsuno-kun.~" He pointed the rapier at Osomatsu and Jyushi. "Fork him over, Matsuno-kun."

 _He's not..!_

Hana left her spot and ran over to Osomatsu, spreading her arms in front of him. "No way in hell am I letting you near Osomatsu-san and Jyushi-san, Tougou! I can, and will, fight you! You think I forgave you for taking over my body and forcing me to fight against my friends?! Think again!" She barked, sweat dripping from her forehead. Lonely was much more intimidating than she thought.. but as if she'd let that stop her! Adrenaline rushed through her veins, and she was panting heavily, but she still stood her ground. "Let go of Lonely-san this instant!" She demanded, stomping her foot like a child throwing a tantrum.

Lonely raised an eyebrow. "You? A small girl?" Lonely scoffed. "Are you underestimating me? How dare you mock me.. why don't I teach you a lesson, you annoying brat?"

"Don't talk about her like that, damn it! Hana is stronger than she looks, you know!" Chibita rushed over to Hana's side. Somehow and somewhere, he had gotten his ladle out and ready, as if he was going to use that as a weapon against Lonely's rapier. "If you wanna get Jyushi, you gotta get through me, you idjit!"

Then came Homura, standing on Hana's other side after gently giving Totoko to Fuyu. Both of her hands were curled around her dress. "I'm not.. I'm not letting you hurt them! Not Hana-chan, not Osomatsu-san, not Jyushi-san.. not anyone! I-If you wanna hurt them.. you have to go through me first, Tougou-san!"

Then there was Iyami, standing in front of the younger individuals with a determined look. "Me is stronger than I look! I'm not letting you do the same to Lonely as what you did to us!"

As soon as Iyami left, Kaoru was instantly beside him, and so was Yuki. "Osomatsu-kun has been part of my life for so long! And so has Jyushi-chan! In the name of the law, I demand you to drop your weapon before I pull you out of this gentleman's mouth myself, Koroshi-san!"

"I will not let you use Lonely as you used me and my friends!" Growled Yuki. "Nor am I letting you harm Osomatsu-san and Jyushi-san!"

 _Everyone..!_

The only ones that remained were Fuyu and Dekapan, where Dekapan seemed to be kneeling in front of Fuyu protectively, with Totoko on Fuyu's lap. "Osomatsu-san!" Fuyu called out to Osomatsu. "Come here! I sense it's going to get dangerous!"

"Oh, but it is." Lonely made a sadistic grin, before leaping out of his spot and pointing his katana at Osomatsu as he fell. "It's the end, Matsuno-kun!"

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Chibita immediately blocked the rapier with his own ladle, and it was surprisingly doing well. Lonely clicked his tongue in annoyance and jumped back, pointing his rapier at the small group. Chibita was in the front with a ladle, Hana and Yuki were on both of his sides, Iyami and Kaoru were at the far left and far right respectively, and Homura was at the very back. Osomatsu was in the middle, holding Jyushi tightly. "Underestimating us?! You idjit!"

"Tch..! Pests..!"

"Osomatsu-san!" Homura called out to Osomatsu. "Go with Fuyu-san and Ookina-san! We'll handle this!"

Sure enough, Osomatsu hesitated. "But-!"

"It's fine!" Yuki barked. "We're not part of Flag Corporation for nothing!"

"We got this!" Hana joined in, but her voice seemed to be cheerful, albeit forced. Was she trying to reassure Osomatsu. "We'll be fine!"

 _..I believe in you all!_

Osomatsu scrambled to his feet and carried Jyushi as he ran over to where Fuyu and Dekapan were. Lonely tried to chase after them with his sword outstretched in front of them, but to his surprise, it was Yuki who blocked him, who had whipped out a sword out of nowhere.

 _How-?! ARGH!_

Lonely was sent back once again, with Yuki holding out a sword. Hana had pulled out a dagger as well, leaving Lonely to wonder where he got such things.

"There is a reason President Ichi handpicked all of his employees, you know." Yuki said with a monotone voice, removing his glasses and hanging it on the collar of his polo.


	90. Chapter 90: Withering Flower

Ichi felt all sorts of negative emotions coursing through him the moment he had grabbed the katana and stabbed Lonely. He had no idea why he felt this way, but unlike Oso, Todo, Kara, and Tougou, his head wasn't focused on what was going on. The images that were flashing in his head were only getting worse, and Ichi found himself switching ages and situations, almost as if his life was reminding him about everything he has went through and making him relive those moments again and again, but with slight differences. Those differences were how he reacted towards his little brother, and while he would normally treat Jyushi with patience.. for some reason, he felt compelled to hit him with all of his power, as if Jyushi had done something wrong against him to the point Ichi barely cared if Jyushi was crying at him to stop.

Besides the disturbing scene with him hitting a ten-year old Jyushi with a rod over and over, until Jyushi bled and his legs broke, there was also a part where a fifteen-year old Jyushi accidentally spilled coffee on his paperwork, and once again, Ichi reacted violently. There were other moments too, such as Ichi needing to take his stress out and hitting his brother instead, or when he threatened Jyushi to do more than just break his legs once Jyushi accidentally let something slip out.

Ichi had no idea why he felt so irritated, and Ichi had no idea why he slapped Jyushi across the face for a simple mistake. Even though Jyushi's scared yellow eyes were hurting him, he had no idea why he continued to hit him, pinning him down and continuing to slap his face as if Jyushi had done something so offensive. The voices in Ichi's head were telling him he was doing a good job, and that he should hit him harder, maybe make him bleed a bit. But deep within his mind, there was yet another voice. It was desperate and anything but quiet, but the other voices were blocking it with their own chatter. The desperate voice seemed to be begging him to stop, and that hurting Jyushi was wrong.

But with each blink Ichi took, he awoke in a different situation, and in each situation, Jyushi was always with him. Ichi knew that he was reliving his own memories once he realized they were all taking place in different periods of his life. But with each memory he relived, Jyushi's eyes were getting more and more lifeless, with his voice becoming quieter, and Jyushi becoming much more jumpy whenever Ichi called out to him. He struggled less when Ichi pinned him down and smacked him with an object he would grab from the corner of the room, and by the next memory, Jyushi was no longer calling out to him with such a happy tone in his voice.

Jyushi only looked at him with fear, his eyes trembling each time Ichi called his name in an aggressive tone. And when he looked at Ichi, his sleeve-covered hands were always pressed against his chest, and sometimes, huddling and hugging his legs in what seemed to be a defensive position. And depending on the amount of times Ichi had hit his own brother, Jyushi would say something different with a pained voice and an equally pained look, tears streaming down his eyes.

 _"Niichi! Please, stop! It hurts so much!"_

 _"Ichi-niisan! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It won't happen again! Please.. don't hurt me!"_

 _"..! N-No! Stay away!"_

 _"I'll be good! I promise I'll be good! Just please.. don't hurt me again!"_

 _"Ichi-niisan, no..!"_

Ichi was still conscious, despite what he was doing. Compared to Jyushi who murdered Hatabou, Ichi had control of what he was doing, while Jyushi did not. A voice in his mind was telling him to do so, and for some reason, Ichi's logic was clouded. He wouldn't hurt Jyushi normally, he wouldn't do anything to make Jyushi cry; but the voices in his head said otherwise.

 _"Isn't this what you normally do, Ichi? Make Jyushi feel bad about himself?"_

It felt as if Ichi was losing grip on something.. not his sanity, he was perfectly sane.. was he? Not his dignity.. not his intelligence or wit either.. so what was he losing grip of?

 _Am I losing.. grip of.. myself..?_

A yell cut through the air. "You bastard!" It was Todo, judging by how rough the voice was, but full of emotion. "Don't you touch Jyushi like he's some sort of lifeless doll, you son of a bitch!"

When Ichi focused on his surroundings again, he found himself floating above Oso, who had an axe ready. Todo was floating beside Oso, and and he was gripping tightly onto the bat that Oso had summoned for him. Kara was below them, not so far away, but he was the one who was obviously scared from the turn of events, something Ichi could tell just by the shaky grip Kara had on the spear. He could tell Tougou was above him, as he heard his maniacal laughter.. which meant Jyushi was also above him.

He looked up. The vines were hoisting Jyushi up, who seemed unconscious, judging by how his eyes were closed and he wasn't doing anything about the fact that Tougou was holding his face harshly. "Ahahaha! You've already lost, Osomatsu-kun!" Tougou taunted. "Maybe if you weren't busy stalling, you could have saved him! But no! It's too late, Jyushi-kun is dying, and it's all your fault! Not only that.." He looked down at Ichi, who seemed to be glaring at him. "But you also made this brat rewrite his own memories! It's all because of you! If you weren't too late, you could have saved Jyushi-kun! Not just from me, but from him as well!"

 _..Rewrite.. my own memories?_

Oso voiced Ichi's thoughts. "What.. do you mean..?"

Tougou lowly chuckled. "Oh? I bet the abilities you took from that man in white were limited. How cute." He saw Oso's eyes darkened at that statement. "Sure, you know how to do some 'basic' abilities.. letting everyone hear what the others are hearing, turning objects into weapons, teleportaton, taking god essences, and hell, even going into the Monochrome Dreamland.. but Osomatsu-kun." He smirked. "I'm one step ahead of you. Because unlike you, I didn't take these powers. I gave something in return for them."

Oso clicked his tongue. "..I did as well.. but.. what are you.. trying to say..?"

"Well.." Jyushi suddenly whimpered in pain, as Tougou let go of Jyushi's face, and placed a palm over his forehead. "I got a bit more than what you already had, Osomatsu-kun. I was able to make everything here in the Monochrome Dreamland the way I want it, didn't I? And unlike you, I gained the ability to get my own puppets. But you.. what a goody-two-shoes you are! You only took the abilities that you thought you needed!" He laughed yet again. "There is now way to save them, Osomatsu-kun! Jyushi-kun was scared of his own brother turning into a monster like their father! And look! He's now one! He rewrote each of his memories!"

The red-eyed male's eyes widened. "That could mean.. that those bruises.. were Ichi's fault..?" Oso once again looked at Jyushi, taking note of the bruises. "If Ichi.. did rewrite his memories.. does that mean.. he hurt.. Jyushi himself..?"

"No, it couldn't be!" Todo growled. "Ichi.. I know he's an asshole, but.. judging by our few days together, there is no one more important to Ichi than his own brother! And those bruises weren't there earlier! There is no way Ichi could hurt his own brother! Even by some sort of magical bullshit.. if that guy with the fucking katana hovering above us is really Ichi..!" Todo looked up at the blank-eyed Ichi. "Then he'd never hurt Jyushi! No matter what! Because Jyushi is what is most important to him!"

 _..Am I really like that?_

Ichi wondered. Ever since he started "rewriting" his own memories.. he couldn't remember much of what he really was.

 _But.. why am I supposed to care about Jyushi? Isn't he the reason that our mother is dead?_

Oso readied his axe, blowing some of his hair out of his face. It had become messier ever since he fought against Totoko earlier. Not even the Monochrome Dreamland could do Oso's hair any justice. "As much.. as I'd like.. to argue with you.. Tougou.. I have to.. fight you.. because.. I promised Jyushi.. that I'd save him.." He clicked his tongue again out of annoyance. "Lonely's not here.. so you're probably.. using him.. in the physical world..? Tch.. typical Kamimatsu.."

"Very well then." Tougou snapped his fingers, and a small golden light appeared. When he touched it, it formed into a shape of a broadsword, similar to Totoko's earlier. "I may be an old-timer.. but I definitely know how to fight. And I'm sure you're not going to babysit those little friends of your's, Osomatsu-kun?"

Todo gritted his teeth, ready to swing the bat. "I'll shove this bat up your ass!"

Kara floated over to next to Oso, still having a shaky grip on the spear. "I.. I don't like fighting.. but.. if this is for the sake of my brother.. then I will do what I must."

Oso looked over at the two of his companions. "Alright.. so it's three.. against two..?"

"It may seem like an unfair fight.. but good like trying to take Ichi-kun all on your own." Tougou smirked. "I'm stronger than I look, Osomatsu-kun."

"Hm.. cocky.. aren't we..?" Oso took a deep breath, trying to force himself to let all his hatred into the power of his axe rather than storing it in his head. "Very well.. as Lonely said.. this will be.. the duel.. that decides everything..!"

* * *

Osomatsu's eyes were glued to his friends as they fought back against Lonely. Dekapan was protecting them by standing in front of them, so Osomatsu's view was a bit blocked, but he was beside Fuyu, who had the still-unconscious Totoko on her lap. He had to admit that Yuki looked cool like that, blocking Lonely's rapier with his own sword. And Hana had a dagger too, which she was pointing at Lonely and was holding with ease. Chibita had his ladle, and Iyami was holding a crowbar, probably the one from Yuki earlier when he was possessed by Tougou. Then there was Ken-san, who claimed to be an ex-policeman, with a baton. Homura, even though she was incredibly shy, managed to take out what seemed to be a machete.

 _And from under her dress too! Good fuck, do they carry those things around everywhere?!_

Fuyu made a snort. She probably knew what Osomatsu was thinking. "Before you ask, yes, we do have those around. I, myself, have my own! It's a falchion, just like my dear Yuki's." She told him with a playful wink, probably just to calm Osomatsu down. "The guards are the ones that carry around the guns. Us employees have swords of our own! And we're specially trained by the president himself! He spars with at least fifty of us every single day, just to see if we're still as sharp as ever.~"

 _Oh my god. Ichi's not fucking around, is he? He seriously handpicked all of his employees.. just for this?! Ichi's amazing.._

With a battle cry, Hana swung her dagger. Lonely immediately pushed Yuki and jumped in the air, using his foot to kick Yuki downwards. "Hup!" He slashed his rapier in order to force Hana away, as well as Chibita, who had been trailing after her. Of course, Iyami and Kaoru tried to hit him with their weapons respectively and from different sides, something that he managed to dodge by using Yuki's body to jump towards the air, causing Kaoru and Iyami to hit each other instead.

"Ack!" That was Kaoru, whose cheek was smacked by Iyami's crowbar.

"Sheh!" That was Iyami, who got whacked by Kaoru's baton.

"Gwah!" And that was Yuki, who was the victim to Choro's foot.

"Hmph. Useless." Lonely scoffed as he landed on the piano, the keys making a deafening noise as he landed. His cape fluttered as he made his landing, albeit dramatically. He pointed his sword at Yuki, whose face was on the floor, watching as the two smallest individuals in the group panic and try to help him. "It is obvious that you all are swinging your weapons around aimlessly! To fight without the skill or knowledge to do so is utterly worthless! It's best to give up!"

"Tch..! As if.." Yuki rubbed the back of his neck as Chibita and Hana helped him up. He used the sword to support himself as he stood up. "Flag Corporation's employees are trained, sure, but.. Sir Ichi has told us that the most important thing.."

"Is trusting our own instincts! Because as important as skill is.. as long as you can hit your opponent, you're doing fine! That's what President Ichi told me! And I believe him!" Homura finished for Yuki, as she ran towards Lonely, eyes shut. "And we'll do anything it takes to beat you! Hi-yah!" Again, Lonely dodged, but to everyone's surprise, Homura swung her weapon hard enough to actually leave a dent on the piano. "Whoopsies! I'm sorry, piano-san!" She cried.

 _None of them here has expertise in fighting? Hmph. They'll be dead in a second._

Or at least, that's what Lonely thought.

Hana recovered fast enough, climbing on Yuki's back and using him as support to leap onto Lonely and clung onto his stomach area. "Gwah-!" Hana was actually strong enough to make her leap seem like a tackle, as Lonely was sent stumbling backwards, hitting his head against the same piano Homura had dented earlier. "Tch..!"

"Hana-chan! You okay?!"

Hana raised a thumbs-up, despite her dizzy eyes. "I feel nauseous as fuck, but I'm okay!"

 _She's Hana. Of course she's okay._

But to everyone's shock, Lonely grabbed her by her twin tails, picking her up like a doll before she could react. "You little brat..!" With an angry roar, he threw Hana to the direction of the stained glass windows.

Hana's eyes widened as she was thrown away from the group, hearing their voices mix together. As if time stopped, Hana managed to make out the voices, just before she collided with the window.

"No-!"

 _Fuyu-san._

"Hana-chan-!"

 _Yuki-san._

"HANA-!"

 _Homura-chan._

"Chiisana-!"

 _Ookina-san._

"MISSY-!"

 _Chibita-kun._

"Hana-!"

 _Iyami-san._

"Dearie-!"

 _Kaoru-san._

"Hana, no-!"

 _And finally Osomatsu-san._

Hana finally closed her eyes.

 _This is.. the end..!_

As Hana was thrown to the window with full-force, it shattered.


	91. Chapter 91: Re: Memory

It felt as if time stopped for poor Homura. Lonely had grabbed Hana by her twin tails with no hesitation, and used all of his strength to throw her to the large stained glass window, shattering it completely. Even as Hana's body fell to what seemed to be her very death, the glass shards that surrounded her manage to make an image of beauty, just before time started moving again. Time for Homura, that is. To the people around her, Hana fell as soon as she collided against the glass, but not even once did Hana scream out in fear of what would be her supposed death.

Typical Hana. She was a girl that would never succumb to fear, even though she just got thrown out a window by a man taller than her.

 _Hana-chan always said that if she were to die.. she'd greet death with a smug face and her fist._

Homura dropped her weapon as she tried to process what just happened. It wasn't just her who had been shocked by the turn of events, but so was Yuki and Chibita, with the latter seemingly.. crying? No, he wasn't sobbing or sniffling unlike Homura, but the tears were streaming down his cheeks. Homura fell to her knees and covered her mouth with a shaky hand, her palm so cold and sweaty. Kaoru, Iyami, and Dekapan were all still standing, eyes watching as the shards of glass scattered on the floor.

Fuyu was the same as Homura, with a hand covering her mouth as she shook her head repeatedly in denial. Dekapan looked down, fists curling and obviously distraught at the fact that not only did they lose Hatabou, but possibly, Hana too. It would only take a miracle to say that Hana was perfectly fine after that fall, especially since the Suuji Manor was big, and she had fallen off a high floor.

As for Osomatsu, he was in complete shock, and his hold on his unconscious little brother was only getting tighter. He watched as Lonely's muscles and facial features relax as he panted, trying to regulate his own breathing. He adjusted his hold on his rapier, before looking back at the small group. Picking up Hana was tougher than it looked, because despite her small size, Hana was still heavy. So picking up the dollish girl had taken out a large chunk of his energy and left him in a tired state. "Now that the brat is gone.." He growled, wiping sweat off his forehead. "You all are next.."

Instinctively, Osomatsu hugged Jyushi closer to his chest, with Jyushi's head on his shoulder now. "No.." He muttered. Was he scared out of his wits? Definitely. Was he terrified of Lonely? Not really, but he was terrified of what Tougou did to Lonely. But would he give up Jyushi for his own safety? Absolutely not. Not after what happened to Hana. Plus, Jyushi was dying. It was only more of a reason to not give him up. "I won't.. Tougou, I won't let you get away with this!" Osomatsu yelled, clutching Jyushi's head tighter. "Not only did you manage to hurt Todo by making him join the yakuza group.. you've hurt Kara too.. and Jyushi.. and Ichi.. and Lonely.." He gritted his teeth. "And the other me.."

 _He has hurt everyone._

That much was obvious. If Tougou didn't hurt them.. maybe Lonely wouldn't go as far as to chase him down. Maybe Todo and Kara could have lived peacefully. And maybe Jyushi wouldn't be unconscious like this, and in pain. This was all Tougou's fault.

 _Even the death of Hatabou.._

Lonely's eyes flashed dangerously as he leaped towards Osomatsu's direction, sword pointing at his direction. It didn't seem as if Lonely was going to say anything painful at all. He looked rather pissed off, to be blunt. "You're mine, Osomatsu!"

"No!" Chibita regained his senses in a scarily quick way, using Iyami as a boost in order to block Lonely's rapier with a ladle, wrapping his legs around the back of Iyami's neck. Thankfully, Iyami didn't stumble, and supported Chibita's weight, despite the fact Lonely was fighting someone that was on top of him. "You idjit..! I won't let you hurt him! I won't let you hurt Osomatsu the same way you hurt Hana, damn it!" He barked. It was obvious that, besides Homura, it was Chibita who was affected most by Lonely tossing Hana off the building. The tears were still on his eyes as he gritted his teeth, and it seemed like Chibita was fuming. He was putting all his anger into the ladle. "I'll make sure you suffer the same way you made everyone else suffer, Tougou, you idjit!"

"Chibita!" Iyami choked, feeling Chibita's legs around his neck constrict a little, turning his face a tint of blue.

Lonely clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Get out of my way!" He roared. He slashed his rapier to the side, knocking Chibita off Iyami's shoulders. He then kicked Iyami straight to the floor, before grabbing Chibita by his head and slamming him against Iyami's body below him, knocking both of them out. "Pests!" He scoffed, glaring daggers at Kaoru and Yuki, who were both standing in front of the still-shocked Homura protectively. Just by glaring at them, Yuki seemed to fidget in his spot, whereas Kaoru remained standing, but fear was visible on his eyes. "I will kill you all.." Lonely hissed under his breath, his green eyes glowing dangerously. "I will kill everyone who stands in my way!"

Osomatsu flinched. Lonely was getting more and more violent, and the fact that he wasn't talking painfully anymore was enough proof. He felt Jyushi murmur something against his chest- a faint whimper, so Osomatsu rubbed Jyushi's back repeatedly to comfort him. Jyushi was probably sensing the dangerous aura too. "Sssshhh.. onii-chan will protect you.." He mumbled against Jyushi's hair.

"Lonely-san! Snap out of this!" Yuki cried. "This isn't you! Don't let Tougou get what he wants! You don't want to hurt Osomatsu-san, right?! Lonely-san, please! I don't want to fight you!"

"Then don't." Lonely hissed. "Die!" Lonely slashed his rapier as soon as he leaped towards Yuki.

"Whoa-!" Kaoru grabbed Yuki by his shoulders and spun him around to avoid getting slashed by Lonely's sword. Kaoru's clothes were ripped due to the slash and left a large cut on his shoulder, which was now bleeding. The ex-policeman collapsed to his knees, gripping his own shoulder tightly, as Yuki scrambled to his knees. "Oh no! Masayoshi-san!"

"I'm fine!" Kaoru made a weak smile despite the obvious pain he was in. "How about you, Yuki-chan?"

"I'm fine, but-!"

"Annoying.." Lonely growled, raising his sword above Yuki. "You are all so.. annoying!"

"No-!"

"STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!"

Fuyu didn't notice Osomatsu leave her side until she felt Jyushi's head lie on her lap as well. Dekapan only noticed Osomatsu leave once he felt Osomatsu's blazer slightly trickle his side. Dekapan tried to grab the younger male, but it was too late. "Osomatsu-!"

Osomatsu tackled Lonely to the ground and pinned him down, putting his arms above his head. Lonely's sword swung to the side, just beside Kaoru, Yuki, and Homura. "You bastard..!" Lonely started to struggle, but Osomatsu had an iron grip. He may have just awoken from his little episode, but Osomatsu wasn't letting Tougou use Lonely to hurt anyone anymore. "Unhand me this instant! Matsuno!" He roared. "Let me go! Let me go! Let me-"

"Choro, please! I know you don't want this!" Osomatsu begged, closing his eyes. "Just stop this already! Tougou, leave Choro alone! Isn't hurting Todo enough?! Isn't hurting Kara enough?! What about the Suujis?! And the other me?! Just stop already!"

"Let me go-!"

"Choro, please! Please, please, please.. just listen to me.." Despite Lonely's struggles, Osomatsu had kept him pinned to the floor. He had a tight grip, but Osomatsu's eyes were welling with tears now. "I don't.. I don't want to hurt you, Choro! And I'm sure you don't wanna hurt Jyushi as well! Isn't that what you want, Choro?! Aren't you a hero?! Isn't a hero supposed to save people?! Not hurt them?!"

And then Lonely stopped struggling. "W-What..?"

 _Wait.. am I actually getting through him..?_

"You.." Osomatsu swallowed a lump in his throat. "You.. do you even remember what you're fighting for?"

"For.." Lonely honestly seemed lost. "Tougou's goals.."

"What did Tougou ever do to you?" Osomatsu decided to ask. "Did he do something good to you to make you want to fight for his ideals?" His grip loosened a bit. "Isn't Tougou your enemy, Lonely?"

At that question, Lonely's eyes seemed to widen as he came to a realization. "H-He.. he.."

A small golden light appeared on his chest. Osomatsu's eyes widened at the sight of it.

 _That's..!_

"He... killed my..!"

 _"You.. live here all alone?"_

 _"Me? Yes. You can't possibly know how this feels.. do you?"_

 _"Loneliness? I.. I know how it feels."_

Unconsciously, tears streamed from Lonely's eyes. "He's the reason.. why I'm all alone..!"

 _"Lonely? Why're you so worried? Has something bad happened?"_

 _"... No.. of course not.."_

The small ball of light started glowing brighter, and Osomatsu had to let go of Lonely's arms just to cover his eyes. When the light disappeared, so did the ball of light, and it left Choro on the floor, unconscious. Dekapan, Fuyu, Yuki, Kaoru, and Homura, who had all watched the scene occur, blinked in unison. Osomatsu looked down at Choro and took note of the tears streaming down his cheeks.

 _Did.. did I actually.. snap him out of Tougou's control? Just by.. talking to him?!_

* * *

Todo blocked yet another attack from Ichi with the bat, growling as he made eye contact with the purple-eyed megalomaniac. "You fucker..! Kara!" He called out to his best friend, who had been blown away due to one of Ichi's attacks. Kara was floating upside-down, but was still holding a spear. "You okay down there?!" Normally, he wouldn't let Kara help him in fighting, but for now, Kara had no option. It was either deal with Tougou or with Ichi, and Oso already told him to not interfere his fight with Tougou.. so naturally, Todo was stuck with him. Not that Todo minded, Kara was his best friend.. but that didn't mean Todo wasn't worrying over him, especially since this was the first time he saw Kara fight.

 _Not counting that one time he helped me kick Ichi's ass though. That was badass._

"I'm fine!" Kara called out from the other side. "I just need to.. uh, remember how to turn myself upwards- never mind, I got it."

 _I'm surprised he's still calm, even after Ichi just sent him flying.._

Ichi ignored Kara, thankfully, and slashed his katana to the side. His purple eyes were still lifless, Todo noted, but there was a hint of frustration behind those eyes. Todo just wondered what was the cause. But for now, it didn't matter; he needed to snap Ichi out of Tougou's control and make him realize that Jyushi was suffering above them. "An opponent so reckless and blinded by his own anger.. and an opponent who doesn't even know the basics of fighting.." He scrunched his nose in a disgusted manner. "Is this a joke?"

A vein appeared on Todo's head. "Don't you give me that bullshit, Ichi! If there's anyone here that's a total joke, it's you!"

"Oh, you offend me." Ichi spat, swinging his katana. Todo managed to block it with a bat, but Ichi's strength was inhumane at this point. "You offend me so much, Katsuna. I am so offended, I'm speaking in such a sarcastic tone." He pushed Todo away, glaring at him as if his looks could actually kill. "You are an idiot. You cannot fight me with such hatred clouding your senses!" He slashed the rapier again. "And your companion cannot even fend for himself! You cannot win against me!"

Todo clicked his tongue. "Stop speaking bullshit, Ichi!" He barked. "If there's anyone here that's stupid, it's you! Like what kind of moron rewrites his own memories?!"

"Stop talking!"

"No, I will not stop talking!" Todo growled. He was already getting irritated at Tougou for doing such things to Ichi. Todo didn't even like fighting with Hana and Yuki, but Ichi? He fought this asshole days ago! "I won't stop talking, Ichi! Because even if Tougou is controlling you.. I know you can break out of it! Somehow.. you can fight back against Tougou! Hell, you were able to kill someone at the age of thirteen! And that someone was none other than your asshole of a father!"

"Don't you disrespect my father!" Ichi growled, his eyes filled with rage. "My father is the reason I am who I am today!"

Todo paused.

 _What the fuck did he just say..?_

Oh. Now Todo was absolutely sure there was something wrong. "What the hell did Tougou do to your head?! Since when did you respect your dad?!" Todo hovered above him, ready to swing the bat down. "Your father?! Isn't he the fucker who broke Jyushi's legs?! What the hell even is going through your head anymore, Ichi?!" He swung the bat down, barely hitting Ichi at all. "Tch! Ichi, snap out of it! Whatever Tougou did to your head is only messing with your memories! It's Jyushi who is important to you! Not your dad! Didn't you swear to protect Jyushi?! Isn't he your beloved little brother?!" Todo shut his eyes as he applied more force in the next swing. "ISN'T JYUSHI THE REASON YOU'RE STILL LIVING IN THIS SHITTY WORLD?!"

Ichi dodged the bat again, his eyes glowing dangerously. "Stop with the useless chatter, Katsuna!"

"No! I won't shut up! Not until you can tell what's wrong with your own head!"

Ichi was now fully prepared to stab Todo straight in the heart if it meant having him shut up. "Then I'll make you- argh!"

Ichi's katana was blocked by Kara blocking it with his spear, protecting Todo in the process. "T-Todo! Are you alright?!" The blue-eyed cavalier asked, slightly turning to face his best friend.

"I'm fine.." Todo quickly responded. He didn't expect Kara to get here so fast just to protect him. "O-Oi! Can you block Ichi-"

"I'm not that fragile!" Kara tried to lighten up the situation. "I may not be as strong as you.. but I will protect you, Todo!"

 _Kara..!_

"Useless!" Ichi's closed fist started glowing with a golden light. "In this world.. unless you are strong yourself.. you cannot survive!" He outstretched his arm and pressed his palm against Kara's chest. "It's the end for you, Kyabarie!"

Kara's eyes widened. A surge of energy had coursed through his veins, and Kara screamed out in pain. It felt as if his insides were burning and his bones were getting crushed, and he was forced to let go of the spear.

Todo immediately reached out to his best friend. "Kara!" Todo stumbled a bit, but he managed to hold onto Kara by wrapping Kara's arm around his neck. Ichi's ability must have been strong enough to knock out Kara. "Are you okay?! Kara?! KARA!"

"..Hurts.."

 _Ah! He's.. hurt.. but still alive.._

"See? This is what happens when you care too much." Ichi scoffed, dusting his shirt off. As if there would be any dirt there, Todo thought bitterly. "Why not let Kyabarie sink deep into Jyushi's fears below? Hmph. Then Jyushi won't be all alone when he dies."

"What is wrong with you?! What did Tougou do to your head to make you hate Jyushi?!" Todo's face was probably red from all his yelling. "You.. you're the absolute worst! Jyushi never did anything wrong to you! He admires you! He talks like you're some sort of hero! He thinks you're the best person around, when you're clearly not!" Todo bit his lip. He really had to be harsh with Ichi, didn't he? "You.. you're a bad brother!"

A switch in Ichi's mind flickered upon hearing that statement.

 _"Now, now, Ichi! I get that you're excited to hold your baby brother Jyushi.. but do be gentle with him, alright? Oh, why am I even telling you this? You're obviously going to be a great onii-chan, Ichi! I just know it!"_

 _What..?_

 _"Ichi, look! Jyushi's going to walk! Come on, come to mama- what?! Awww, he went to you! He really loves you, doesn't he? That must mean you're a great brother, Ichi!"_

 _I... I don't.._

 _"Ichi. I know you work hard.. and I love you for doing so, but.. don't overwork yourself, alright? You're still a kid.. so enjoy your childhood with Jyushi, while it still lasts, okay? And.. about your dad.. just, don't listen to him, when you know what he's telling you to do is wrong, okay? Promise to mama that you'd protect Jyushi no matter what?"_

 _I... I...!_

 _"I promise, mother."_

 _"Heehee! Good. That's my little king, already knowing what's right from wrong. I'm proud of you already."_

"SHUT UP!"

He raised the katana above his head and prepared to pierce through Todo's head. Todo's eyes squeezed shut as he tried his best to protect Kara's body from any damage that Ichi might do to him.

But when he brought the katana down, it was stopped by what seemed to be an invisible barrier. Ichi's eyes widened and Todo looked up.

The vines around Jyushi's arms and legs had untangled.

 _Jyushi was falling._


	92. Chapter 92: Transparent Elegy

"JYUSHI!"

The sound of bells was ringing in Jyushi's ears as the vines slowly untangled themselves from his arms and legs. The scent of sickly sweet iron and blood was what Jyushi could smell as he started slowly falling down to the pile of dust. And Jyushi couldn't tell if it was just him, but time seemed to slow down as Jyushi fell into the black dust. His eyes were dull and lifeless, and bruises were not only on his legs, but also his arms, a few on his neck, some on his body that were covered by the shirt he was wearing, and even on his face.

 _But despite the amount of bruises I have.. my heart hurts the most.._

Jyushi's mind was getting fuzzy. Not only did his chest hurt so much, but Jyushi knew he was slowly forgetting all the good times he had with his brother.. if he had any, that is. Tougou had brought one of his many fears to life, and that was the thought of his big brother hating him and treating him the same way their father did, except with a bit more violence. Tougou had done something to Ichi's head, and because of that.. Ichi had not only rewritten his own memories, but Jyushi's too. They were brothers, they grew up together, so their memories were connected..

 _But why did Ichi-niisan hurt me then?_

Did he hate him? Jyushi always wondered if Ichi hated him. Maybe Ichi regretted all those times he had been nice and patient with Jyushi. Maybe Ichi realized that Jyushi was a waste of space. Maybe Ichi couldn't bottle his frustrations towards Jyushi and had decided to let it out on him instead. But why would Ichi go through the trouble of rewriting his memories? Did Ichi regret letting Jyushi grow up the way he is, a weak-willed crybaby who couldn't hate anyone no matter how hard he tried?

 _..That makes sense. Did he try to toughen me up then?_

Jyushi felt absolutely sorry for Ichi. Ichi didn't have to deal with him, but.. Ichi did. Ichi was the one who raised Jyushi after both of their parents died.. and Ichi had been the one to save Jyushi after their dad had broken his legs. And how did Jyushi repay him? By growing up like a disappointment. By clinging onto him out of fear whenever Jyushi had a nightmare. By being afraid of him, despite the fact that Ichi had been the one to raise him, care for him.. did everything their father couldn't do for him.

 _To think I'm a Suuji.._

When Totoko had dragged him to the piano room earlier, she had removed Jyushi's ring and threw it on the floor, claiming it would be "bait" of some sort. Jyushi's finger felt a bit funny without the small piece of metal clasped around it.. but it was probably for the best. It was the family ring, except Ichi had the numbers "114" engraved on it after Ichi took over the company. It was the number of the Suuji Brothers, something that symbolized their strong bond as brothers that were there for each other through thick and thin.

For some reason.. Jyushi felt as if it was best that he wasn't wearing the ring. Not when their bond was slowly breaking.

 _I don't deserve to have Ichi-niisan as my brother._

The one who had yelled his name earlier was none other than Todo, who was holding onto Kara's unconscious body. Ichi clicked his tongue and pulled his katana away, as the barrier was shattered.

He closed his eyes and prepared for the end.

He had used the last of his energy to make a barrier for both Kara and Todo, though it had shattered thanks to how weak Jyushi was. He felt pain in his heart. He didn't want to die not knowing if those two would survive or not. At least this time, he was able to protect them from Ichi's strike, just this once. That would be the only reassurance that his life wasn't truly meaningless, and that he did something good for other people.

He didn't want to die an evil child.

 _I'm really sorry, Ichi-niisan. I hope you can forgive me for this._

Jyushi didn't really want it to end like this; he wanted to spend more time knowing more about Todo. He wanted to learn how to bake and knit from Kara. He wanted to know Lonely's true name and know more about the world as Lonely saw it. He wanted to see Osomatsu reunite with his brothers. He wanted to meet the other version of him.

 _I want to keep on living.. with Ichi-niisan._

With that last train of thought, he took his last breath.

 _Goodbye._

"Jyushi..!"

Oso had been fighting with Tougou until he heard Todo's scream. He wasn't able to focus properly out of hastiness, but he was able to teleport into one part of the Monochrome Dreamland, just a few meters away from Jyushi. Just before Jyushi could fall into the pile of dust, Oso managed to swoop in and grab Jyushi's body, letting his axe disappear in the air in favor of catching Jyushi. "I.. I got you..! Ah..!" He heard Oso's voice, a mixture of panicked and relived, as he tried to adjust his hold on Jyushi. He wasn't used to carrying someone around, but Oso wasn't weak. Jyushi was light in his arms. "Ah... oh dear..I got you.. it's.. it's okay now.." He panted. "You.. you're safe now... Jyushi-"

He then felt Jyushi's head loll to the side, as if he was a limp doll. He didn't open his eyes, and one of his arms fell to the side and hung limply.

Oso's eyes widened upon noticing that Jyushi wasn't breathing. "Jyushi..?" He placed a hand against Jyushi's cheek. He froze.

It was cold.

"What's wrong?! Oso?!" Todo called out from below.

Tougou's laughter echoed once again. Oso, Todo, Ichi, and even the half-conscious Kara, all looked up at him. Tougou was holding a simple knife, but with a snap of his fingers, it vanished into the air. "Well, what do you know!" Oso's hold on Jyushi tightened. He already had Jyushi on his arms, so no way in hell was he giving him up. "He's already dead!"

 _WHAT?!_

Oso looked down at Jyushi. "N-No..! It cannot be..! I grabbed him.. just before he fell..!"

"So what?! He was dying anyway!" Tougou cackled. "In this world, no matter where the abilities come from, we use the energy of the person we're in! We're inside Jyushi-kun's head! And every single one of us.." He smirked. "Was using that energy! We were draining Jyushi-kun's energy slowly! Not only that.. but since Ichi-kun here had decided to rewrite his memories.. Jyushi-kun was weakened even more! Physically, mentally, emotionally.. Suuji Jyushi is dead! I told you, didn't I?! You were too late!"

Todo felt Kara's hair nuzzle against his cheek by a bit, as Kara tried to remain conscious. "No... this isn't.. this isn't real.." He heard Kara mumble, voice quiet, yet frantic. "T-This is a joke.. please.. Todo, please tell me it's a joke.."

As much as Todo wanted to soothe Kara, he couldn't find the strength to move. "Jyushi.." He shut his eyes as soon as he felt the tears coming. "DAMN IT!"

Even Ichi was in a state of shock. "Jyu..shi..?" His grip on the katana loosened, and it disappeared into the air in a manner similar to Oso's axe.

Oso continued to look at Jyushi's face instead of listening to Tougou's taunts. Eyes closed, lips slightly parted, one arm draping on the side, and the other on his stomach. Also, no signs of breathing. "J-Jyushi.. I.. I...!"

"You failed him, Osomatsu-kun!"

 _..I did.. didn't I..?_

He used one of his hands to gently stroke Jyushi's cold cheek.

 _Because.. that's what I'm good at.. failing._

Jyushi's body was then enveloped in a golden light, before his body turned to white dust completely. Oso didn't get a chance to react before the white dust that was Jyushi's body had mixed with the black dust beneath. "No.. Jyushi..!"

 _"..We'll be there when you wake up. Promise."_

 _"..You promised.. so I'll.. wait for you.."_

"...I'm.." Oso didn't seem to realize the tears that were streaming on his face. "..I'm sorry.."

And Tougou was still laughing. "He has got to be my best victim yet! Not only was breaking him such a wild time.." He mockingly wiped a non-existent tear off his eye. "But look at all of you! Pathetic! Just because some brat died, you're all acting as if it were the end of the world!" He spat. "He's not the only brat in this world! So why are all of you watching me stupidly?! He was bound to die! Jyushi-kun was weak, helpless on his own, and-"

"SHUT UP!"

Oso would have thought it was Todo who had yelled, but much to his surprise.. it wasn't.

 _Ichi..?_

Tougou seemed taken aback at Ichi's outburst, as well as Oso, Todo, and Kara. "Hah?"

"I said shut up!" Ichi roared, clenching his fists. "You.. what makes you think you have the right to speak about Jyushi like that?!"

"Now, listen here, Ichi-kun.." Tougou hissed. "What makes you think you can defend him like that? Especially after you rewrote your own memories and you hurt him in each one?"

"You're the one who has no right to speak here!" Todo joined in angrily, not hesitating to speak up for Ichi. "You.. if you didn't brainwash Ichi or some shit.. he wouldn't be thinking this way! It's your fault anyway! Everything is your fault! If you... if you didn't do this to him, he could have still been alive! Jyushi doesn't deserve anything you've given him!"

While they shot insults back and forth, with Kara watching worriedly, Oso looked at his own two hands. Not even a speck of dust remained when Jyushi's body turned to dust.. and everyone's voices were mixing together. Normally, Oso would find that annoying. But right now, Oso could care less. It was the first time he had actually seen Jyushi in person, and that only lasted for a few seconds. The skin of the younger Suuji brother was pale and cold, as well as bruised, and Oso.. Oso would have wanted to fix everything. Undo all the damage Tougou did, fix Ichi's memories.. everything.

 _Jyushi didn't deserve to die sad and pained like that._

He could still feel Jyushi's body in his arms, but he knew that if he looked down, nothing was there. Oso had failed Jyushi, and Jyushi's body had turned into dust, and-

Wait a second.

 _..I don't know much about the Monochrome Dreamland.. but I do know that.. the only way to die is to.. sink.. in the.. dust.. wait, then what was-_

His thoughts were cut off when Tougou, Todo, and Ichi stopped their argument, as Tougou suddenly let out a scream instead of yet another statement of how "worthless" Jyushi's existence was. When Oso looked up at Tougou, his eyes widened upon seeing something.. "interesting".

A blade of a katana had went through Tougou. But there was no blood seeping out of the wound.

 _Who-?!_

A golden light surrounded Tougou, and once it consumed him, he disappeared. But now, there was a small black sphere floating where Tougou used to be earlier. It was emitting a dark aura, almost as if it was a piece of darkness itself, if it actually had a physical form and whatnot.

"W-What the fuck?!" Todo's grip on Kara tightened.

Speaking of Kara, he seemed wide awake at the turn of events. "W-What is that?! What happened to Tougou?!"

Even Ichi seemed shocked. "What just- ARGH!" He suddenly gripped both sides of his head. "W-what is..?!"

"Ichi?!" Kara turned to him, completely disregarding the fact that Ichi had blasted him earlier. "Are you okay?"

"He'll be fine.. it's just that his memories are being fixed as we speak." Another voice joined in.

Immediately, the four clones looked up, and saw sparkling yellow eyes looking back at them.

"JYUSHI?!"


	93. Chapter 93: Antichlorobenzene

Oso blinked a few times just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Jyushi was hovering above them, his yellow eyes sparkling full of life, unlike earlier in the physical world, where Jyushi's eyes were dull and lifeless. Even though there were bruises all over him.. it seemed like the bruises on his body were slowly disappearing, as well as the ones on his face. The ones on his legs remained, however. Jyushi's legs were curled to his chest as he floated upside down, almost as if he didn't turn to dust in Oso's arms earlier. There was a small golden light floating above him too.

"Ah. You really are different!" Jyushi said with amazement, looking at Oso with bright eyes and an equally bright smile. "You must be.. Osomatsu-niisan's other self!" Even his voice wasn't pained anymore. It was still soft, but it seemed as if Jyushi went back to normal. His words didn't seem forced. "It's so nice to see you! I knew you'd come and save me! I mean, you promised! And here you are! I'm so happy you saved me!"

 _...Saved him..? But.. I didn't really do anything, I was too late, he was already falling and he turned to dust-_

"JYUSHI!" And instead of questioning how or why Jyushi was still alive when they saw him turn to dust earlier, Kara broke from Todo's grip and immediately zoomed over to Jyushi, cradling him with his arms. "IS IT REALLY YOU?! JYUSHI!" Kara started to ruffle Jyushi's hair, and the yellow-eyed male made a small smile, nuzzling into Kara's hand, which prompted the older male to stroke his hair even more. Kara really was a worrywart, Oso thought. "You're okay! You're okay.." It's as if Kara wasn't even injured. "Are you alright?! Does anything hurt?!"

"I'm okay!" Jyushi chirped, hugging his legs closer to his chest. Kara was strong to hold him like he was some sort of baby, not that he was complaining. "It's okay, Kara-niisan! I'm fine!" As he said those words, the small ball of light glowed brighter, as if it was radiating his cheerfulness. "Really, I'm fine! Thanks for worrying though, Kara-niisan!"

Suddenly, the black dust below started turning brighter, until they were a pure white color. The dust then turned back into papers and started flowing upwards once again, and instead of being dark, the Monochrome Dreamland regained it's calming white color. "What's going on?!" It was probably Oso who Todo was asking, since Oso was the only one here who knew how the Monochrome Dreamland works. "Is everything.. turning back to normal-"

"ARGH!" Ichi clutched his head again.

 _Oh. I forgot. Ichi's still in pain._

Oso would have wanted to talk to Jyushi about what just happened, but for now, he had to help Ichi. Oso approached Ichi and gently placed both of his thumbs on Ichi's forehead. "Tsk.. it's your fault.. for rewriting your own.. memories.. in the first place.." He scowled, letting a bright light appear from his palms and flow onto Ichi's forehead. He was using his abilities too much, and it was tiring him out. Plus, Jyushi still had a God's Essence within him, something he could only extract from the physical world. "This'll.. speed up the process.. and lessen the pain.. so hold still.. idiot.."

"O-Oi." Ichi clicked his tongue in annoyance, glaring at Oso. "Just because- ARGH!"

"I said.. hold still.." Oso growled. Rewriting one's own memories was hard enough.. but undoing the damage? This was going to take awhile, Oso thought with a scowl. Ichi was truly an idiot. Now he had to undo all the damage? He really deserved a reward after this. At least a lollipop would be nice, or a paper star that said "Good Job". Oso sighed. Now was not the time to think of such things. He could only hope that Ichi could fix every fuck-up he just did. "It's just.. gonna take.. a few seconds.. so please.. don't fuck it up.."

"Oh gee, thanks a fucking lot- ARGH!"

"..Idiot." Oso scoffed. Ichi seemed to be staring straight into his soul, but Oso knew he had sent Ichi's mind back to the times in the past. "You better not.. hurt Jyushi again.. when you.. snap out of it.." He scolded.

"What's going on with Ichi?"

Todo floated closer to him, so he decided to answer his questions."He probably.. went through.. this earlier too.. back with Lonely.. I'm just.. letting him.. fix his memories again.." Oso shrugged. "As for your.. questions earlier.. I don't really know.. what just happened.. but it appears.. that the Monochrome Dreamland.. is turning back to normal.." He looked up at Kara, who was now spinning Jyushi in happiness. The latter was giggling too. "And.. it appears Jyushi.. is alive.. and well.."

"That, I can see.." Todo murmured, looking at his two brothers above. Kara was so worried and was squeezing the life out of Jyushi, but the younger one was just happy to be hugged. "Is.. is it really Jyushi though? This isn't a cruel joke?" If it was a joke, Todo swore he was going to punch a wall. If there aren't any walls to be punched, he'd gladly build one just to punch it down.

"It doesn't.. seem like it's fake.. Jyushi seems.. very real.. don't you think..?" Oso let out a snort, hearing Kara's frantic screaming and Jyushi's giggling. That was real too, wasn't it? It was real, and it was so.. calming to hear their voices. "You're worried too.. aren't you? Heh.. why don't you.. go check.. yourself-"

Todo didn't even let Oso finish, before he floated over to Kara and Jyushi, and hugged the yellow-eyed male. "What happened to you?! Geez, you got me worried sick, Jyushi!"

Jyushi giggled, patting Todo's hair with his hands. Thanks to the Monochrome Dreamland, they had no choice but to wear matching shirts, though Jyushi was still the only one who wore shirts. It felt rather nice to pat someone's hair, Jyushi thought. "Hi hi, Todo-niisan! You're a hugger? I didn't know about that! Your file must have left that out!"

"I don't just hug people out of the blue, okay?! Are you really okay?!"

 _So.. he's really okay? Then what was going on earlier..? He vanished.. I saw it.. but even so.. what could have happened?_

When he pulled his thumbs away from Ichi, the latter blinked rapidly. "Oh my god." He looked at Oso, then at Kara, Todo, and Jyushi above him. "Is.. is that.."

"Are your memories.. back to normal now..?"

Ichi didn't answer. He continued to watch as Todo and Kara fuss over Jyushi, who was trying to convince them he was okay. "I.. I hurt him.." Tears streamed down his cheeks. Oso watched blankly. "Oh my god.. I hurt Jyushi.. I-"

"Instead of wallowing.. in your self-hatred.." Oso honestly had no time for this. He knew Ichi was guilty, but he hoped that Ichi could deal with his guilt some other time. They were still in the Monochrome Dreamland, and Tougou was nowhere to be found. That only meant one thing.. they had to hurry up. God knows what's happening in the physical word, plus, Lonely wasn't with them. "Why don't you.. go to your brother.. instead?"

Ichi looked doubtful. "I don't think I can.. not when I-"

"Osomatsu-niisan and Ichi-niisan." Jyushi floated over to them, and that small ball of light was still floating above his head. Todo and Kara followed him, and it was obvious both were worried. "Hm.. I think it's best to go back out there, you know? I just sent Tougou-san out in the physical world.. and I don't think it's good to just let him do what he wants, right?" He made a sad smile. "..I can't guarantee I'll be okay though."

Kara immediately shot up. "What? Why? Didn't you say you were fine?"

"For now, at least." Jyushi used his sleeve-clad hands to gently hold the small golden ball of light. "I'm still.. trapped. Tougou-san was really strong.. and he made sure that this is engraved deep into my soul. So even if I try to pull it away.." He made a nervous chuckle. "..It hurts even more. And the only way to get this out of me is to extract it from outside, right?"

"And by outside.. do you mean.. the physical world..?" It was Oso who asked, eyeing at the small golden ball of light. So it was a God's Essence after all.

"Yeah! That!" Jyushi looked around. "And.. Tougou-san still has access to my head, unfortunately!"

"But didn't a katana just pierce through him?! And wasn't that your doing?!" Now it was Todo. "He's not here anymore! He can't hurt you!"

"He can and he will, sad to say. I just sent him back to the physical world. No one, but me, can die in the Monochrome Dreamland." Jyushi looked at the sphere on his hands. "And this is proof. As long as this thing is attached to me, I'm his puppet. And.. I don't want to hurt you guys anymore."

Kara's eyes softened. "Jyushi.."

"..Not after what I did to Hatabou."

"That wasn't your fault!" Ichi suddenly grabbed Jyushi by his shoulders, forcing eye contact between them. "Don't.. don't you ever say that again! You weren't the one in control of your body, Tougou was! You.. I know you better than anyone else! You can't hate anyone no matter how hard you can, you don't know how!" Ichi suddenly looked down, but still had a shaky grip on Jyushi's shoulders. "And leave you here?! Absolutely not! I lost you once, Jyushi! I lost you.. and I hurt you! I don't want that to happen again! I-"

Jyushi's sleeve-covered hands were placed on top of Ichi's head. "Ichi-niisan.. you really are a great brother!" He giggled, but when Ichi looked up, Jyushi was crying. Besides that, Jyushi was trying to keep a smile. "I'll.. be okay. I promise I'll be okay. I might get a bit.. traumatized, after Tougou-san's brainwashing is truly gone.. I might feel a bit.. paranoid.. but I'll overcome it! That, and.. I don't want to hide from the truth anymore, Ichi-niisan.. I know what happened in the past wasn't your fault.. it was papa's."

"Jyushi.."

"And that's why.." He turned to Oso. "Osomatsu-niisan- no.. Oso-niisan."

 _..Oso-niisan? ..That.. sounds nice, actually.._

"..What is it?"

"...There's no need to worry about me. You guys go back in the physical world and beat Tougou-san." He looked at Kara. "He's still out there.. and I can hear everyone's voices all at once! Fuyu-san's, Yuki-san's.. I can hear their voices, all of them!" He then looked at Todo. "And.. it's best to get there before Tougou-san can summon himself back in the physical world." Finally, he looked back at Ichi. "I'll be here.. and if he uses me like a puppet, please, don't listen to everything he makes me say. I'll be okay.. I promise I'll be okay."

Ichi wasn't keen on the idea of letting his brother go. Oso then realized he was still wearing Jyushi's locket. "..Here." He removed the locket and put it on Jyushi's neck. "This'll keep you safe.. I guess.."

"Oh! You found it! Thank you so much, Oso-niisan!"

 _..I don't really deserve to be called 'Nii-san', but thank you anyway._

"..We promise we'll free you from Tougou." Todo said, placing a hand on Jyushi's hair and lightly stroking it. "So promise us you'll be okay."

"I will! I promise I'll be as strong as Todo-niisan!" That statement made Todo blush a bit, so he looked away.

Kara chuckled at Todo's flustered reaction. "Let's all remain strong, shall we?" Kara patted Jyushi's head as well. "I'll be strong for you, Jyushi. I promise you that."

"Kara-niisan is already strong! If he gets any stronger, he'll be able to fight and beat Todo-niisan!" Oh, well, Kara didn't expect that reply. Still, he let out an amused chuckle.

"..Please be okay. I can't lose you." Ichi proceeded to hug Jyushi and bury Jyushi's face in his shirt. "Never again."

"..That's a promise, Niichi." Jyushi hugged back. "Let's play together again, okay?"

"Keep your promise and I'll keep mine." Ichi could swear he was crying. "But of course. Let's play together again."

"Mhm!"

"So.." Oso was ready to bring everyone back to the physical world, minus Jyushi, who was still trapped. He was itching to know what exactly happened earlier, with Jyushi turning into dust and all. "Is everyone.. ready..?"

Todo nodded, crossing his arms. "I can finally beat the shit out of Tougou without having gravity mess everything up."

"..I'll watch, I guess." Kara meekly added. "But if push comes to shove, I'll join in the fight. I'm ready, Oso."

Ichi looked back at his little brother. "I'll be there when you wake up." Ichi told him, before turning to Oso and reluctantly letting go of Jyushi. "I'm ready, Oso."

"..Very well." Oso closed his eyes and snapped his fingers.

Jyushi hummed a tune as he closed his eyes as well, since it was a better option than getting blind from the light Oso had summoned.

 _I know you'll be there. I trust you. Because you're my brother, and you've never let me down._

When Jyushi opened his eyes, they were all gone. But Jyushi didn't feel alone, despite the tears falling from his eyes. He clutched onto the locket Oso had given him, taking deep breaths and watching the small glowing sphere above him. He'll have to say goodbye to that soon.

 _Ichi-niisan.. I'll wait for you._


	94. Chapter 94: Against The Devil

After Lonely had passed out, Osomatsu had left Kaoru in charge of watching over him for the time being, along with Iyami and Chibita. Those two awoke to the sound of Osomatsu yelling in their ears and asking if they were alive, and though they were a bit sore, with Iyami probably having his arm twisted or something, they were alive and resting. Osomatsu was thankful that they were alright. They didn't really need to lose any more people besides Hatabou, and possibly, Hana.

Osomatsu, Dekapan, and Fuyu were watching over Totoko and Jyushi, with Jyushi sleeping against Osomatsu's chest and Totoko still on Fuyu's lap. The eldest Matsuno continued to hum lullabies, but much to his relief, Jyushi didn't seem to be in pain as much as he was earlier. It seemed as if he calmed down, and Osomatsu was happy that he did. "Are you gonna wake up soon? C'mon, don't get onii-chan's hopes up just to crush it, Jyushi. I'm honestly going to get a heart attack from the stress, you know."

Speaking of stress, Yuki was trying to get Homura to move, but she was staring at the broken window, the glass shards on the floor, and the outside of the manor. Yuki had informed them earlier that Hana's body was not on the floor, so it was either Hana survived and was running through the manor as they speak, or she snapped her neck and some nice soul decided to collect her body and clean the blood out of respect. Whatever it was, Homura had been sobbing as she continued to stare at the outside world. It was snowing too, so there was a chance that Hana just landed on a lump of snow and survived, or she did die, but got her body buried underneath the snow.

 _Hana means a lot to Homura. I hope she didn't die._

Osomatsu hoped that wasn't the case. Hatabou was already gone, it would be too much if they lost Hana too. Chibita was quiet too, as he sat beside Iyami with crossed arms, crossed legs, and closed eyes. Kaoru's injury from earlier, the one he got from protecting Yuki, was treated by Dekapan as soon as Lonely was unconscious. Thankfully, Kaoru didn't lose that much blood, and he claimed that he was fine enough to watch over Lonely, even though Loely was the same cause of his injury.

 _Kaoru-san's a really nice person.. I gotta make it up to him one day._

Suddenly, another large orb of light appeared in the middle of the room again. Immediately, Homura grabbed her weapon from the floor, and so did Yuki, but Osomatsu gently gave Jyushi over to Dekapan, standing up and rolling his sleeves. The three of them got ready to strike down whatever the hell Tougou had to throw at them, and at this point, Osomatsu didn't even know what to expect. They had Jyushi, Yuki, Hana, Chibita, Iyami, and Lonely hurled at them to fight already!

 _Who's next?! Fucking Kara- actually, never mind. If it's Kara, hell, or Todo even, I'm straight-up pulling Tougou out of their asses._

"Oh, another one?! Geez, when is Tougou gonna take a fucking break?! He's an old geezer isn't he?! He should be tired by now!" He whined. "If Tougou wants to kill us, he can come here himself-!"

As soon as he said that statement, the glowing orb lowered into the ground, signalling that whatever was in there was about to come out. "Get ready." Yuki was ready to block whatever threat it may be. He had his sword out, and so did Homura, and he quickly glanced at his wife to see how she was doing; sitting on the floor with Totoko on her lap, Dekapan was beside her and was holding Jyushi, Chibita and Iyami were slumped against the wall, and Kaoru was at the far left with Lonely leaning on his shoulder. They'll be fine, Yuki thought to himself.

"Y-Yes.." Homura stuttered out. It would be a lie if she were too say she wasn't shaken up from Hana's supposed death from earlier. She was still in a state of shock, sure, but she wouldn't let her emotions get in the way of doing what every Flag Corporation employee would; fight. She was stronger than she looked, and the dent in the piano was proof of that. She still felt sorry for Piano-san though. "Who could it be this time..? Seriously.. Tougou-san having weird powers puts us at a disadvantage.."

 _But even so.. I managed to snap Lonely out of it just by talking to him. There's gotta be some sort of trigger.. but if there was, did it work on Jyushi and the others?_

When the light finally disappeared as the orb was lowered to the ground, another figure yet appeared. Again, Osomatsu and the group had covered their eyes to avoid being blinded by the light. "...Ehehehe.." Osomatsu flinched upon hearing the sound of laughter, and slowly backed away. He could tell Yuki and Homura were startled to, because he heard the sounds of their footsteps backing away, similar to his. "Ehehehehe... ehehehehe..! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! WHAT A CLEVER BOY! HE TRULY IS SUCH AN EVIL CHILD!"

 _..That voice..!_

Osomatsu knew that if he opened his eyes, the chances of him suffering through a panic attack were high. There was a chance he'd end up being a burden and passing out yet again.. and the last time he did that, he woke up and found five of his clones missing, as well as Hatabou's corpse.

 _But I have to face my fears once and for all.. he's haunted me for eleven years now.. and he's hurt Kara, Todo, Jyushi, Ichi, Lonely.. and the other me.. I can't let him scare me again._

Despite what his mind was telling him, Osomatsu opened his eyes.

 _..I can't let him ruin my life anymore. I must face my fears._

As expected. Tougou was there, in front of the piano, laughing. Even though it was an event that happened eleven years ago, Tougou's face burned into Osomatsu's mind. He still looked the same.. okay, maybe not, he was a tad bit older, Osomatsu had to admit. Hell, Tougou looked similar to the one from his dimension.. that probably meant that if he were to encounter his version of Tougou, he'd look like this maniac right here. Osomatsu clenched his fists, trying to take deep breaths. No way in hell was he letting Tougou see he was scared.

Tougou continued to laugh. "Such a clever, clever boy.." He snickered. Osomatsu noticed that he seemed to be looking at someone, but it wasn't him. "I must give Jyushi-kun credit for being clever enough to use my powers against me.. and he listened very well, even though his mind was slowly breaking.." He snickered yet again, toying with the knife on his hands. "He knew what those runts were scared of.. he knew they were scared of losing him.. and just when I thought he's dead.." His laughing was growing much more maniacal now. "He sends me back out! To rebuild what's left of his mind.. and to save the others.. ehehehe.. he's smarter than he looks!"

"..What on earth are you talking about?" Osomatsu would need to remember to thank Yuki for voicing everyone's thoughts. Yuki's hold on his sword tightened. "What did you do to Jyushi? Where's Sir Ichi? And Todo-san? And Kara-san?" Props to Yuki for actually managing to look intimidating. At least, in Osomatsu's opinion. "What have you done to Jyushi?!" He raised his voice all of a sudden, causing Homura and Osomatsu to flinch. "You.. Koroshi Tougou.. you are a criminal! Scum like you shouldn't even go near the Suuji Brothers!"

"Yuki, dear.." Fuyu whispered to herself. No one but Dekapan and Iyami heard her words. "Please.. calm yourself.."

Tougou was rather amused at Yuki's outburst. "Heh. But of course.. you lot wouldn't know about this. Not you, not him, not- huh? Where's the other brat?" Other brat? He probably meant Hana. Suddenly, his face darkened, as if he just realized what just happened. "Oh. Oh, I see. So that's what happened, huh? So.. Choro threw her out the window, eh?"

 _How did he-?!_

"Surprised? Heh. Don't be. These are the powers of a god." He cackled. "And before you lot think you can catch me just because I'm armed with only a knife.. I still have Jyushi at my disposal, you know. As long as I have him.." He snapped his fingers. "You can't hurt me."

Jyushi's eyes snapped open, dull and lifeless. He quickly sat up, stood up, and jumped from his spot to Tougou's. Osomatsu's eyes widened when he noticed Jyushi looked void of all emotion, but his legs were still wobbly.

"T-This is..!" Osomatsu turned to Chibita at the back. Despite being slightly injured from Lonely's attack earlier, he could clearly see what was going on. "Jyushi was the same earlier! He was attackin' his brother too!"

Osomatsu looked back at Jyushi. His eyes were so lifeless, yes, but..

 _They're like Oso's..!_

"Don't underestimate him, Osomatsu! He's inhumane in terms of strength!" It was Iyami now. "Me remembers how strong he was! He lifted a piano stool and threw it at Ichi earlier!"

"I was conscious too..!" Yuki clicked his tongue. "Osomatsu-san, if you may-"

"So, we're gonna fight for real now?" Osomatsu interrupted as he cracked his knuckles. He wasn't looking back at the people behind him, and was making eye contact with Jyushi instead. His voice also seemed to lowered a bit, and Chibita and Iyami wondered if Osomatsu was going through his big-bro mode again; dead serious and absolutely a mess to deal with. "Say.. Tougou, if it's a fight you're looking for.. why don't I take both you and Jyushi on by myself? Leave Yuki and Homura.. as well as Dekapan, Fuyu, Chibita, Iyami, Kaoru, Totoko.." He bit his lip. "..And Lonely. I want you to leave them out of this?"

Tougou raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Dekapan sputtered out something. "Matsuno! That's idiotic! You could die, Jyushi was the same one who stabbed Hatabou-"

"If I win." Osomatsu ignored Dekapan and took a deep breath. "Give me Jyushi back, safe and sound. Whatever it is you have in him, I want you to get it out and make him Jyushi again. If you win, however.." He closed his eyes. "I'll go with you, just as Kamimatsu wants you to do. You decide how you deal with Jyushi, but you can't hurt him, only me. Deal?"

"Osomatsu-san!" Fuyu cried. "Don't! It's risky!"

"Osomatsu-kun, please don't be so rash!" It was Kaoru now. "Stop with the nonsense-talk and come back here!"

"Osomatsu, you idjit!" Obviously, it was Chibita. "Have you gone insane, idjit?!"

"Osomatsu..!" Now it was Iyami. "This is not worth it!"

"Osomatsu-san.." The quiet voice meant it was Homura. "D-Don't.. you could end up like Hana-chan.. or worse.. Shonouske-san.."

"Osomatsu-san, I'll handle this." Yuki was such a kind soul to offer him help. "You must be beaten down from earlier-"

"I'm fine!" Osomatsu raised his voice. But not in the angered or frustrated kind of way; it was more like he was whining. "Geez, you guys worry so much about me, you know? I'm not a baby." He put his arms behind his back. "It's always been this way! Bets and wagers.. as the eldest and the leader of the Matsuno Sextuplets, Akatsuka Ward's infamous group of trouble-making twin brothers, I have to be the best at bets." He made a cocky grin. "And I'm betting a thousand on this."

Only one thing went inside everyone's heads.

 _..Yup, he's lost it._

"...Deal." Tougou smirked. "My, my. You're such an arrogant child. How rude. But since it's such a nice offer.. I guess I'll play fair." He snapped his fingers. Two large orbs appeared alongside him, but they weren't glowing in a bright golden color. They seemed to be growing in an orange color and producing some sort of warm aura-

Osomatsu froze.

 _Warm aura?_

"Since you want to deal with Jyushi and I all by yourself.." Again, he snapped his fingers.

The balls spun around the air erratically, before crashing onto the piano, which then caught on fire immediately. The fire soon spread onto the floors and the walls.

 _Did Tougou just set this place on fire?!_

"It's best like this, isn't it?" He chuckled. "Osomatsu-kun."

 _..Maybe I should have added the part where he doesn't hurt Lonely and the others as well.._


	95. Chapter 95: Eldest Brother's Strength

Osomatsu didn't need to tell anyone anything as soon as the fire surrounded them. Homura immediately ran over to Fuyu and helped her up, Kaoru was carrying Lonely on his back and Totoko on his arms, Yuki assisted Chibita and Iyami, and Dekapan collected Hatabou's corpse. The building was on fire, and the screaming they heard from below pretty much meant that a fire also started from below. Osomatsu hoped that the guests had evacuated as soon as possible, because they clearly didn't need anyone else to die today.

Homura ran to the doorway with a tight grip on Fuyu's wrist, followed by Yuki carrying Chibita like a doll but holding Iyami's wrist similar to Homura holding his wife's, then Kaoru who seemed to have no trouble carrying both Lonely and Totoko, then Dekapan, who looked back at Osomatsu, before running out of the room as well. Osomatsu knew it would be safer for them to get out instead of sticking with him, especially since Tougou just started a fire. Osomatsu hoped that the seven of them could get out of the manor safely.

Tougou continued to laugh maniacally. "Isn't this wonderful, Osomatsu-kun?! Isn't it great that this will be the place where you will die?! And this brat too.." He yanked Jyushi's hair, causing the younger male to cry out in pain, despite still being in Tougou's control. "He was clever! He knew how to use the Monochrome Dreamland to his advantage, thus, he pretended to be dead just to scare everyone and distract me! And while I was distracted.." He let go of Jyushi's hair, but was glaring at the back of Jyushi's head. "He stabbed me just to get me out of his head. Heh! He truly is an evil child!"

"Don't touch him, Tougou." Osomatsu hissed, clenching his fists. He remembered every time Tougou gave him a beating whenever Osomatsu refused to listen to him, and that was when Osomatsu was still a child. But now.. he wasn't letting Tougou hurt any of his brothers the same way he hurt him. "I'm your opponent. Not him. I can take you on, but if you mess with Jyushi, I will kick your head off."

"Cocky, aren't we?" Tougou snickered, playing with his knife. "You're an interesting one, Osomatsu-kun. How you ended up here from another world is a mystery.. but that man in white wants me to get you, in exchange for this power." He grabbed Jyushi by the neck and pointed his knife to him, but Jyushi didn't flinch. It looked like he was accepting his fate. "I've been bored. Choro had been a good way for me to distract myself from my wife's death, but it turns out, the brat wants me dead. For killin' his parents. He's a pest, and I gotta say, he's been good at tracking me down and trying to murder me. I couldn't track him down, hell, I didn't even expect him to live in this abandoned place!"

Osomatsu tried to stay calm, despite the heat surrounding him causing him to be a bit light-headed. "You.. how'd you get Totoko-chan? And Nyaa-chan?" He tried his best to keep his voice from being shaky. Seeing Jyushi with a knife pressed to his neck wasn't helping. "Did you really kidnap Nyaa-chan five years ago? How about Totoko-chan?"

"You're impatient. But smart, kid. I appreciate you knowing about that, so I don't have to explain everything." Tougou chuckled, keeping his hold on Jyushi. "Yes. I kidnapped Reika five years ago, but it was only recently that she started calling herself 'Nyaa-chan'. She was such a stupid girl lost in her own depression, and believed me the moment I told her I was a friend of her ma and pa's. She's been staying with me for five years.. but I knew Choro before I knew her." He pressed the knife closer to Jyushi's throat. "As for Yowai Totoko.. I just found her two days ago, when I was planning how to kill Choro and this brat right here."

"I said don't touch him!" Osomatsu took a few steps forward. "Get that knife away from my brother! NOW!"

Tougou was honestly entertained by how Osomatsu was reacting. He pulled the knife away, but still kept Jyushi close to him. "That girl.. I recognized her stupid pigtails the moment I saw her, I knew she was that girl from Akatsuka Ward. She was at the city, shopping for something she could wear.. and then our fateful meeting happened in an alleyway. Reika helped me with that, by having Yowai Totoko follow her. And then I asked her.." He made a maniacal grin. "If she wanted to see Matsuno Osomatsu in a casket."

Osomatsu's eyes widened. "You.. threatened to kill Oso.. to scare her..?"

"Of course, she said she didn't. She said Osomatsu, the other one, was one of her closest friends. And then I asked her if she'd do anything to protect him from me." He let go of Jyushi, and the yellow-eyed male fell to the floor on his knees, but he was still conscious. "She said she would, stupid girl. And she became one of my puppets. Just like Hana-chan, Yuki-kun, Chibita-kun, Iyami-kun.. and Jyushi-kun. It seems only Jyushi-kun remains. I had Choro and Jyushi's brother in my control earlier, but Choro somehow snapped out of it.. and Ichi-kun too. I wonder how."

 _Totoko-chan.. wanted to protect Oso?_

"I can only make people my puppets if they're vulnerable, ya see. I had to threaten every single one of them just to get them to give into the power. And it worked." He chuckled. "Do you understand now, Osomatsu-kun? Fear is what controls people the most. Just by threatening to kill the ones they love, they give into me so easily. I threatened Totoko and Iyami that I'd kill the other Osomatsu. I threatened Hana that I'd kill her best friend. I threatened Chibita that I'd kill Hana. I threatened Yuki that I'd kill his wife and the baby too. And I threatened Jyushi that I'd kill not only you or his older brother.. but the entirety of Flag Corporation, as well as the other two clones of yours."

"You bastard! How could you do this to them?! To use their loved ones against them.." He gritted his teeth. Tougou was the worst of the worst, even lower than the Matsuno Brothers themselves. "Why are you doing this?!"

"What can I say? I'm just obsessed with my hobby, I guess." He snickered, before snapping his fingers. Jyushi stood up and summoned a small ball of light, which then turned into the shape of a cane. "And it's a perfect way to distract me from the agonizing pain I feel whenever I remember that my wife is dead." His shit-eating smirk then turned into a scowl. He outstretched his palm towards Osomatsu. The flames seemed to have gotten bigger as well. "NOW DIE!"

 _Tougou really is a devil._

Jyushi jumped above Osomatsu, swinging his cane like a baseball bat. "Die."

Osomatsu blocked Jyushi's cane with both of his arms in an X position. Sure, it hurt, but not as much as Oso thought it would. "Tch! You made Jyushi strong, huh?!" He made eye contact with Jyushi. Dead eyes, similar to Lonely's earlier.

 _Do I have to talk to him the same way I talked to Lonely?! Argh, but I have to be careful, Jyushi's more fragile than Lonely.._

"Daydreaming'll get you nowhere, Osomatsu-kun!" Tougou cackled, teleporting behind Osomatsu with his knife ready. It was directed at Osomatsu's throat. "This'll kill you off!"

 _Oh no, you don't!_

He wrapped his arms around Jyushi and pressed him close to his chest as he jumped onto another direction and dodged Tougou's attack, though he ended up rolling on the floor instead. Still, it was better than having his throat sliced. "Idiot! You shouldn't have saved him!" Tougou laughed. "He's only going to attack you! As long as I have in control of his mind, you stand no chance against me!"

To prove his point, Jyushi broke free from Osomatsu's hold and jumped up. "Useless." Jyushi scoffed, pointing his cane at Osomatsu.

 _Shit.. Jyushi's fast, even with his legs like that? I guess I'll have to look for some other way to get to talk to him.._

"Good boy, Jyushi! Now, break his legs just like your father broke your's!"

Jyushi looked startled by that statement, but then brought the cane up to his head with both of his sleeve-covered hands. "Understood."

He swung the cane down, but Osomatsu quickly scrambled to his feet and avoided being hit. Thankfully, he managed to avoid getting his blazer on fire as well. Lonely might kill him if he burned one of his clothes. "Yowch! Sheesh, absolutely no mercy, huh? Tch.." The smoke was clouding his vision a bit. Tougou was such an asshole to set the building on fire while the three of them were still here. He untied the blazer from his waist and used it as a makeshift scarf, tying it around his nose and mouth. He was going to suffocate with all the smoke in here.

"Regretting your stupid decision now, Osomatsu-kun?" Tougou taunted, summoning more balls of light. Twelve, to be exact, and they were as big as the piano in the room earlier, which was also on fire.

 _More fireballs?!_

Osomatsu couldn't possibly dodge that! They were projectiles, hard to dodge, and-

 _Wait.. projectiles..? That's it! Shit, where did I put it-?!_

"Let's hope you burn to crisp, Osomatsu-kun!" Tougou snapped his fingers. The fireballs went for Osomatsu.

 _C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Where the fuck is it- BINGO!_

Osomatsu pulled out something from his pocket and outstretched both of his arms as he closed his eyes. Before the fireballs went near Osomatsu, they suddenly disappeared, one by one.

Tougou looked confused. "W-What?! How did you-?!" Suddenly, three fireballs appeared above Tougou. The older male noticed this and managed to dodge three of them falling on him at once. The area where he was standing on earlier was now on fire as well. Tougou didn't get burned, fortunately for him, but he was still a bit shocked by how the fireballs he hurled at Osomatsu suddenly disappeared, only to have fireballs sent at his direction instead. "Argh! Brat..! What did you do?!"

"...Hehe.. I got one word for ya, Tougou.. 'SelfDefenseAppTest27'!" Osomatsu weakly chuckled as he opened his eyes, his hands gripped tightly around a rectangular object that seemed flat. His chuckles, as well as the rest of his words, were slightly muffled due to the fabric tied around his nasal area. "I forgot I had this.. the last time I used this was to deflect Atsushi's bullets back at him!" He would have rubbed his finger on his nose if he didn't have it covered, but he used his free hand to show what he was holding; a pink phone. "And I still have nine more! You can 'Tougou-To-Hell' now, because I'll deflect whatever you throw at me!"

"..Clever child." Tougou grinned. "Perhaps you and your clones are all so clever after all? Hmph. No matter." He snapped his fingers again, before two strings appeared, tied around his thumb and index finger, and they seemed to be in a crossed pattern. His thumb and index finger were pressed together, as if Tougou was holding some small object.

Strings suddenly appeared around Jyushi's neck, and they seemed to be connected to the strings that were on Tougou's fingers. His eyes widened and he let out a gasp, dropping his cane.

"J-Jyushi?!" Osomatsu's expression went from cocky to worried in an instant. "You..! Quit playing dirty! What are you doing to Jyushi?!"

"I said I wouldn't hurt the others. You didn't say anything about not hurting Jyushi-kun, Osomatsu-kun." Tougou chuckled, fiddling with his fingers. "If I pull my index finger away from my thumb.. the strings around Jyushi-kun's neck have a chance of decapitating him. Fun stuff, right?" He laughed as he saw Osomatsu clench his fist, but his free hand was holding tightly onto the phone. Using his free hand, he summoned more fireballs. "Now.. if you move even by an inch.. I will not hesitate to slice Jyushi's head off from the rest of his body. Understood?" He made a mocking smile that was supposed to be genuine. "You don't want Jyushi-kun to cry now, do you?"

"Tch...! You.."

"O-Osomatsu-niisan..!" Jyushi whimpered. "It.. hurts..!"

The heat was getting to Osomatsu, but despite that, his hands were cold and sweaty. He breathed harshly against his makeshift mask as he watched Jyushi paw at his own neck. "Jyushi..!"

 _Shit..! I can't...! I can't save him..!_

"Now, I think it's best if you just die, Osomatsu-kun."

"..Sounds fun, Tougou.." A voice chimed in from out of nowhere, causing both Tougou and Osomatsu to flinch. "..But not today."

 _W-What?! Who was that?!_

The strings tied around Jyushi's neck were cut off by an unknown force. The yellow-eyed male took deep breaths and collapsed to his knees, putting his hands around his neck as if to protect them from more strings.

Tougou looked behind him. "What the hell?! WHERE ARE YOU?! WHO ARE YOU?!" More fireballs appeared beside him. "No matter! I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" Something in his throat started bubbling, and then he started laughing maniacally. "I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU! NOT A SINGLE SPECK OF ASH WILL REMAIN!"

"..Try me." The voice echoed again. Osomatsu's ears seemingly twitched upon hearing the voice again.

 _Wait, isn't that..?_

"SHUT UP!" Tougou roared, outstretching his palm towards Osomatsu. "I'LL MAKE SURE YOU'LL ROT IN HELL!"

 _Okay, but what did I do?! I can't possibly absorb that much all at once..!_

"DIE, MATSUNO OSOMATSU!"

Jyushi's eyes cracked open. "Osomatsu-niisan..?!"

Osomatsu closed his eyes as the fireballs were hurled at him. His phone was beeping, meaning it couldn't absorb any more projectiles than the ones Osomatsu already had.

 _Tch..! Jyushi.. I'll save you.. but..!_

Suddenly, Osomatsu felt someone cover him in what seemed to be a hug. He didn't feel any burning sensation at all, just the warmth of someone's body against his.

"..Are you okay..?" The voice once against asked, but this time, it was close to Osomatsu's ears.

Osomatsu opened his eyes. Red-eyes were staring back at him with worry. "O-Oso!"

"Oi, don't forget us."

"The place is really on fire?! I was hoping to do this myself!"

"Where is everyone?!"

Osomatsu saw Todo, Ichi, and Kara beside him as well. There seemed to be some sort of transparent barrier around them, since one of Oso's arms were outstretched, as well as his palm. The fireballs seemingly didn't work against the barrier, as smoke was now surrounding them. "Sorry.. we're a bit late.. aren't we..?" Oso murmured. "We just had.. some things.. to do.."

"Basically, we were trying to not die. And when we come out to save your idiotic ass, we just realize we're so close to dying. So we failed there, huh?" Todo scoffed, crossing his arms.. "So I can finally kick Tougou's ass in this dimension? Hell yeah."

Ichi picked up something from the floor, and Osomatsu realized it was his katana. Ichi scowled. It was probably because of the dried up blood staining the blade. "Gross.." He murmured.

As Oso let go of Osomatsu, Kara was immediately clinging onto him. "Why did you tie your blazer around your face like that?! You'll suffocate- never mind, we're literally in a burning building right now.. still, you should have used a towel!"

"I didn't bring one.." Osomatsu nervously chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Kara looked absolutely horrified at that statement, as if he witnessed a murder. Despite the loud crackling of flames and the amount of smoke filling his nostrils, he still took the time to scold Osomatsu. "A towel is a necessity, Osomatsu-niisan! If you didn't forget to bring one as I kept reminding you earlier, you wouldn't have to look like that! You look like you're dying!"

"Well, on the inside, I am, but-"

"Not funny, Osomatsu-niisan! How can you remain calm when we're literally in a burning building right now?!"

"..Save the mothering.. for later.. Kara.." Oso rolled his eyes as Kara continued to fuss over Osomatsu. He closed his fist tightly, and the barrier disappeared. Oso took out a red handkerchief from his pocket and tied it around his nasal area, similar to Osomatsu. "Tch.. to fight in.. a burning building.. of all places.."

"What an asshole. Who sets a building on fire then fights people? Sounds like shit Lonely would do, to be honest. And it's fucking suffocating in here with all this thick-ass smoke.." Todo grumbled. He flinched when he felt Kara suddenly tie a pink handkerchief around his face as well. "H-Hey! I can do it on my own!" His cries went ignored as Kara tied a handkerchief around his face as well. "Seriously, Kara..?"

Ichi huffed, taking out what seemed to be a medical mask from his pocket. It was black with a small yellow paw print on the corner. He felt everyone stare at him with judging looks. "This is actually Jyushi's, before you ask." He murmured, putting it over his face. "I'm the one usually bringing it, since he tends to forget important stuff a lot. His jacket, for example."

 _Ah. Makes sense._

"You same-faced freaks!" Tougou roared as the smoke finally cleared out. Oso immediately made a defensive stance and summoned his axe. Tougou looked absolutely deranged at this point, and a golden aura was emitting from him. "I'll kill you all! You think you can just mock me?!"

"He's losing it. Then again, he is getting a bit old, and he's losing a few screws." Ichi scoffed, preparing his katana. He saw Jyushi still on the floor, kneeling and had both of his hands grasping around his neck. "..We need to hurry. I don't want to die in my old house, damn it.. and I don't want to break my promise with Jyushi."

"Kara, stay here." Todo instructed. "I've been wanting to kick this guy's ass for a long time."

"Same." Osomatsu grinned underneath his makeshift-mask. "Well, Oso? You're the boss. What's our next plan?"

Oso thought for awhile, before looking at Oso with his blank eyes. Even with the red eyes and the absolutely lifeless pupils, Osomatsu could clearly see that they looked the same. He just didn't have the chance to stare eye-to-eye with Oso earlier.

"...Absolutely do not die." The other said with a quiet voice, slightly muffled by the handkerchief tied around his face.

Osomatsu shrugged. "Eh. Fair enough."


	96. Chapter 96: Nonsense Words

When the group of seven managed to get out of the manor, they just realized the amount of panicking people outside, as well as the guards from earlier, both from the manor and from the abandoned church. Ken-san was yelling orders to the guards to keep the guests safe and to check for anyone injured, but the moment Dekapan and the rest managed to get out, he called out to the captain, which caused every single guard of Flag Corporation to approach them all at once, in a neat line, and while saluting.

"Sir Dekapan, sir!" Ken-san called out, with the others echoing his words. "We are awaiting your orders, sir!"

Dekapan gestured for Ken-san to come closer. Hatabou's body was still on both of his arms, but he had enough decency to wrap a blanket around it. He didn't want all these people to see a corpse after all. "Did you all call the fire department? Checked to make sure that no one else is in there?" Ken-san nodded, and Dekapan gave him Hatabou's body. "Good. Matsuno-kun is still in there, unfortunately. As well as the criminal. Ken-san, I need you to take this now. It's Hatabou's body, make sure that they clean this properly later. Oh, and have the other guards take care of the others too." He jabbed a thumb at Kaoru. "Masayoshi-kun is injured, as well as Yowai-kun and Kodoku-kun."

Not necessarily injured, but they did suffer from brainwashing that probably made them use all of their energy to the point they passed out. Hell, Totoko was still unconscious, while Yuki, Chibita, and Iyami were up and well. Maybe even Hana too, if she was alive, that is. Still, it was worrisome that those two still haven't awakened yet. Who knows how long Totoko had been unconscious upon falling on Tougou's control.

 _I wonder how it feels though.. to have your body used against the ones you love.. to hurt them.. and to watch helplessly as your body hurts them.. I wonder how Jyushi felt when he killed Hatabou under Tougou's influence.._

He didn't want to think about it much. He knew how much Jyushi hated himself, his own existence, and blaming him for a murder he didn't willingly do was just.. unacceptable. Jyushi was just a kid when he started hearing such harsh words from his own father..

Words that would permanently stay within Jyushi's head for years to come.

Words that Jyushi would cry out whenever he was asleep and suffering from night terrors.

Words that Jyushi would write on his sketchpad in black crayon, especially when feeling upset.

Words that Jyushi would tell himself whenever he did a mistake, despite everyone's reassurances that it was fine.

Words that Jyushi practically lived by and believed without hesitation, often believing that his existence was nothing more than a mistake.

Dekapan remembered those words; every time Jyushi would break down at the mention of his father, he would yell the same words over and over, until Jyushi's voice was hoarse and his eyes were puffy.

 _"I truly am an evil child!"_

Dekapan desperately wished he hadn't been busy at the lab at the time. Maybe he could have prevented Jyushi's fate, maybe even Jyushi's father's.

Maybe Ichi wouldn't have to end up like this.

Maybe Ichi wouldn't have ended up being a murderer at the age of thirteen.

 _I'm his guardian. I'm supposed to help him. Yet, here I am.._

"Sir!"

Ah. He forgot Ken-san was talking to him.

"What is it?" He asked, irritated that Ken-san snapped him out of his thoughts.

"S-Sir! Are we going to send in more people there to get him?!" Ken-san sputtered out, trying his best not to freak out when the body was given to him. He instantly knew this was Hatabou, as there were only three people who were small enough to look like a child. And this definitely wasn't Chibita or Hana. He adjusted his hold by a bit, still irked by the fact he was holding a corpse wrapped in a blanket. "Also.. we found yet another girl in the mansion. Pink hair, sir. She's at the church with the other guards, and she's unconscious. Miss Hana is there too."

"HANA-CHAN'S ALIVE?!" Homura raised her voice, surprising everyone. They were even more surprised when Homura didn't seem to be embarrassed by that action, and continued to look at Ken-san. She felt Fuyu put a hand on her shoulder as if to calm her, but Homura was shaking in her heels. "Ken-san, is that true?! Hana-chan's alive?! Where is she?!"

Ken-san looked at her as if she had just told him something rather offensive. Then again, Ken-san wasn't there to see Hana get tossed off out of a window. "Uh, yes, Miss Homura. She has a few cuts from the glass, but we found her unconscious on a large pile of snow.. so, yeah. She's alright. Probably has a few cuts and a cold, but she's still alive. She slapped one of the guards when they pulled her out of the snow, claiming that she was having a nice nap. She's awake too, and she's been demanding for food ever since she woke up. Bless that girl for managing to make the other guards loosen up a bit.. I guess..?"

 _Typical Hana-chan. I bet that if she were to die, she would have just punched the grim reaper at the face and send him back to purgatory or something._

"Thank god.. Hana's alright, that's a relief." Chibita muttered out. Unlike Homura, he seemed calm enough to hear the news, because Homura started squealing out words, before running to the abandoned church. Fuyu followed after her, yelling at her to slow down. "Well.. that's done with. But still.. we have Osomatsu to worry about! That idjit..!" He turned to Iyami. "I'm going back in there!"

"No you're not, young man!" Kaoru argued. "It's dangerous in there! Besides that the place is burning, it's a maze in there! I don't even remember where the room is located!"

"I do, it's on the top floor, now let me go-" Iyami suddenly grabbed Chibita by his head and lifted him up. "W-What?! Iyami, you idjit! Put me down, damn it!"

"Me thinks you need to remain calm, Chibita! Osomatsu said he wanted us to stay out of- YOWCH! DID YOU JUST BITE ME?!"

"You two, please stop causing a scene. People are looking at us, and Flag Corporation does not need any more rumors. Ichi will get more angry if that happens to get to the press." Dekapan sighed. He had been used to trying to calm down such loud people like Hana for example, but he was still wondering why he even chose to put up with them. "You two need to go to the abandoned church as well. You two need to heal up, especially after how hard you hit the ground. Masayoshi-kun, you too, you're injured. Yowai-kun and Kodoku-kun could use a better place to sleep at as well. Yuki, go check on your wife and make sure Tsuyoi-kun doesn't do anything reckless. Ken-san, I need you to watch over everyone in this area. The guards too." He instructed. "Bring anyone that is injured or suffering in the church, alright? I will be the one to act as the doctor for the night. Understood?"

Ken-san saluted, as the other guards mirrored his action. "Understood, Professor Dekapan, sir!" He turned to the other guards and got ready to bark out orders.

Dekapan looked back at the building with a scowl. Well, this obviously wasn't good for the forest; having a burning building in the clearing of the forest will only make this worse, especially since the building was a rather big manor. Ignoring Chibita's screams as Iyami carried him around his arm like a sack of potatoes, he glanced back as Yuki assisted Kaoru by carrying Lonely, as the older male was now carrying Totoko.

He sighed, adjusting his gloves and walking over to the direction of the abandoned church. This was a stupid choice, but with people like Chibita and Iyami surrounding him..

Well, someone had to be the calm and logical one, right?

 _Matsuno-kun.. you better come out alive._

* * *

"Jyushi's.. still controlled..." Oso murmured, running his thumb through the rough surface of his axe's handle. Tougou seemed to be pissed off, the golden aura glowing even brighter, and Jyushi was.. well, still possessed. Any order made by Tougou, Jyushi wouldn't hesitate to listen to. As long as his God's Essence was within him, Jyushi would attack them all with absolutely no hesitation. "Well.. there are five.. of us.. so Kara.. Todo.. and Ichi.. will handle Jyushi.." He looked at Osomatsu again. "We'll both.. handle Tougou.. since he ruined.. both of our lives.. okay..?"

 _You said it, other me._

"Heh. Fair's fair. I always wanted to kick his ass for kicking my ass when I was like.. what, ten years old?" Osomatsu gave Oso a pat on the shoulder. "You'll be okay fighting alongside us, Kara? I mean, you might get lost trying to leave the manor.."

"Of course I will. Helping you guys is better than leaving you just to get lost in a burning mansion." Kara sighed, rolling his sleeves. He could understand why they were concerned for him, especially since Kara wasn't a fighter like the rest of them, but he was definitely stronger than he looked!

"Kara helped me kick Ichi's ass earlier. He's strong." Todo mumbled, looking away. "He also protected me from Ichi. He did get hurt though, but.. he still protected me.."

Judging by the silence of the purple-eyed male, it seemed he was guilty of hurting Kara. He had a tight grip on his katana and refused to look at either Kara and Todo. "..Very well. I will have you both assist me. We are not hurting Jyushi though."

"Naturally."

"Noted."

"Now.." Oso looked at Kara. "You do remember.. what I thought you.. before we went back.. to this physical dimension.. right?"

Kara blinked, but the nodded. "Ah, of course."

Osomatsu looked at them curiously. "Wait, what-"

"Are you ignoring me?!" Tougou clicked his tongue in annoyance. With a snap of his fingers, Jyushi immediately stood up and summoned his cane again. "You brats.." He hissed through gritted teeth. "I'll make you wish you were never born!"

 _I wish that every single day, you have no idea._

Ichi and Jyushi moved in sync; Ichi blocked Jyushi's cane as soon as Jyushi leaped towards them. "Snap out of it!" He yelled, much more determined to get his brother back from Tougou's control. "I promised you, didn't I?! I'd save you!"

 _You did._

Jyushi pulled back, huffing as he pointed the cane towards Ichi's direction.

 _I know you will._

"You are a fool." Jyushi said. "You will never get your brother back. He has given up. He is now nothing more than an empty shell. Without a God's Essence, he is nothing."

"That's where you're wrong." Ichi murmured, putting his glasses back on. His eyes were getting wet from the smoke, so maybe wearing the glasses as some sort of eye-protection would be a good idea.

Ichi ran over to Jyushi, and Todo followed. Todo was much faster than Ichi, and had slid down the floor to kick Jyushi's feet off the ground. Jyushi reacted by jumping to the air, but didn't notice Ichi had jumped as well, in order to strike him with his katana.

Jyushi blocked it with the cane. "Tch..!"

"My brother.. is everything but a puppet!" Ichi roared, pressing the blade of his katana against the cane with more force. "He's.. he's the reason I decided to continue living!" Both Jyushi and Ichi pulled back. "If he hadn't been there.. I would have never had the patience to continue being Flag Corporation's president! I wouldn't have gotten a reason to study hard and graduate at the top of my class!" He swung the katana again, and as expected, Jyushi blocked it. "I know you're not Jyushi.. you're just Tougou using Jyushi's voice.. and Jyushi promised me he'd be okay! And never in his life has Jyushi ever broken a promise!"

"Think fast!" Todo sent a swift kick, something Jyushi had managed to block with his own cane, just barely. Jyushi's cane was slightly pressed to his face from how dangerously close Todo's foot was to Jyushi's face. "Ichi, Kara, now!"

 _Ah! My defenses..!_

Realizing that he no longer had anything to defend himself against Ichi, he suddenly felt as if he was being tackled to the ground. "Umf..!"

"Kyabarie, a little help?! The thing Oso told you earlier! DO IT NOW!"

"Y-Yes!" Kara had ran towards Jyushi. Todo's hands were pinning Jyushi's arms, and Ichi was trying to pin down Jyushi's legs. The youngest male in the room kept struggling and whining, trying to break free. "Ah, please! Jyushi.. I think it's best that you calm down a bit, don't you think- NEVER MIND!" He nearly made a girly scream as Jyushi tried to bite his fingers off. "O-Oh dear.. how do I..?"

"Hold on." Ichi removed the black medical mask from his mouth with one hand, and ignoring how unhygienic, unhealthy, and filthy it was to give a used mask to his brother, he managed to put it over Jyushi's mouth with a bit of struggle. "He won't bite you now."

"Unhand me!" Jyushi's yell was muffled by the mask.

"Kara, please do it now, his arms are like tentacles and it's quite disturbing." Todo said as he crossed both of Jyushi's arms and tried his best to pin him against the floor. "Also, we're like in a burning building."

"R-Right.. here goes.." Kara took a deep breath as he placed a palm over Jyushi's forehead, lightly brushing the hair away from his face. "Now, relax, Jyushi. I don't plan on hurting you.."

"Lies!" Jyushi turned his head side to side, tears forming on his eyes. "That's what papa said! That's what papa said, and he hurt me, he broke my legs, he-!"

"Dad is dead." Ichi spoke, voice low and seemingly dark. "Suuji Shiroku is dead. And I'm the murderer." He saw Jyushi look up at him in horror, and Ichi never felt so heartbroken in his entire life. "Remember? Your older brother, I, Suuji Ichi.. is the killer of Suuji Shiroku, the same man who claimed to be our father, but was truly a monster in disguise."

The moment he said that, a golden light appeared above Jyushi's chest. "That.. isn't true..!" The golden light started to dim once Jyushi absorbed what Ichi just said. "THAT'S NOT TRUE! ICHI-NIISAN NEVER HURT ANYONE! ICHI-NIISAN NEVER KILLED ANYONE!"

 _..You're still a naive kid, Jyushi._

"OSO!" Todo lifted his head towards Oso and Osomatsu's direction, who happened to be in going against Tougou with an axe and spear against Tougou's knife. Oso thankfully noticed him even with the heavy clouds of smoke. "NOW!"

Oso's eyes flashed for a moment, as he grabbed Osomatsu's arm to prevent his other self from being slashed with a knife. He closed his eyes and miraculously managed to dodge all of Tougou's attacks. "Let the gods.. take what is their's.. and end such madness.. caused by.. the darkness.." He snapped his eyes open, and threw his axe towards Kara, but before it hit him, it turned back into a rose. "Now.. Kara..!"

 _Right!_

Kara grabbed the rose, and swatted the small ball of light with it. There was some sort of barrier when Kara had hit it, causing Jyushi's eyes to widen as he arched his back and screamed. "NO!" He shrieked. "I DON'T WANT TO BE USELESS AGAIN! I DON'T WANT TO BE A VICTIM AGAIN! I DON'T WANT TO BE A PUPPET ANYMORE!"

"That's what we're doing, Jyushi.." Ichi managed to tell him, carefully hovering above his body and calmly holding his face with his gloved hands. "Now please.. snap out of that nightmare now, won't you? None of that is real."

 _It's just a dream._

"I'll be here when you wake up."

With those words, the ball of light went into the rose and Jyushi finally stopped screaming and struggling.


	97. Chapter 97: Syndrome of Revenge

Ichi decided to let Jyushi keep the mask on for the time being. He was unconscious, sure, but thankfully, he was breathing, and by breathing, that meant Jyushi could suffocate from the thick smoke. And he didn't seem to look pained anymore too. Slowly, he lifted Jyushi on his arms, with the assistance of both Kara and Todo. It seemed as if Jyushi was snoring too, so they had nothing much to worry about besides being burned alive or stabbed in the neck by Tougou. It was five against one too, so it was obvious who would win.

"..Give up." Oso looked at Tougou, snapping his fingers. The rose on Kara's hand suddenly disappeared, and when Oso fiddled with his fingers, the rose was already in his possession. "..You have lost.. and.. you no longer.. have puppets.. to control.. so it's best.. if you just surrender.. otherwise.. I won't actually.. hold anything back... anymore.."

"Heh! That's right!" Osomatsu rubbed the area where his nose should probably be, but he was wearing a blazer around his nasal area, so who knows? "Everyone's out of the manor, so you have no one to control anymore! Fuyu, Yuki, Homura, Dekapan, Kaoru, Chibita, and Iyami!" He then remembered the other four, including Hatabou's corpse and Hana, who he wonders was still alive. And Nyaa-chan too. "Totoko-chan too.. and Hana, Hatabou.. and Lonely. Nyaa-chan as well, I'm sure Dekapan and the others got her already and are waiting outside!" Osomatsu gripped onto his phone tighter. "So give up, Tougou! You've already lost! It's either you surrender peacefully.. or we're gonna have to keep fighting."

"And I'm sure none of us want to stick around the mansion any longer." Todo crossed his arms. "In case you forgot, we're in a burning building."

"I'm surprised you guys are actually calm about this.." Kara murmured. On the outside, he may just seem unsure, but on the inside, he was practically screaming on how they were going to get out. How could his brothers remain calm throughout all of this?!

"It's useless now." Ichi added. "Koroshi Tougou, for years now, you have managed to strike fear into the hearts of people of Akatsuka City.. you somehow are even worse than me, president of the darkest company in this entire country." He looked down at Jyushi in his arms, his eyes softening. "And you've killed so many.. have you not..? Including Kodoku's parents.. I must say I'm impressed by how determined Kodoku is to take you down. Trying to kill someone from Flag Corporation was your mistake, Koroshi Tougou."

"You pompous brat!" Tougou hissed, summoning more fireballs. "Don't make me laugh! You're the child who decided to overthrow his own father by killing him! You and your brother.. you are the true villains in Akatsuka City! If it weren't for you, people could have lived at peace." He made a maniacal grin. "But of course, anything can be brought and sold, yes? Atsushi-kun only needed to pay you.. and you had most people's information leaked out for that reason. Which one of us is really the worst?"

Ichi, surprisingly, remained calm. "I've been called a gold digger in my life, numerous times. Even by the people who are affiliated with my family. But I wasn't really in Flag Corporation for the money." He let out a huff. "Of course, I remained as the president in order to provide for my brother.. and maybe it's because I wanted to watch over my employees, especially those who have financial problems. As their president, their boss, I'm supposed to train them. But that's not just the reason." His grip on Jyushi tightened. "If I were to step down from my position, it was either Jyushi or Hatabou who would take my position."

"Wait.. Hatabou?" Kara turned to him. "But.. isn't Hatabou-"

"Yes, a childhood friend. Not too big, since my company should naturally go to Jyushi just in case something were to happen to me, not Hatabou. And I don't want my little brother to suffer through everything I went through.. the stress, the crime, the media, all of it. Neither Jyushi or Hatabou deserve that. Jyushi's still a growing child and Hatabou is already stressed enough being my right-hand man." He then glared at Tougou. "But Hatabou certainly didn't deserve to die.. right, Tougou?" He gritted his teeth. "Hatabou didn't deserve to die.. Jyushi didn't deserve to suffer.. so you only get what you payed for, Tougou."

"Interesting." Tougou chuckled, pointing his knife towards them. "You truly are Akatsuka's young genius, Suuji Ichi. I wonder what would be Flag Corporation's future once you and your brother are gone.." His eyes suddenly flickered to a blood red color. "Isn't that interesting? Wondering how the world will go on without you?"

"Get down!"

Tougou flicked his knife, and the fireballs were hurled at them. Osomatsu closed his eyes again to counter the fireballs that Tougou had absorbed earlier, holding his phone in front of him and Oso. It was a futile effort to block them, and once the fireballs collided with one another, more thick smoke clouded their vision.

"Do you truly believe that I can be bought to justice? Do you think that spending time behind bars will redeem my sins, make me a good person?! YOU'RE A BIGGER IDIOT THAN YOUR BROTHER!" Tougou cackled. "You're right, Ichi-kun! I truly am the worst, the lowest of the low! I kill for my own gain, and that is nothing more than to quench my blood lust! I don't even remember the faces or names of my victims! But all I remember is how they begged for me to spare them, to show them mercy!" More fireballs appeared alongside him. "But they didn't show her any mercy, so why should I?!"

 _Wait.. "her"...? That's it!_

"What the fuck is he talking about?!" Todo had pulled Kara behind him, while Osomatsu and Oso were at the very front. "Is he actually going insane?! He's going insane, isn't he?!"

"You should know this feeling!" Tougou continued to talk. "You and I are one and the same!"

"Honestly, what is he talking about?!" Osomatsu turned to face his other clones. His vision was completely blurry thanks to the smoke, but thankfully, he was able to count their silhouettes. "Is everyone okay back there?!"

"We're alright, Osomatsu-niisan!" That was Kara's voice.

"Tch! The smoke's too thick..! I can't see shit!" That was obviously Todo.

"What happened to your wife was just an unfortunate, Tougou! I can understand that much!" Ichi roared, and it was obvious that he was talking to Tougou rather than answering Osomatsu's question.

 _Wait, this is about his WIFE?! Of all things?!_

"I know what it feels to have someone important ripped away from you, and you feel nothing but helplessness after you start to accept that they're no longer in your life, no longer there to support you! But you know what makes you different from me?!" Ichi could honestly care less if someone besides his clones heard him screaming, as he was sure his voice was loud enough to be heard from outside. "I only killed one person! You, however, couldn't even do something as simple as locate your wife's murderer! And unlike you, I don't feel the urge to murder anyone just because they're having a happy life while I suffer in silence! I only kill those who I deem as threats to my brother!"

"And how exactly does that make you better than me?! You've killed people as well! A sin! It doesn't matter how many, if you take one's life, you are pure evil! Your brother is no excpetion!" He started laughing maniacally. "I will take you both to hell with me, right where you belong!"

Oso extended his palm. "..As if." He growled under his breath, closing his eyes. The rose on his hand was glowing now, as well as surrounding him with seven balls of light. "Let the gods.. summon the light.. within the dark.. and give me.. the strength.. to end this madness.." He muttered. A golden sphere, bigger than the ones earlier, appeared above his head. Unlike the previous ones, it wasn't in a shape of a marble; it was the size of a baseball. Oso grabbed it with his right hand, before turning to Osomatsu. "Other me.."

"Yeah?"

"Do you.. play baseball..?" He asked quietly, curling his fingers around the ball of light.

Played baseball? Osomatsu played baseball, and so did the rest of his brothers. Jyushimatsu just happened to be the only one obsessed with it, as well as very good at the sport. But Osomatsu knew the basics of playing it. Hell, sometimes, he played with Jyushimatsu whenever Ichimatsu or Karamatsu were unable to. "I play baseball." He replied simply.

Oso looked pleased, to say the least, since his eyes seemed to soften. Oso then blinked, before turning away from Osomatsu, probably to analyze his plan, or whatever it was. "Ah.. good.. well.. do me a favor.. please..?"

"Oh, uh, sure."

"...Open your hand.."

Osomatsu did as he was asked to, opening his palm. Oso placed the ball of light on it, and Osomatsu flinched at the warm, yet smooth texture. It was like holding a glass ball filled with warm water. Despite that, it was as light as a baseball. Oso's rose once again turned into a weapon; this time, it was a baseball bat. "Oh! Are we, uh-?"

"Going to play.. baseball..? ...Yes.." He put the bat over his shoulder. "I like.. baseball-"

They were cut off when they realized Ichi was still arguing with Tougou. "Don't you dare compare Jyushi to the likes of you! I can accept myself as trash, but my brother?! You were the one who forced him to kill! I saw my brother earlier, and what state you put him in! If you truly wanted revenge for your wife, what makes you think killing innocent people is going to get you anywhere?! Are you trying to make a name for yourself, just so your wife's murderer would fear you?! Or are you just a coward?!"

"SHUT UP!" With a snap of his fingers, Tougou managed to clear the smoke, yet make the flames bigger. Kara clung to Todo's arm as the embers became stronger, and the group of look-a-likes huddled together. It was getting hotter in the room, and it was getting hard to even fight. "I don't want to hear that from the same person who had to kill his own father just to get to where he is now! I don't want to hear that from the brat who never experienced loneliness-!"

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT FEELS TO BE LONELY?!" Ichi raised his voice yet again. "Let me explain to you in a way that your idiotic brain could comprehend! When you took Jyushi away from me, when I thought he had died.. the dread I felt in my chest was the fear of being alone! When Jyushi was kidnapped by Kodoku Choro in an attempt to protect him from you, I felt fear! I kept asking myself.. what if I lost Jyushi? What if I have to keep on living in this world alone? You.. you're really the worst! Everyone in this room.. you, me, the two Matsunos, Kyabarie, Katsuna, and Jyushi.. all of us experienced loneliness! Yet, you act as if the world is against you!"

Kara tried to calm Ichi down by placing a free hand on his shoulder. "Ichi-"

"YOU BRATS!" Tougou's eyes flashed red again, and he gripped tightly onto the knife. Osomatsu and Oso realized that there seemed to be something behind him; a glowing ball of light, bigger than the one Osomatsu was holding.

"Tch..! He's going to..!" He immediately cut himself off and turned to Osomatsu. "..Come here."

"Eh? What for- ah!" Oso pulled him closer to himself and put one of Osomatsu's hands over the bat, just above this.

"You're going.. to help me.. swing the ball.. to Tougou.." He turned back to Tougou. "We only.. have one shot.. so please.. don't fuck up.."

 _Wow. He really talks like me, huh?_

The ball behind Tougou was only getting bigger, until it was taking up a quarter of the room. "I will kill every single one of you brats! I will make sure you never get out of this place alive! Because you brats are nothing more than puppets to this fucked-up world we all live in!"

"Kara.. Todo.. Ichi..!" Oso hissed through gritted teeth. "The three of you.. stay back..! Osomatsu and I.. will end this..!"

Without hesitation, Todo grabbed both of Ichi and Kara's wrists and took a few steps backward. "You guys..!"

"Onii-chan will be fine!" Osomatsu assured, even though he clearly had no idea what he was going to do. "S-So.. Oso, I just toss the ball-"

"And swing.. with full force..?" Oso interrupted him. "..Yes."

Ah. Well.. I guess I should thank Jyushimatsu once I get back, huh?

"PREPARE TO DIE!"

Oso closed his eyes, slowly raising the bat. Osomatsu awkwardly followed his movements, noticing how awkward it was to hold a single bat with another person. "At the count.. of three.. ready..?"

Osomatsu gulped. If they fucked up, they'd probably die. Still, he nodded. "I'm ready."

"Good.." Oso opened his eyes again. Osomatsu realized that his eyes were seemingly glowing. It was either that, or the heat was just making Osomatsu dizzy. "Well.. here we go.."

 _If we fuck up, I might die in this burning building._

"YOU BRATS SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN BORN!"

 _I might never see my brothers again._

"..One.."

 _I might not be able to go fishing with Karamatsu again._

"Ehehehehe... ahahahaha.. AHAHAHAHAHA! IT'S JUST AS CHORO SAID, RIGHT?! YOU BRATS WOULD DO ANYTHING TO TAKE ME DOWN, EVEN AT THE COST OF YOUR OWN LIVES!"

 _I might not be able to pet all of Ichimatsu's cats too._

"..Two.."

 _I might not be able to play baseball with Jyushimatsu again._

"BUT I'VE ALREADY WON! EVER SINCE I ACCEPTED THAT MAN IN WHITE'S OFFER, I KNEW I ALREADY WON!"

 _Hell, I won't get a chance to meet Todomatsu's lady friends._

"Three..!"

He tossed the ball, and alongside Oso, he pulled the bat away as he prepared to strike the ball with it.

 _..I won't get to fulfill my promise with Choromatsu if that happens._

At the same time, Tougou pointed his knife towards Oso and Osomatsu. The giant ball of light was like a beam as it exploded, nearly consuming the entire room. Ichi pulled Jyushi's body closer to his, and he didn't even flinch when he felt Kara suddenly hug both him and Todo. They shut their eyes and prepared for the end.

 _...But I promised them._

He hit the ball with the bat, sending it flying.

 _I promised them I'd come back._

Before any of the light could even hit Osomatsu or Oso, the baseball-like sphere suddenly absorbed the beam as it zoomed across the room, aiming straight for Tougou's chest. Tougou didn't notice the ball until it managed to hit him straight in the chest. The moment it came in contact with Tougou's body, it was almost as if there was electricity coming out of it.

"What-?!"

"The fuck's going on?!"

"Osomatsu-niisan!"

"Nn...Nii-san..!"

"..Other me..!"

Suddenly, Tougou collapsed, as if his entire attack was cancelled and his body had to suffer through it. A small, delicate ball of light appeared on top of Tougou's body, similar to the ones Oso was collecting.

"Well...exorcism done.. I guess?" Osomatsu weakly croaked out.

His response was having to hear Oso scoff at his statement. "Idiot.. we won."


	98. Chapter 98: Angel of Death

Tougou put a hand over the area where the ball had hit him. When he looked at his hand again, he realized there was a red liquid on it. Not only did he have blood leaking out of the area, but his skin felt hot and sweaty, but the area where the ball had hit him seemingly left a burn mark. He looked up at Oso, seeing his stoic face and equally blank eyes, letting his bat turn back into a rose. Osomatsu was beside him, happy and cheering. Todo and Kara looked relieved to say the least, and Ichi looked down fondly at his sleeping brother on his arms.

"You're all just the same, you freaks.." Tougou gripped his fingers around the carpet, before coughing. More blood was staining the carpet, as red as Hatabou's blood and as red as the fire surrounding them all. The small ball of light hovering above him suddenly started floating towards Oso's open palm. He wanted nothing more than to grab Oso's neck and strangle him, but he couldn't even find the strength to move."You brats are no different from me."

Despite that quietness in his voice, Osomatsu managed to hear him. He stopped his little happy dance to look at Tougou seriously. "Rambling on and on about that? Well, let me give you your answer then. But let's keep it short and sweet, since we're literally gonna die here if we stay any longer." He shrugged, as Oso let the rose absorb the small ball of light. "Yeah. We're the same. We do things we regret for the sake of the people we love. Ichi killed his dad, you killed people, I'm pretty sure I attempted murder more than once.." He heard Todo and Kara's surprised cries from the back. He chuckled. "But the thing is, those two things are what makes us, well.. us."

Slowly, he started walking towards Tougou. Oso realized that Todo and Ichi looked hostile, so he put one of his arms in front of them to prevent them from chasing Osomatsu. "It's alright.. Tougou no longer.. has powers.. he can't possibly.. harm the other me.." Oso said. "Without.. the God's Essence.. he can't make.. things any worse.."

"Differences. Similarities. Who cares?" Osomatsu said as he walked, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Some people say we're the same, but some people say we're different. But does it really matter? I mean.. my brothers.. they are me.. and I am them too.. but at the same time.. we're different.. our hearts are the same.. yet.. different.." He chuckled, putting down the blazer to show his cheeky smile. "It's not bad to be both; to be the same, and to be different. It's confusing, I know. But Tougou.."

Osomatsu knelt down to Tougou's level. "What the fuck do you want, brat.." He glared at him. "Rubbing salt in the wound? Tch. I know. I lost. No need to rub it in."

"What? No! I'm not Todomatsu or Ichimatsu, geez." Osomatsu grinned, extending a hand towards him. "I know you did a lot of wrong stuff. I know you're like the Tougou from the other dimension. And I don't know if I can find it in myself to forgive you, especially since you're the reason Choro's the way he is, and I'm pretty sure Oso wants to have your head in both of his hands. 'Sides that, Hatabou's dead thanks to you, I'm pretty sure Nyaa-chan'll wake up traumatized and some shit.. but if you turn yourself in, maybe you can be a better person?"

"What." He looked at Osomatsu. "Do you believe in that stupid friend of your's? That by putting me behind bars, I can actually redeem myself?"

"Pretty much." Osomatsu shrugged. "It's worth it to give it a shot, yeah?"

"You're an idiot." Tougou spat. "I can kill you right now. I may not have my knife, but I can strangle you with how close you are-" He was interrupted when he started coughing out more blood. "Tch..!"

"..It's okay now." Osomatsu's voice softened. "You're gonna be okay now. Just take my hand. We're all getting out of this together, yeah? We'll have Ichi bring you to the hospital first, then we'll let the police decide what to do with you. I mean.. you're a human too, despite what you did." Tougou seemed to have came to the realization that Osomatsu wasn't mocking him. He was being genuine. "So please.. just surrender, alright? Your wife's gonna be fine up there in heaven, with Jyushi's mom, and Choro's parents.. and Hatabou too. Maybe they'll have a tea party in heaven together, who knows."

Todo blinked in disbelief. "Is he.. giving him a second chance?"

Kara made a nervous smile. "Osomatsu-niisan can be unpredictable at times.. at least, that's what Karamatsu's memories tell me.."

Ichi looked at Osomatsu, noticing that stupid grin on his face.

 _Matsuno Osomatsu from the other dimension.. yes, he's an idiot.. but.. could he truly be a genius underneath that stupid grin of his?_

He then looked at Oso, who snorted. "I know.. what you're thinking.. Suuji Ichi.." He glanced at him with calm eyes. "But.. if there's one thing.. that differentiates me.. from him.. it's the fact.. that he's much.. more honest.. to himself.. and to others.. than I am.." He chuckled, but if Oso was smiling, that smile of his was hidden by the red towel covering his face. "What you see.. is what you get... a legendary idiot.. who is greedy.. and spoiled.. but is really.. a nice person.. who'd do anything.. for his loved ones.. and for the people.. around him.."

 _An idiot, huh?_

Somehow, Ichi doubted that. He doubted it even more when Tougou seemed to consider Osomatsu's offer.

And Tougou then took Osomatsu's hand, causing the eldest Matsuno to let out a cheerful laugh. Kara let out a sigh of relief, Todo muttered something about being "over" with this hellish night, and Oso fiddled with the stem of the rose, but his eyes seemed to be soft and calm now. Ichi would have enjoyed the atmosphere if he didn't remember that they were in a burning building.

 _An idiot with a good heart at least._

"Good choice, old man." Oso grinned, using his free hand to rub his nose. "C'mon. Let's get outta here before all of us suffocate to death."

He helped Tougou up, and planned to walk towards Oso and the rest.

"How stupid of you to think that a monster such as he can be redeemed."

Osomatsu froze, Oso looked up from the rose, Todo, Kara, and Ichi all looked at them, and Tougou stopped dead in his tracks.

Osomatsu looked back at him.

There was something behind Tougou.

A figure clad in a white light had their palm extended towards Tougou and Osomatsu.

"You failed, Tougou-san. I guess you know what's the punishment for failure, hm?" The figure chuckled. "Bye bye."

"You..!" Immediately, Tougou pushed Osomatsu out of the way.

Osomatsu landed on his back, trying to reach out for Tougou. "Hey-!"

And then a blade went through Tougou's stomach, and more blood came out of his mouth, spilling on the floor. "Gwah-!"

"TOUGOU!"

The light surrounding the figure disappeared, revealing a floating being dressed in white. With the way he was floating in his all-white attire, he may look like a holy being. But no. His eyes were gold, yet lifeless. His smile was peaceful, but menacing to Osomatsu. And on one hand, he was holding a silver sword with a golden hilt. One might think he was an angel from the heavens sent down by god in order to punish those who are evil, but Osomatsu knew he was nothing more than the devil himself.

 _Kamimatsu._

"My, my." Kamimatsu chuckled, using his free hand to cover his mouth. "And after getting this far? I guess it was foolish of me to get my hopes up. And even after I promised that I'd give you the power to resurrect your wife.." Kamimatsu scowled. "You let me down. I gave you half of my power just for you to fail? Utterly disgusting. It was a simple task; retrieve Matsuno Osomatsu, and I'll give you the rest of my powers just so you can do whatever you want." He pulled the blade out of Tougou, spilling the blood all over the area where Tougou had been standing.

Osomatsu immediately ran over towards Tougou, grabbing his hand with his own. "Tougou! Tougou, don't die on me, we still need to-"

"Kid.." Tougou's voice was raspy and weak. "Run.. now..!"

"But-!"

A golden light appeared on Kamimatsu's palm. "Well, so much for that. Thank you so much for your service, Tougou-san." Kamimatsu chuckled, his eyes darkening. "Now die."

"RUN KID-!"

"Other me..!"

Osomatsu was frozen in place, but he felt arms wrap around his back and pull him back. He realized it was Oso, who was hugging him protectively as Kamimatsu prepared to shoot the beam at Tougou.

He snapped his fingers.

Oso also covered Osomatsu's eyes with gloved hand. "Don't look..!" Was all Oso could tell him, his voice panicked. He seemed to be breathing harshly too.

"ARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHH!"

 _Tougou?-!_

"Don't look.. don't open your eyes..!" Oso repeated again, his voice now shaky.

He heard Kara scream, and he was sure he heard the sound of gagging as well. "Kara!" That was Todo's voice. "Fucking hell..!"

"Oh god.." That was Ichi's. "Oh my god-!"

 _What's going on?!_

"Tch. What a mess of intestines." He heard Kamimatsu's voice. "And ew, blood everywhere. Truly disgusting." He scoffed. "And Oso! I didn't expect to see you here, of all places! I really apologize for snapping on you that one time, that was truly mean of me!" His voice was mocking. "But I can see you did a swell job of being such a thorn on my side! And you even found the other you! How nice!" Kamimatsu started to giggle. "Now, be a good boy and give him to me, hm? We don't want to be stuck in a burning building after all, hm?"

"Over my dead body..!" Oso hissed, clutching tighter onto Osomatsu's body. "I won't.. I won't let you.. have him..!"

"Protective, aren't we?~" Kamimatsu said in a sing-song voice. "Ah, you truly have changed, Oso! Ever since you forcefully took a shard of my power from me and even burned your left hand in the process.. well, you've been trying your best to help Osomatsu back in his own dimension, hmmm? How sweet of you!" He laughed. "But Oso.. as always.. I know you'll fail. Because you're weak."

"Shut up..!" Oso growled. "Just shut up.. Kami..!"

"Well.. I'd like to forcefully take Osomatsu off your hands.. but I don't want to fight you in this run-down building that also happens to be on fire. Maybe some other time.~" Osomatsu managed to peek through Oso's fingers. He could see Kamimatsu opening some sort of portal and stepping in. There were red splotches on his white hoodie, but he didn't seem to care. "Until we meet again, Oso!~"

And then Kamimatsu disappeared.

Osomatsu removed Oso's hand from his eyes and saw the mess that Kamimatsu had been talking about.

Messier than Hatabou's corpse, there were it seemed as if Tougou was no longer one person. Osomatsu swore that Tougou's arms had been removed from his body, and were those intestines-

"TOUGOU-!" He nearly gagged, until Oso grabbed his wrist and squeezed it tightly.

Oso turned to the other three at the back.

The building was starring to collapse. Ichi tightened his hold on his brother, and Todo pulled Kara closer to him.

"Let's get out of here!" Barked Todo.

Oso nodded, and Osomatsu didn't even realize he had exited the room and was running back in the hallways, with Todo, Ichi, and Kara following him.

 _Tougou's still back there, Tougou's still alive-!_

He remembered Tougou's blood-curdling scream. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Oso squeezed his wrist even more. "Other me.. run faster..!" He yelled.

Osomatsu nodded.

 _There's nothing to go back to in that room._


	99. Chapter 99: The Promise of Osomatsu-san

As the building collapsed, Osomatsu and the others managed to get out just in time. His feet hurt from running, but Oso refused to let him go and had a tight grip on him. Ken-san saw them and immediately rushed in to help them, as well as a few guards, before the group collapsed. They all looked horrible, with debris on their clothes, and they seemed to have trouble breathing too. Ichi was standing shakily as he huddled Jyushi close to his chest, Todo was helping Kara stand up, and Oso's grip on Osomatsu's wrist was probably tight enough to stop the blood from circulating.

And it seems Oso hadn't noticed he still had an iron grip on Osomatsu's wrist.

 _I gotta admit.. it hurts a bit._

"Uh, Oso..?"

Oso looked at him, before realizing that Osomatsu's face was slightly scrunched in pain. He immediately let go of Osomatsu's wrist. "Oh..! S-sorry.."

"Ah, no, it's fine-!"

Osomatsu was interrupted by a group of guards running towards them. "Sirs!" Ken-san immediately untied the towels around Oso's mouth, as well as Kara's and Todo's. "Sirs, take deep breaths, I'll have the others bring you something to drink! Just take deep breaths, you all must have suffocated in there.."

Osomatsu didn't even realize there were firefighters screaming out for "more water" or something, and there were ambulances all over the place too, as well as police. The lights and sounds were mixing together and giving Osomatsu a headache, but then he saw Dekapan and Yuki help the other people get in the ambulances. He could also see familiar three bodies on the stretchers, which stood out from the rest; Totoko, Lonely, and the last one was covered by a blanket, but it was most certainly Hatabou's corpse, judging by how small the body was.

"Ken-san, take my brother to the hospital as well. Have Fuyu or Yuki go with him, I still have business to attend to." He instructed. "But tell them that as soon as he wakes up, call me immediately. I will be there, I promised him I'll be right beside him when he wakes up." Everyone watched as Ichi carefully give Jyushi to Ken-san, who rushed him to the nearest ambulance while screaming for either Fuyu or Yuki, the group of guards following him. Ichi removed his glasses and furiously started wiping it with his necktie, watching as the fire engulfed his old house.

 _So much for burning it down myself._

Despite the amount of bad memories that Ichi had of the Suuji Manor, watching it burn to the ground somehow made him feel a painful feeling in his chest. When he left the manor, he took very few things with him, but he honestly wished he could have taken a bit more. The music box from earlier had probably burned down with the piano and the rest of the stuff in there, including the paintings and some of the personal items that belonged to Ichi and Jyushi's parents. Ichi felt a bit sad, despite the fact that he himself wanted nothing more than to get rid of the house. It was his decision to abandon his past after all, but he couldn't help but feel sad.

Maybe it was watching his old house burn down that made Ichi feel like he really needed to let go of his past now. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, ignoring the noise around him and the smell of smoke. He could remember the day when he and Jyushi left the Suuji Manor and started living at Flag Corporation instead.. and he remembered each memory he had there. This was the place where he was born, where Jyushi was born, where their mother would often read stories to them, and where their father controlled them..

Ichi knew that the manor was his entire childhood, despite how much he hated it. He hated the fact that he still felt bad for this place, despite how many bad memories he has of that place. Now the building was burning in front of him, and Ichi could do nothing but stare and accept the fact that he really had to let go of his past now.

 _There's no turning back now, I guess._

"Are you guys okay?!" Osomatsu turned around and saw Homura running towards them, followed by two of the six girls Todo, Kara, and Ichi saw earlier. They were the ones with Ken-san, if he recalled, except there were only two of them. Homura was wearing a red jacket over dress, which was tied around her waist. She also seemed to have changed from her heels to her brown winter boots. Then again, it was rather chilly outside, and the dress and heels would only limit her movement. "Are you hurt?! Oh no! I'll bring you to the ambulance-!"

"No need, Homura." Ichi told her, voice quiet and a bit shaky. "We're fine."

 _Physically, that is._

"Are you sure?" The woman behind Homura asked, the one whose hair was tied up in a neat bun and had oval glasses. Like Homura, she was still wearing her party dress from earlier, except she had a green muffler around her neck. The woman adjusted her glasses, before grabbing Todo and Kara's hands as if to check them. Todo flinched and so did Kara, but she didn't pull away. She continued to inspect them as she squinted her eyes. "Hm.. there's some bruises here and there. Nothing too serious, but we should treat this anyway." She looked at them. "Oh, by the way, my name is Onnanoko Rokomi. This is my older twin."

"..Onnanoko Sokomi." Sokomi bowed. Similar to Rokomi, she wore a muffler around her neck, and it was red in color. Todo, Kara, and Ichi remembered her as the girl from earlier, the one who had ran in the room with Ken-san, Rokomi, and those four other girls. She was the stubborn lady who refused to leave unless she got answers. "I happen to be an.. acquaintance of both Lonely-san and Jyushi-kun. My sisters and I decided to help out at the church after things started getting bad. And I'm the eldest of five younger twin sisters. Nice to meet you."

She extended a hand towards Osomatsu, who shook it. Sure, her hand was cold and his was sweating due to the heat from the building, but it didn't bother him a bit. "Eldest, huh?" He made a weak chuckle. "My name's Matsuno Osomatsu. Must be rough. I know how that feels, being the eldest sibling and all. I have five brothers who are younger than me by a few minutes too."

Sokomi could sense that Osomatsu was trying to lighten up the atmosphere a bit, but she didn't really mind. She was honestly surprised that they were a bit similar. "Oh! You and your siblings are sextuplets also?!" Osomatsu nodded. Sokomi felt the need to pelt him with questions on how he managed to stay sane with five people who shared the same face as him. Nonetheless, she tried to keep her cool. "Wow! I thought I was the only one in Akatsuka who had five twins!"

Osomatsu weakly grinned, rubbing his nose with his left index finger. "Well, I guess sextuplets aren't so rare to find after all, haha. Akatsuka's a really interesting place, eh?" He pulled his hand away and stuffed it in his pocket. "But it's rough, ain't it? Being the eldest. I know how it feels, since my brothers can be a handful!"

"Yeah, it's rough. Especially the youngest! She's one hell of a brat, that girl.."

"Same. My youngest brother is a literal demon. I'm pretty sure he's able to kill anyone just by talking to them harshly."

"Really? Mine tends to burn clothes that have glitter on them."

"Oh. He does that too. I don't blame him though, I mean, the tank tops with glitter are just physically painful and could kill someone."

"Looks like nee-chan finally found someone to relate to.. I can't believe there are more people like her, five twins and all." Rokomi murmured, before looking back at Kara and Todo. "Look, we'll need to patch you two up before this gets worse. Let's head to the church, alright?" Todo and Kara nodded, but Rokomi could see that they were rather tired. Well, they did run out of a burning building just as the building was about to collapse on them. Rokomi could understand why they were tired. "Sokomi-neesan, I'll take these two to the church and have them patched up."

Todo and Kara didn't have the strength or energy to argue anymore, especially after such a hectic day. "Osomatsu." Todo weakly called out to Osomatsu. "We'll be at the church, probably asking god to forgive us for being such reckless idiots. See ya later, I guess."

"Don't forget to drink lots of water." Kara reminded tiredly, sloppily pulling off the towel tied around his neck and coughing a bit. "We'll see you later."

Homura turned to Ichi as she assisted Todo in walking. Rokomi was assisting Kara. "Sir, I'll be bringing them to rest for a bit. Do you need anything?"

Ichi had his back on them, but he shook his head. "No.. I'll come over to check on them later." He replied.

There was something about Ichi's voice, but instead of pointing it out, Homura let out a sigh. She was honestly getting a bit tired too, but her friends came first. "..Understood sir." Homura gave a quick nod. She was worried for her boss, sure, but she didn't want to argue with him, especially with the recent loss of Hatabou and the fact that it was Jyushi who did it, albeit unwillingly. She decided to leave manners like these to Dekapan, or anyone else that didn't have the same anxiety as she did. "Now, easy steps, Todo-san."

Osomatsu and Sokomi watched as Homura and Rokomi gently lead Todo and Kara to another part of the area, assisted by the other guards. So, Todo and Kara were off somewhere, and Ichi was watching his house slowly burn to the ground.. Osomatsu looked around.

 _Something's missing._

He was sure there were six of them when they left the building, and that included the unconscious Jyushi on Ichi's arms.

"Wait a minute." Ichi glanced at him. "Oi, Ichi. Where's Oso?"

"He was with us a few seconds ago, wasn't he? I was sure he was with us when we left the building.." Ichi replied, before turning back to the building and watched as the firemen tried their best to put the fire out. "He probably left. I remember you talking to him before Ken-san arrived."

 _Shit. Where did Oso go?!_

"Huh? 'Oso'?" Sokomi crossed her arms with a frown. "A friend of your's? Hmm.. ah! Is he the one with the red eyes? I think I saw him earlier! Oh, but you were unconscious at that time, if I remembered correctly-"

"Uh, stay here. I'll look for him. Watch over Ichi for me." Osomatsu awkwardly told Sokomi as he ran off to another direction frantically, his blazer flying off thanks to the wind. Still, Osomatsu didn't stop to catch it, as he sprinted towards the forest. "Shit..! He was with us.. where the fuck did you go?! Oso..! Tch! I have no other choice!"

 _I have to find him._

* * *

Oso had teleported away from the group as soon as he lead them to safety, just before Homura spotted them and after Jyushi had been handed to Ken-san. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to teleport out of the forest, and was currently running away as far away as possible from the forest clearing. He had one hand clutched onto his rose, and the other clutched onto his own chest as he ran. His legs were aching, and he needed to stop to take a deep breath, but Oso continued to run despite the pain coursing through his veins.

 _It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts..!_

He had to keep running, despite the pain in his chest.

 _I need to save him.._

Oso closed his eyes, trying to ignore the voices screaming in his head. "I can't.. let 'him' die..! Not like Hatabou.. not like Tougou..!" Oso repeated to himself. "I can't.. let 'him' die.. I can't.. let another.. person.. die..!"

 _But what can you do? You're a failure._

"Shut up..! You.. you don't know.. anything..!"

 _Haha. Keep telling yourself that, Oso. Look at your childhood friends, Totoko-chan and Hatabou-kun. One of them is dead, and the other was forced to protect you. How does that make you feel, knowing that you were the one to make them suffer?_

"You don't know.. a single thing..! Shut.. up..!"

 _Ohohoho. Is that what you want me to do then? Shut up? But weren't you the one who decided to play hero, Oso? Yet, you're the reason why all this is happening?_

Despite what he was telling himself, Oso stopped in his tracks. The rose fell to the floor as Oso used both of his hands to cup around his ears, trying his best to block out the voices. "Stop.." His eyes were shut tight as tears started to stream from his cheeks. "Stop it..!"

 _Four things were created from your mistake, you know. And every single one of them.. I can destroy with a snap of my fingers._

"Don't you dare.."

 _I can, and I will. But not right now, oh no! I'll lose this very special thing of mine if I do. But let me tell you one thing, Oso._

"Shut up.."

 _You can't save him._

"No..!"

 _You can't save them._

"Just stop..!"

 _You can't save anyone-_

"JUST SHUT UP!"

Oso's eyes snapped open as they glowed a deadly red color, before he stretched out both of his arms in front of him. There was someone floating in front of him, engulfed in a white light, yet, a black smile plastered across their face. Oso gritted his teeth as two golden balls of light appeared on his palms. The smile of that person was mocking him. And he hated it. He hated that shit-eating smile. He hated that figure in front of him. "Die.."

 _You are the reason Matsuno Osomatsu had "disappeared" from his world, Oso._

But most of all, he hated that person's voice.

"DIE!"

The balls of light on his palms shot themselves at the figure as if they were beams. Oso closed his eyes as he exerted more and more of his energy into the attack, screaming at the top of his lungs. It was hurting so much, his chest, his legs, his palms, his head, everything hurts, he was tired, he wanted to stop running, to stop fighting-

 _But I have to save him._

So he kept on going, blasting the trees and actually knocking some of them over. A golden aura was emitting from Oso, but he didn't care if it hurt. He had to keep on attacking, because if he didn't, everything would break, everything Oso had done would be erased, and Oso would be alone yet again-

"Oso?! What are you-?!"

 _I don't want to be alone anymore._

"Go away, go away, go away!" Oso's normally quiet voice was now loud, yet hoarse, as he continued to yell at the voice in his head. "You don't know this feeling, you don't know what I went through! You don't know me-!"

Suddenly, arms were wrapped around his chest. Oso's eyes snapped open.

"I do know! Because I'm you, remember?!"

 _That voice..!_

Oso's eyes stopped glowing and his arms fell to the side. After blinking a few times to get the tears out of his eyes, he realized that the figure from earlier wasn't there. Instead, there were trees that seemed to have fallen due to Oso's outburst, and some of the trees and grass were charred. Oso looked at both of his palms; the bandaged left palm had a burn mark, and the glove seemed to be sticking against his skin, but it was hot and it stung a bit. He looked at one of the trees again.

 _I swear I saw someone there.._

He glanced over his shoulder to check who had hugged him from behind.

 _Osomatsu..?_

The other male looked up at him, weakly grinning. There were beads of sweat on his forehead, and his eyes looked tired, but that grin of his had made it seem like Osomatsu was ready for more chaos. "I got worried about ya, other me." He chuckled. "I mean, we all just got out from a burning building, from facing off Tougou, and from fighting our brainwashed friends, and you just.. ran away. I was worried you'd pass out somewhere, especially since you were the one who did most of the work. And damn, look at those bags underneath your eyes." He chuckled yet again, but it sounded as if he was drunk. "You need sleep, Oso. Otherwise, you'll end up looking like an owl."

 _He was.. worried for me..?_

Oso turned away with a scoff. "Owls are nice..I don't see.. what's wrong.. with looking like one.." He murmured. "Now.. let me go-"

"..You have to promise."

"..Huh?"

"You have to promise me one thing, Oso. Maybe I'll let you go."

"..I cannot.. guarantee.. that I can keep.. promises.. but.. I will try.."

"You'll try?"

"..Mm."

"..Promise me you won't freak out like that again." Oso turned to him yet again, but Osomatsu had his head low. "I was.. actually worried for you, you know? And when I found you.. you were screaming about something, and you were attacking the trees. It's almost as if you could see something that I can't.. and that something isn't a good thing."

"..It really isn't." Oso told him. "But you.. don't need to worry.. about such things.."

"..I do have to worry, Oso." Osomatsu looked up at him with tired, yet wet eyes. "Because even if I'm you, and you're me.. well, we're practically brothers too, aren't we..?" He weakly smiled, before burying his face on Oso's back and tightened the hug. "So that makes you my little brother.. heh, even if we're exactly the same.. there's something about you that makes you seem like a little bro. I don't know what it is though."

 _..Brother..?_

"..I never.. had a brother.." Oso murmured. "I was.. always alone.. in this world.. even if I had.. my parents.. Iyami.. Kaoru-san.. Totoko-chan.. Chibita.. and Hatabou.." He clenched his fists, not even flinching from the pain on both of his palms. "..Why.. why don't you.. hate me..?"

Osomatsu looked up at him again. "Eh?"

"Hate.. me.." Oso murmured again, but there was something laced in his voice. "This is.. my fault.. after all.. if I hadn't.. let Kamimatsu.. ruin your life.. by bringing you here.. I-"

"I can't hate you." Osomatsu interrupted. "And I don't want to. You're my brother now, Oso. And.. I can't hate any of my brothers. That includes you." Finally, he let go of Oso and backed up a bit, smiling widely. "So.. chin up! There's a reason why this happened, right? And I know that you're not the villain here. You're a bit creepy, sure, but you're quiet and you're a bit timid, as far as I'm concerned. So!" He extended a hand towards Oso. "Whaddaya say, Oso? Want to come with me? I already have all you guys, so that should be enough to get me back on my own dimension!"

"...Except it's not." Oso frowned.

Osomatsu paused. "Eh?"

"You have us all.. yes.. but even if.. you were.. to inject us.. with the syringe.. you still can't.. go back.." He noticed Osomatsu's somewhat shocked face. "There's still.. something.. that needs.. to be done.. after all.."

"And that something is?"

Oso turned away. "..Classified."

"Aw, what?!" Osomatsu pouted. "C'mon! You can tell me!"

"..I can't." Oso picked up the rose from the ground, thankful that he didn't manage to blow it up during his outburst. "But soon enough.. maybe I could.. just.. not now.."

"So.." Osomatsu walked over to him. "What now?"

"..It's best if you.. try to relax.. for the time being.. as.. I could take.. a long time.. and.. tonight has been.. rather hectic.. and you all.. deserve to rest.. especially Choro.. and Jyushi.." Oso extended the rose towards him. "..Take it."

Osomatsu carefully took the rose from Oso, before inspecting it. The petals were giving off a scent, meaning it was probably going to die soon. Nonetheless, it looked like a normal rose. Osomatsu was surprised that the flower managed to survive even in a burning building earlier. Not just thatm but wasn't this flower holding those small balls of light from earlier? The same things that turned everyone into Tougou's puppets? Why was Oso even giving this to him? "What's this for? Isn't this your weapon?"

Oso shook his head. "..It's the cure."

"Huh?" Osomatsu's head snapped upwards.

"It's the cure.." Oso looked away. "..For Jyushimatsu.."

"WHAT?!" Osomatsu looked down at the rose.

 _This flower I'm holding.. is the cure for Jyushimatsu's sickness?!_

Oso suddenly raised his right arm to the air, before snapping his fingers. The snow started to circulate around him, but he was able to glance at Osomatsu one last time. "I have to go.. but I'll come back.. once I manage.. to fix my mistakes.."

 _However long that takes._

"Oso, wait! That doesn't explain how-!" Osomatsu covered his eyes as the snow piled up around Oso.

And when Osomatsu opened his eyes, Oso was no longer there. But Osomatsu could see that there were bandages on the same spot that Oso had been standing at earlier.

 _..Today has been a rather exhausting day.. but I guess I'll do as Oso says._

If it was going to help him go back home, Osomatsu would do everything in his power to help Oso, even if that meant simply listening to his orders.


	100. Chapter 100: Certain Family's Tea Party

Wherever they were right now, logic didn't matter. Similar to the Monochrome Dreamland, where they were right now was a black and white world with fluttering papers. The only difference was that this place had gravity, which meant everyone stayed at the ground, and that this place had a fancy table and chairs, as well as six white teapots and fancy little teacups. A flower basket was placed at the white table with twelve flowers that gave this world some color; two red flowers, two blue flowers, two green flowers, two purple flowers, two yellow flowers, and two pink flowers. Besides that, there were also small designs on each teacup, but the most unique ones happened to be at the table in the very middle of the area, despite the fact they were the same symbol with different colors.

There were twelve teacups, all in a circle. However, six of the teacups were white, and the others were black. The teacups all had the Matsuno symbol, except in different colors. While the white teacups had the symbols in simple shades of red, blue, green, purple, yellow, and pink, the black teacups were exactly the same, except they were different shades of that particular color; mahogany, denim, moss, mauve, canary, and magenta. The tea cups were in a circular position, as the table was rounded, and each teacup was placed in a saucer. The white teacups were placed on black saucers, but the black ones were placed in white ones.

There were different types of pastries and snacks surrounding the flower basket as well, such as pie, cakes, cookies, bread, and sliced fruits. They were all colorful and had enough to serve the twelve people who were sitting on the chairs.

As for the individuals, they were all wearing hoodies, though there were slight differences in each of them.

The eldest of the group with the white teacups had a red hoodie, jeans, and red shoes. The second eldest had a blue hoodie with rolled-up sleeves, pants, and blue shoes. The third eldest had a green hoodie layered over a white polo, pants, and green shoes. The third youngest had a purple hoodie, black jogging pants, and purple flip-flops. The second youngest had a yellow hoodie with over sized sleeves, blue shorts, ankle socks, and yellow slippers. Finally, the youngest had a pink hoodie, cuffed jeans, and pink shoes. Their hoodies all had the Matsuno Symbol in a green color.

For the one with the black teacups, the one with the blank red eyes had a black hoodie layered over his red turtleneck, black jeans, and black sneakers. The one with the blue eyes had a blue hoodie with rolled-up sleeves, pants, and blue sneakers, as well as two metal bracelets, one for each of his arm. The one with the pink eyes and pink hair had a pink hoodie, black leather pants, and white sneakers. The one with the yellow eyes had a yellow hoodie with over sized sleeves, black shorts, black and yellow striped stockings, and yellow slippers. The one with the purple eyes and purple-framed glasses had a purple hoodie, black pants, and purple sneakers. Finally, the one with the green eyes and green strands of hair wore a green hoodie layered over a white polo, black pants, and green sneakers, as well as a checkered armband on his right arm. Unlike the ones with the white teacups, their symbols on their hoodies were different.

..You might be wondering how everything managed to go from a dramatic forest scene from the previous chapter to what seems to be a tea party in purgatory. Fear not, for I, the author, have once again used the powers of magical bullshit, aka "Abusing The Supernatural Elements Tag", to break the fourth wall just as I break the readers' hearts. At least pretend this is a normal chapter, something worthy of being the 100th chapter of this edgy fic. Plus, a tea party sounded cool, so why the fuck not?

"I could understand why Kara decided to wear those metal bracelets, I mean, out of all of us, he looks like his alternate version the most.." Osomatsu muttered, looking at his own reflection on his cup of tea. Suddenly, he stood up from his seat and slammed his fists on the table, causing both of Oso's and Karamatsu's teacups to rattle. They were all sitting in a circular position, with the Matsunos sitting by their birth order, and the Altmatsus sitting by the order Osomatsu had found them at. "But Choro, you literally have no reason to wear that.. thing! What even is that?!"

Choro looked offended, and put his left hand over the checkered armband on his right arm. He liked the smooth plastic surface of the armband he was wearing, and was utterly appalled at Osomatsu's apparent disapproval of it. "I happen to be fond of it. It looks rather pretty." He scoffed, turning his head to the side as he drank his cup of tea. "Plus, you all banned me from wearing my mask! I feel rather naked without it, and I though to myself that the armband could be a good alternative!" He scowled as he looked at the person beside him, the one with the purple eyes. "Why does Suuji Ichi get to wear his accessory?"

"Glasses and masks are two different things, you asshole. I need my glasses to read." Ichi hissed, crushing the bread on his hands. The crumbs that fell on his side of the table were immediately brushed away by the person beside him, his little brother, who cleaned it up by using his over sized sleeves. "..Thank you, Jyushi." He murmured, voice soft. He could never raise his voice at his own little brother.

Jyushi smiled brightly. "It's okay, Niichi!" He giggled, before going back to eating his cake. He had eaten the strawberry first, before proceeding to eat the rest of the cake next. Ichi had given him his strawberry earlier too, and he didn't really care if Jyushi actually managed to eat every single cake in the table. Just as long as he was happy, that's all.

Todomatsu had been taking pictures of their surroundings to post for later since wherever they were didn't have any signals, but he stopped for a moment to glance at Ichi, raising an eyebrow. "The hell are you going to read here then? The atmosphere? Don't bother, there isn't any." Todomatsu scoffed, before rearranging the strawberry on his cake for the sixth time as he snapped yet another picture.

"There you guys go again with the fighting.." Choromatsu clicked his tongue in annoyance, sipping his tea. "Can we not fight? I mean, it's not everyday we get to relax like this like brothers.."

"..As if you.. didn't fight.. with any of us.. and your own brothers.. earlier.." Oso said quietly, stacking his biscuits in a way similar to stacking cards. Though he said that statement with such a quiet voice, it seemed like a snarky statement. Not only that, but Oso had a shit-eating smirk that resembled Osomatsu's as well. "Hehe.. what a hypocrite.. Choromatsu-kun.."

"E-Eh?! I didn't do anything like that earlier!" Choromatsu shrieked, standing up and fists balling. Osomatsu had sat down once Ichi had broken a piece of bread with his own fists, so now, it was Choromatsu who seemed to be having a breakdown. Or a tantrum, who knows. "I am not a hypocrite!"

"I'm pretty sure telling us to stop fighting after you did some yourself is called being hypocritical, Choromatsu. You were straight-manning the shit out of Choro earlier too." Todo pointed out, a cookie in his mouth and between his teeth, held together by his thumb and index finger. His face was tilted and placed against his left palm, which was resting on top of the table. Even in this dimension, Todo didn't bother to remove his black headband or his silver earrings. "And by straight-manning, you were trying to get him to sit still and stop throwing petals everywhere. You two had an argument, didn't you? And you hit him with a paper fan.. like a tsukkomi."

Someone else decided to join the conversation by slapping their over-sized sleeves at the table. "They did!" Jyushimatsu had been balancing a pile of peaches on his head, but they fell and rolled on the table as he flapped his arms in excitement. "Something about pain! And being painful! And flashiness! And glitter!"

Karamatsu put a hand over his chest. "Is that so, my dear Jyushimatsu? I feel immense guilt for being so painful to my dear brothers! Especially the other six brothers from the other world, completely different from ours!" He said, dramatically raising his leg for emphasis. Ichimatsu's grip on his teacup was hard enough to break the handle, and Ichi covered Jyushi's eyes, as if they were witnessing something indecent. Todomatsu smashed his head against the cake as if to hide his embarrassment, and Todo seemed to be in pain, as he had a hand over his chest. Kara continued to eat despite the ruckus his other self was making, and Choro looked rather impressed. "My brothers, if I only knew I was causing you such pain..!"

"Not you, you legendary narcissist!" Choromatsu hissed at him.

Oso scowled, looking at his biscuits that had piled up on the plate. Choromatsu's sudden outburst had caused his stack of biscuits to topple over one anothe and fall. As he was between Todomatsu and Kara, the two of them stared at his pile of food blankly. "..You made.. my tower of biscuits.. fall.." His eyes flashed red, and everything on the table was surrounded in a gold light, as they started floating. He closed his fists, which also caused the contents of the plates and tea cups to circulate around the area, including his clones. Oso himself remained on the ground, however.

"Kyaaaa! What are you doing?! Put us down!" Todomatsu shrieked, gripping onto his phone for dear life.

"O-Oso..!" Kara choked out, but his hand was grabbed by Todo, who seemed rather unfazed all of by this.

"Well, his temper tantrums are more intense than mine." Todo simply shrugged.

"That's not the proper way to react to this!" Choromatsu and Ichi hissed in anger.

Karamatsu and Choro seemed to be striking painful poses as they floated, and while Ichimatsu was certainly having a hard time, Jyushimatsu and Jyushi seemed to be having fun, giggling and flapping their sleeves. Choromatsu, Ichi, Kara, Todo, and Todomatsu were trying to calm Oso down in their own ways, but the latter was obviously upset about having his stack of biscuits fall. As for Osomatsu himself, he had his arms crossed as he watched the entire scene play out.

 _Oso knows telekinesis too? Cool._

"You stupid eldest brother!" Choromatsu's shriek snapped Osomatsu out of his thoughts. "We're in a pickle here! You're supposed to help!"

 _Oh right.. I'm supposedly the eldest in this entire group, even if Todo, Ichi, Choro, and Kara are older than me. Whoopsies. Forgot that for a second._

"Oso, I'll help you fix that later. How does that sound?" Osomatsu raised a finger as he said his suggestion, his arms still crossed. His other self could be a bit childish at times, but Oso wasn't used to socializing like Choro, so it wasn't entirely his fault to begin with. "I think it's best to put us down before any of us could get sick and vomit. I mean, we could all hurt ourselves if we float too much, right? Plus, none of us are done eating yet. I'm sure Jyushi wants to finish his cake."

To everyone's surprise, Oso seemingly listened to him rather than throw an even bigger tantrum. The light in his eyes softened a bit, before he looked down. "..Okay."

Oso blinked, and suddenly the contents of the plates and teacups were back on their original positions. However, Oso had no mercy and just let the others fall to their respective chairs with no hesitation at all. Mind you, there were no cushions on each chair, so they all landed on their butts painfully.

Osomatsu yelped, Karamatsu made a dramatic cry, Choromatsu immediately had his hands on his backside, Ichimatsu seemingly sprouted cat ears and a tail as he hissed in a way similar to a cat's, Jyushimatsu made a "Boeh!" sound, Todomatsu's face turned into an absolute nightmare, Kara looked like he landed on a pile of bricks, Todo bit his tongue as he fell (which only contributed to the pain even more), Jyushi squeaked like a mouse, Ichi's glasses fell off his face, and Choro landed on his face rather than his butt.

Everyone scrambled back to their seats, silently reminding themselves to never to anything to upset Oso ever again.

"..Help me fix this.. later.." Oso murmured as he pushed away his plate of biscuits, and settled on stabbing his cake instead.

Despite the literal pain on his ass, Osomatsu still found it in his power to grin cheekily. "Why not? Anyway, since we have nothin' to do but sit around and chat, I thought of a fun game we can play-"

"No." Ichimatsu interrupted, glaring at the eldest. "The last time you suggested a game, we nearly got arrested."

"..It depends what kind of game it is, Osomatsu-niisan.." Kara meekly spoke up. He disliked and feared crime, sure, but to him, Osomatsu didn't seem to be the kind of person who'd do such a thing. That was his opinion, at least. "As long as we don't get kicked out by 'her' for being too bothersome.. I know she likes this place.."

"Psssh. What's she gonna do? Make us suffer? She's done that for half a year now, hasn't she? Still hasn't got tired of it.." Osomatsu scoffed, picking up what seemed to be a bottle of alcohol from underneath the table. The Matsunos, excluding Osomatsu and Oso, flinched at the sight of it. However, the Altmatsus tilted their heads in curiosity. "I got this from the devil herself! She said she won't mind dealing with us drunk, just as long as we don't manage to rip a hole through this place and bother her to fix it. Anyway! I have a fun idea."

"Does the fun idea include watching any of us act like drunk morons?" Choromatsu sighed, placing a hand over his forehead. "No thanks-"

"Boo! No fun!" Jyushimatsu pouted, puffing his cheeks and stomping his feet. "Everyone should join, everyone should join!"

Kara looked disgusted at the sight of the bottle, but Todo had a smirk on his face. "Oh? Seems fun."

"Alcohol?" Choro frowned. "I never drunk before."

"Who drinks alcohol on teacups..?" It seemed as if Kara was asking that question to himself.

"I already know what a hangover feels like." Ichi scoffed, putting his glasses back on. "So what's this game all about?"

"Well, since Oso here can do telekinesis.." Osomatsu smirked at Oso. "The thing is, Oso and I will pour alcohol into everyone's drinks. Whoever passes out or acts like a complete moron loses, and that goes on until only one of us is left standing. The last one standing and sober is the winner, and he gets whatever the hell he wants from all of us." He flipped the bottle towards Oso, and in the blink of an eye, the bottle was floating above the table, with the cork already off. "So! Sounds fun, Oso?"

Oso smirked. "Hehehe.."

"You have got to be kidding me.." Kara whined. "I am going to lose."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Kara-niisan." Todomatsu winked at him. He wasn't completely fond of the idea of possibly getting humiliated, but he wasn't entirely against the idea either. "Risingfappyski-niisan can't hold his liquor for more than five minutes. I'm sure you have a higher chance of winning than he does.~"

"Oi." Choromatsu glared at the youngest Matsuno.

"Osomatsu." Ichi waved to Osomatsu to catch his attention. "Jyushi.. Jyushi hasn't even drunk his first alcoholic beverage yet. Is he still part of this?" Ichi didn't want to exclude his little brother from a game, since Jyushi loved games, but Jyushi's health was more important. What if Jyushi vomited out the alcohol as soon as he drank it?

"How old is he anyway?" Asked Ichimatsu.

Jyushi waved his arms in excitement. "I'm nineteen!"

"He's younger than me." Todomatsu pointed out.

"But.. it's the legal age, right?" Karamatsu added. "As long as he's eighteen and above-"

"Alright! It'll be Jyushi's first time, as well as Choro's! You guys are gonna love this, and alcohol's a part of life, ya know?" Osomatsu interrupted the painful blue brother by clapping his hands together. Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Kara, and Ichi looked unsure, while Karamatsu, Jyushimatsu, Todomatsu, Oso, and Todo were all getting competitive with one another. Jyushi and Choro looked like the mix of nervous and excited. "Other me, let's get this party started!" Osomatsu yelled at the top of his lungs.

* * *

It had been Choro's first drink, and after taking a sip out of his teacup, he immediately stood from his seat and walked all the way from beside Osomatsu to Kara. The blue-eyed male hadn't even taken a sip out of his cup yet, and he probably wasn't going to, with the way Choro had suddenly nudged onto his side like a sleepy child. "Um.. Choro?" He felt the other shift a bit against his arm. "Are you alright-?"

Choro looked up at him with flushed cheeks. It would be safe to say that Choro was already the loser in this game. A single sip of alcohol had miraculously managed to already take control of Choro's body, and he even walked sloppily to Kara as soon as he took a sip and stood up. "I miss my mother, Karat Cake..." He sniffled, rubbing his eyes.

Kara looked astonished, to say the least. Todo seemed to be chuckling all of a sudden. "Um.. what-?"

Choro suddenly hugged him. "I MISS MY MOTHER SO MUCH! YOU ARE SO MUCH LIKE HER, IT'S NOT EVEN FAIR! WHY MUST LIFE FORSAKEN ME BY REMINDING ME OF THE SAME WOMAN WHO GAVE BIRTH TO ME?! WHY?!"

Osomatsu nearly sputtered out his drink as he watched Kara try to soothe the other. "Uh.. I know Choro just lost, but.. Choro's the sad drunk..?" He murmured in disbelief. The green-eyed male continued to cry on Kara's shoulder, crying about his dead mother and how similar Kara was to his mother, and it would be an understatement to say that Kara looked uncomfortable. "Well, uh.. Kara? Once he stops crying, set him down somewhere. You still haven't drunk your's."

"Ah. Of course. Wait, I'll try to drink it now." Despite the crying Choro on his shoulder, Kara immediately downed his alcohol with a gulp. But as soon as he set down the teacup back on the saucer, he instantly collapsed, and Todo and Oso would have assumed he was dead if not for the snoring.

 _Kara passed out?! Just like that?! He's worse than Karamatsu!_

Choro seemed to have thought Kara had died, because he started crying even more. "KARAT CAKE!"

Choro and Kara were down. Only ten left to go, Osomatsu thought.

* * *

The game carried on, and after Kara and Choro, there was Choromatsu, who started to pick a fight with Todomatsu after getting a second drink. He passed out, thankfully.

Next was Jyushimatsu, but instead of crying, passing out, or picking a fight, he just became much more bubbly and was running around the place, laughing like a maniac.

After Jyushimatsu, there was Ichimatsu, and like Kara, he passed out. He was currently snoring like a kitten, with Jyushimatsu often tripping on him as he ran around in circles.

After Ichimatsu, there was Todomatsu, but he remained on his seat, hiccuping with a frown as he knew he had already lost.

Then there was Ichi, who was now picking a fight with the basket of flowers, claiming that they were late for work.

After Ichi, there was Karamatsu, and up until now, he was declaring his love for Kara's beloved ficus, which was somehow underneath the table.

Todo came soon after, but he only passed out after picking a fight with both Rosa and Karamatsu, and singing "World is Mine" on top of the table.

Oso and Osomatsu were the only ones left. With Choro crying over the sleeping bodies of Kara, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, and Todo, Karamatsu flirting with Kara's potted ficus underneath the table, and Jyushimatsu running all over the place while chanting his motto, Osomatsu and Oso were slumped against one another as they drunkenly talked about the things they liked.

Fetishes, for example. Osomatsu was clearly much more awake than Oso, who seemed to be burying his face on Osomatsu's arm, despite the fact he was sleepily replying to each of Osomatsu's statements.

"Boobs are nice, don't 'cha think?"

"..Butt."

"Yeah, the butt is, too."

"..Butt is nice."

"Yeah."

".Mm.."

And Oso passed out, lightly snoring.

Osomatsu's laughter was drunken, but he had been the one to win the game. He was happy about managing to beat all of his brothers at a drinking game, and it was to be expected! He was the eldest of the Matsunos, the gambler, the one who drunk the most-

"So it's only you and me now, Osomatsu-niisan?"

Osomatsu's head snapped to the side as he heard the voice. Across him, Jyushi was still sitting on his chair, back straight, plates on top of one another, and his teacup in front of him, as well as the bottle of alcohol. His eyes widened. "Jyushi..?" He slurred. "You haven't.. touched your drink yet..?"

Jyushi shook his head. His face seemed normal, with his bright smile present, and his voice seemed normal as well. "Oh no! I've already drunk more than ten cups, Osomatsu-niisan!" He giggled, as Osomatsu's confused face turned into a horrified expression. "Alcohol tastes bad.. but I don't wanna lose to you, Osomatsu-niisan! Heehee!"

The youngest one is somehow sober after ten drinks?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

Before Osomatsu could take yet another drink, he passed out against Osomatsu, snoring loudly. Jyushimatsu, who had been running around the place all this time, once again tripped over Ichimatsu's body and finally passed out. Even Choro had passed out from crying too much, and the only thing Jyushi could hear now was Karamatsu's painful flirting towards Rosa underneath the table.

Jyushi looked at all of his brothers. "Yay! I win!" He giggled to himself.

* * *

Jyushi had decided to curl against Ichi on the floor and fall asleep with the rest of his drunken brothers. So when a portal opened in the middle of the room to inspect their mess, he wasn't awake to see it. The figure had short black hair and was wearing an orange hoodie with a golden crown as the design of the top, black pants, and orange sandals. The figure's eyes were obscured by the orange-framed glasses they were wearing, but if one looked closely enough, one could tell that the figure was a girl.

The figure then looked at the twelve, passed-out brothers on the floor, as well as the mess they created. She shook her head with a sigh, before stepping back into the portal.

"Fucking losers."

* * *

 **Author's Note;**

 **Now, before I end this chapter and go write the 101st chapter, I'd like to write a pretty long message for the readers of "The Disappearance of Osomatsu-san".**

 **As you all know, I am referred to as aorinappollo in most sites, or The Garbage Goddess in some sites. I am frequently called Aorin, but my real name happens to be a chocolate, so have fun figuring out which chocolate it is.**

 **I'm currently 14, a female, live in the Philippines, and have a lot of cats. My interests are Pokémon, Harvest Moon, Kirby, Yu-Gi-Oh, Keroro Gunso, Undertale, and obviously, Osomatsu-san. My top two Matsus are Jyushimatsu and Osomatsu, also known as the Ichigomatsu Duo, but my favorite duo is the Suujimatsu Duo.**

 **I only got into the Osomatsu-san Fandom last April 2016. I kept seeing so much Osomatsu-san the past few months on my tumblr dashboard, and I frequently wondered why six Nobita-look-a-likes were popular. When I saw a video on Youtube, which eventually became my favorite scene in the anime, I got curious that I downloaded all the episodes in one night, and finished it in one day as well. That video was the "Jyushimatsu and Concepts" skit, which is also the main reason I love Jyushimatsu so much; he was the first Matsu whose personality I saw, and I thought it was adorable with how he was smiling and had hand-hiding sleeves and shorts, and how cute his interaction with the gloomy Ichimatsu was.**

 **I got inspired to make the fic once I saw another video on Youtube, titled "The Disappearance of Osomatsu Matsuno". It's a fake trailer for a supposed movie, but I liked it so much that I was inspired to make a fic out of it the following day. At first, I thought it wouldn't become popular, since it was a common thing in the fandom to have the "Osomatsu is an only child" theory, except my fic just had Osomatsu go to another dimension instead; a dimension where he is an only child.**

 **Not only did I get inspired by the video, but also by another Osomatsu-san fanfiction; "Accident Prone". It's my favorite Osomatsu-san fanfiction that centers around Jyushimatsu's bond with his brothers (and lovable OCs), and I definitely recommend checking it out.**

 **When I received my first fanart from Sonikku0691, I actually cried, no joke. When my brother asked me why I was squealing so hard ("That better not be yaoi!"), I showed him the fanart. I showed it to my mom and dad too, as well as my niece, who also likes Osomatsu-san. Her fave is Todomatsu, by the way. Also, I made Katsuna Todo have the same birthday as my niece (November 6), and she was so happy about it, ahahaha.**

 **I then got other fanart from people who would later be my friends. Some of the ones I made earlier (when the story had like twenty chapters or less) were Mhizz-Veraspberry (Mhizzy), Sonikku0691, Wheatlev, and a lot more. Eventually, I got more friends that I'd frequently chat with, such as Strrix, Skipzophreniic, Illuminmatsu, SnowDelta, Maymorin, and a lot more people that I'm sure I can't fit in anymore, hahaha. Everyone was fun to talk with too!**

 **Since I started the story back at May, the following month, it was time for school to begin. And god, I'd like to thank everyone for sending me such nice messages when I got too anxious or worried about school. If you're wondering why I'm so anxious all the time, it's because that last year happened to be one of the worst years in my life.**

 **"The Disappearance of Osomatsu-san" is one of the ways I get to type out my feelings. If you ask how, it's by bringing angst to the cast, no joke, hahaha. If I suffer, so do the characters, and I'm taking the readers down with me.~**

 **I'd like to say more, but I don't want to make it seem that this letter happens to be longer than the chapter, pfffft.**

 **But for the final bit, I'd like to say I thank every single one of you for commenting, reading, and supporting the story to the point it motivated me to make 100 chapters. Thank you for giving me something to be proud of, for giving me something to look forward to, and for giving me a chance to contribute to this fandom. Thank you all so much, and sorry if I'm being sappy, ahaha.**

 **To all my readers from the Philippines, I hope I get to meet all of you someday. Especially you, Mhizzy!**

 **Special thanks to Scoundralcook, aka "Egg-Cookie Mom" for inspiring me to make fanfictions in the first place!**

 **As always, thanks for the support!**


	101. Chapter 101: Quiet Morning

The night had been already chaotic enough, with facing Tougou, having to fight against their own brainwashed friends, getting out of a burning building, and most of all, seeing Kamimatsu and not even getting to punch his face to the point it no longer resembled their's. But Osomatsu went back to the clearing as soon as Oso had left, and after making sure the guests were safe and had their own means of going home safely, they all decided to go home for the time being.

Ichi, Dekapan, Kaoru, Ken-San, Sokomi, and Rokomi were all going to the hospital to watch over Jyushi, Totoko, and Lonely. Besides that, Dekapan and Ichi said something about a wake and funeral for Hatabou, but Osomatsu didn't get to hear much of the details last night, as he was already tired. Sokomi and Rokomi just wanted to help out, seeing as how they managed to help a lot of people at the church earlier.

The rest of Sokomi's and Rokomi's sisters went home without any arguments, thankfully. Yuki had to keep watch over his wife, especially since Fuyu had probably strained herself from running around too much.

Hana was free to go as well, but Homura had probably stayed up all night to watch over her best friend, who probably had a cold by now.

As for Osomatsu, Kara, Todo, Chibita, and Iyami, they were all drove back to the hotel to rest. After taking a quick shower, eating sandwiches and drinking a hot drink prepared by the hotel staff under Ichi's orders, they slipped into their pajamas and called it a day, finally glad that they didn't have to worry much about Jyushi or Lonely anymore.

After texting Choromatsu, Osomatsu had fallen asleep. He had texted him everything and spared no detail, and even managed to spam Choromatsu in another dimension, He told Choromatsu about Tougou, about his reaction when he saw Tougou, and Kamimatsu. He also told him about Kamimatsu managing to brainwash Jyushi and the others, and how he brutally killed Tougou, as well as the death of Hatabou. Once Osomatsu woke up, he immediately checked his phone, and wasn't surprised to see Choromatsu's texts at him.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes with his right hand as he yawned and stretched his left arm. Despite being winter, it wasn't snowing today. Osomatsu was thankful for that, since last night had been rather gloomy, and snow would only make it worse. He looked around the room; Kara was nowhere to be found, but his bed was fixed. Todo was still snoring loudly, and so were Iyami and Chibita. Kara was either taking a shower, or outside, getting breakfast for everyone else. If it was the latter, Osomatsu would be eternally grateful to Kara.

He realized that Kara was somewhat different from Karamatsu, even if he does tend to slip into his painful language sometimes, but he definitely wasn't as painful as Choro. Kara was a bit more of a fussy mother hen, and a patient one at that. Bless Kara for having such a patient soul, Osomatsu thought with a sigh. He really hoped he didn't cause too much trouble last night.

Osomatsu decided to answer all of Choromatsu's texts just in case the third brother didn't get to sleep out of worry. "Fappymatsu, I read all your texts. We're fine now, I think. The other me said that he'd handle everything else for the time being, so we can kick back and take it easy. As for the flower, don't worry." He glanced at his nightstand. The rose was on a clear vase with water on it. Kara had made sure to give the poor thing a proper container once Osomatsu told him it was the cure for Jyushimatsu's sickness. "It's still here. I'm wondering how I'll send it to ya though. How's Jyushimatsu doing anyway?"

 _And.. send._

He placed his phone on his lap as he awaited the reply patiently.

Todo shifted a bit on his bed, before burying his face on his pillow and murmuring something inaudible. Osomatsu sighed as he watched the alternate version of Todo bury himself in a bundle of blankets. Todo was obviously tired from last night's events, and according to Kara, Todo had fought the most, alongside Lonely and Ichi. The pink-haired punk was probably sore from all the kicking he did last night, so Osomatsu figured that he wouldn't tease him for the day and let him sleep as long as he wanted.

 _As edgy as Tater Tot is.. he's done good last night. He deserves to rest._

His phone vibrated on his leg, so he immediately picked it up.

 **"Good morning, Osomatsu-niisan. I just read your text after I just finished calling Professor Dekapan's, as well as told him about the cure. He said he'll find a way to reactivate the machine that sent you Todomatsu's phone in the first place. Anyway, Jyushimatsu's nauseous as always, but not getting worse, thankfully. We'll look for a way to get the rose out of your hands, and maybe a way to find your other self again. His life signal vanished after you guys left the manor, so we're still trying to track them down. Until then, inject the syringe onto the others, okay?"**

"Got it. I'll leave the rose right where it is." He could see that Todo was shifting on different positions, which meant that he was slowly waking up, despite not wanting to. "I'll be doing something normal today. No need to worry about me dying or something."

 **"Good. I'll be helping Karamatsu-niisan and Totty prepare breakfast now. See you later on a video call, Osomatsu-niisan."**

"You too, Choromatsu. Get some breakfast and take a nap if you want to." Osomatsu murmured to himself as he set the phone back on the night stand and stood up from his bed, pushing the thick and heavy blankets off of his body. He was wearing his usual pajamas, except there were a few band-aids on his arms, thanks to yesterday's party. Osomatsu shuddered as he remembered Tougou's body on the floor, but he forced himself to stay composed. No used panicking over someone who's dead, as mean as it sounded. Osomatsu had to remain strong for the ones who were still alive.

Todo finally sat up, pushing off the blankets with a growl. Todo still didn't have any decent pajamas, so he was stuck wearing his black sweater with two pink stripes, and white slacks. "I can't sleep anymore. Fucking hell." He murmured. His pink hair was messy but not messy enough to compete against Ichimatsu's or Ichi's. Similar to a dog that got soaked out in the rain, he shook his head until his hair looked puffy and fluffy rather than messy.

Osomatsu walked over to Todo's bed, sat beside him, and patted the other's hair to smooth it downwards. "Well, since you're up and all, you could keep me company for awhile. I still don't know much of what happened last night, 'specially since I passed out.. and when I woke up, you guys were gone." He frowned, but he still continued to pat Todo's hair. The pink-eyed male was giving him a questioning look, almost as if he was asking Osomatsu why he reacted such a way. "I.. I guess it's an understatement to say that I'm terrified of Tougou. The one from our dimension."

"There's a Tougou in your dimension?" He scowled. While he did feel a bit bad for Tougou, especially after learning his true intentions, Todo still couldn't find it in his heart to forgive him, especially since Tougou had done so much to Todo, Kara, and even Jyushi. It may be cold-hearted of Todo, but that was just his opinion anyway. "So.. is he a yakuza boss too? A criminal? Does he have bullshit abilities that came from a white-clad bastard?" He gritted his teeth. He had only met Kamimatsu last night, and he already hated how cocky that guy had sounded.

"He's behind bars, thankfully. He's still there, as far as I'm concerned." Osomatsu sighed in relief, remembering how his version of Kaoru had contacted the rest of the policemen as soon as Chibita had unintentionally stopped Tougou. "I doubt he has magical bullshit like the one in this dimension. But he did traumatize the shit outta me when I was like.. ten years old? He was just a petty burglar with a knife and a fake attitude, that's for sure.. but I was a kid that time. So I guess I got scared of people like him.. like what if people like him came to hurt me and my brothers again? Or even my parents? Or Chibita, Iyami, Totoko-chan, Professor Dekapan, Hatabou, Dayon, and Kaoru-san? So I guess I kinda developed a fear for him.." He shuddered, pulling his arm away from Todo as he hugged himself, rubbing his arms. "And last night kinda triggered that. Sorry 'bout it."

"..Not your fault. We all get scared of certain things." Todo mumbled. "..I'm scared of Atsushi, for example."

Osomatsu turned to him in shock. "Atsushi?! As in the same guy that died a few days ago?!" Also known as the same guy who put a gun on Osomatsu's head and got himself shot in the process. "But he's dead..!"

"Even so.." Todo looked down, hands on his pants. "I.. I'm scared of him, okay? Don't tell Kara. Please. I'm just scared of Atsushi. Not the beatings he had given me, not the fact that he blackmailed me so much, not the fact that he had the power to do anything to anyone.." His grip on the fabric tightened. It seemed as if his hands were shaking. "I sometimes think what would happen if I didn't get my ass off the basement floor. Would Chibita and Iyami still be alive? Would Atsushi hurt you and Kara? The possibilities are endless.. and even though he's dead.. I can still feel as if he and his lackeys are watching me.."

"..Is that the reason you hate being stared at for too long?" Osomatsu asked. As expected, Todo nodded slowly. "..Well, I understand. There are just.. things that people are afraid of, I guess. Mine is Tougou, your's is Atsushi.. I don't know Ichi's or Lonely's, but I'm sure Jyushi is terrified of his dad. Poor guy. The bastard broke his legs. Tch, if his dad were still alive, I'd whoop his ass."

Todo blinked, almost as if he realized something.

 _When we were back there in Jyushi's mind.. didn't Tougou say something about Jyushi being scared of Ichi? I'm sure that it's because Ichi looks like his asshole of a dad, but.._

"Oh. You two are up already." Osomatsu and Todo turned around and saw Kara. The blue-eyed male was wearing his casual attire, which consisted of a white sweater with blue stripes, a blue jacket layered over it, jeans, and blue sneakers. His sunglasses were hanging on the collar of his sweater as well. Kara was holding two grocery bags, but he just set them on the table. "Well, let's wake the other two, shall we? Yuki-san met up with me at the lobby just as I came back from the convenience store. He said that we should head to the hospital. Ichi and the others are already there, even Fuyu-san, Hana-san, and those twin girls from last night."

The other two blinked. "Why what's wrong?"

Kara looked down, biting his lip with worry visible on his eyes. "It's.. it's Jyushi."

Immediately, Todo stood up, fists clenched. "Why?! What's wrong?!"

 _Didn't we free Jyushi from Kamimatsu's control?! Then why..?!_

Osomatsu placed a hand on Todo's shoulder. "Todo, calm down. Kara, what happened? Did Yuki at least tell you what was going on?"

"..Jyushi doesn't seem to remember Ichi at all."


	102. Chapter 102: Stalemate

When Osomatsu and the rest of the group met up with Yuki, they immediately hopped in Iyami's van and drove off to the hospital. The drive to the hospital was quiet, with Iyami focusing on the road, Osomatsu beside him, and Kara, Todo, Chibita, and Yuki at the back. Osomatsu had slipped out of his pajamas and into his casual hoodie, jeans, and red sneakers. He also brought his red sling bag with him that contained his phone, the notepad, a pen, the syringe, the small bottle that contained the liquid that was needed for the syringe, and a few lollipops that Osomatsu had taken from the grocery bag.

Even Kara and Todo had no time to get their usual clothes, and decided to just slip on their hoodies as well. Todo unfortunately forgot his headband back at the hotel, but Osomatsu saw Kara tying it up with a hair tie, so it was a ponytail for now. A rather messy ponytail, since Todo couldn't sit still and Kara was fidgety due to the anxiety he was currently experiencing right now.

 _Tch..! I can't believe we have to deal with this! I gotta text Choromatsu later about this.. and get to the bottom of whatever the fuck just happened to Jyushi. If only the other me was here..!_

But he wasn't. Oso had left last night, claiming that he'd be up to something else that would assist Osomatsu in getting back home, but required them to go separately for the time being. Osomatsu honestly felt so bad about letting Oso do all the work, with Oso telling him that he should just relax for the time being. Even with the short amount of time they spent together, Osomatsu had already grown fond of Oso, and was worried what trouble the other him could have gotten into. Especially since Oso seemed to have some problems that he definitely couldn't solve by himself, even if he had powers that he got from who knows where.

 _..But Kamimatsu said that Oso.. took some of Kamimatsu's powers.. by force?_

Kamimatsu also said something about Oso burning his left hand, if Osomatsu remembered correctly. Maybe that was the reason Oso's left hand had bandages around it?

His thoughts were cut off once Chibita and Todo yelled in unison, their voices so irritatingly loud enough that it could have destroyed Osomatsu's eardrums. Poor Kara and Yuki flinched at the loudness of the rowdy duo's voices screaming together. "We're here, finally!"

Iyami immediately parked the van as soon as they arrived at the hospital, and Todo and Chibita instantly jumped off the moment it was safe to say that they wouldn't get arrested for nearly running over more than twenty people in one day. They were followed by Osomatsu and Kara, and Yuki had to help poor Iyami get around. The moment that Kara and Osomatsu got into the hospital building, Todo and Chibita were instantly at the information desk, their panicked voices mixing together as the nurses tried to calm them down and keep Chibita out of the counter.

They only calmed down when they were given an answer to where Jyushi's room was, and they were thankful for Yuki chiming in and reassuring the nurses that they wouldn't cause trouble at all. Naturally, they had doubts, with how terrifying Chibita and Todo were both acting. The group was then lead by Yuki to where Jyushi's room was, but when Yuki's hand was pressed against the doorknob, he gulped and looked at them with serious eyes that were nearly obscured by the light reflecting on his glasses.

"Are you all ready?" He asked them, beads of sweat visible on his forehead and worry visible on his features. "He was scared when he saw his older brother.. and I never saw him that scared before. Do you think you guys can handle having Jyushi look at you with such fear in his eyes?" He turned to Osomatsu, and the eldest Matsuno instantly knew what he was talking about. "I know you care for him, to the point that seeing him in pain hurts you so much. But can you guys handle seeing him so scared? If not.. I think it's best if you guys stay outside-"

"We can handle this, Yuki. We literally fought against him last night, remember?" Todo interrupted, clenching both of his fists. He was as worried as the others, that was a given. But he honestly couldn't keep it in anymore. No way in hell was he getting proper rest with how everything was going downhill. "We watched Jyushi suffer so much last night.. and no way in hell are we letting him suffer yet again. Please, just let us see him, Yuki. We can take this, we can take anything, just let us see him. Please."

Everyone remained silent, and Yuki still had a grip on the doorknob he wasn't even planning on opening. Todo usually wasn't so open about how he cared for anyone else besides Kara and Dayon, and recently, even Osomatsu. But he obviously wasn't lying when he said he cared about Jyushi. Kara placed a hand on Todo's shoulder, looking at Yuki with sad, yet pleading, eyes. "Yuki-san.. Todo is right. We may.. feel a bit of heartache upon seeing him, sure, but.. we can handle this. We're stronger than we look." He placed his free hand over his chest. "Promise."

"Why even go to the hospital if we're not allowed to see him?" Grumbled Chibita, crossing his arms. "And Hana! I promised her I'd be here, damn it! She's in there, she's waiting, and that idjit has a cold from napping on the snow, damn it! Someone has to tell her off, and I'm sure her best friend is too sweet for her own good to give that little brat a proper lecture! I have to teach her best friend how to assert herself, ya know!" Everyone could tell that was just an excuse to either see Jyushi or Hana, but honestly, they didn't care. Chibita had a point.

"Me agrees. With everything we went through last night.. me thinks this won't cause us our lives. And it's worth a shot, especially since we all risked our lives just to protect and save Jyushi! It's only fair we get to see him!" Iyami added, raising a finger to make his point. "At least let us see him for a few minutes, if it's that bad. Plus, me drove all the way here, and nearly got arrested as well! It would be a waste of our time if we weren't allowed to see him in the first place!"

That, and Osomatsu really wanted to see how Jyushi was doing, especially after Jyushi suffered so much last night. "..I'm worried, and that's the reason I wanna see him. If Jyushi can't remember Ichi, then.." He forced himself to grin. "We just have to do it ourselves, right?"

Yuki looked at them for a moment, before shaking his head. "..Very well. You guys are a stubborn bunch.. but I'm glad you care for Jyushi as much as we care about him.. he really needs a family that consists of people that are not just Flag Corporation employees." Yuki sighed, turning the knob and pushing the door open.

Osomatsu took a deep breath, walking behind Yuki, with Kara and Todo behind him and Chibita and Iyami at the very back.

 _How bad could it be?_

"President Ichi, I'm back, and I bought Osomatsu-san and the others with me-"

An ear-piercing shriek cut Yuki off. "GO AWAY!"

"Wha- oof!" Yuki fell on his butt as a pillow was hurled straight at his face, causing him to drop his glasses. He immediately heard the voices of Fuyu and Homura call out to him in worry, as well as Rokomi's voice that was wondering if he was okay. He then saw Fuyu rushing towards him and helping him up, as Homura picked up the pillow and started to pat at it in order to get rid of any germs. "Yes, yes. I'm fine. What's going on-?!"

"Jyushi!" Ichi was beside Jyushi's hospital bed, with his usual messy hair present and purple-framed glasses on. However, he wasn't wearing his usual outfit when it came to work, since it didn't seem as professional as it usually was. Instead, he was just wearing a gray hoodie with a purple "1", black jeans, and purple sneakers, which was a huge difference from what he usually wore. Did that mean Ichi wasn't planning on going to work? Surely, Ichi was pompous enough to avoid going to work dressed in such a casual attire. "Please, stop-!"

Jyushi was on his bed, wearing a white dress shirt, black shorts, and white stockings, with his white blanket covering his entire body as if he was forcing himself to stay in a cocoon. He seemed to be crying, and was trying his best to go further away from Ichi as possible, which was hard for someone like him since his legs were paralyzed. "NO NO NO! STAY AWAY! DON'T GO NEAR ME!" He shrieked, quickly grabbing something from behind him. Another pillow was hurled, but Ichi dodged it with absolutely no effort, as if he knew this was going to happen.

"Ow!" This time, it was Osomatsu who got hit by the pillow, causing him to stumble towards Kara, who managed to catch him before he landed on the floor. Whatever the hell was in that pillow, it was strong enough to force both Yuki and Osomatsu to stumble and fall. At least Kara was there to catch him. "Oi, Jyushi..! That's not nice.. thanks by the way, Kara."

"Are you alright, Osomatsu-niisan?!"

"Alright?! Kid's been hurling stuff at us ever since he woke up! He tried to throw a vase at me!" Hana chimed. Unsurprisingly, Hana was wearing a black coat over a blue sweater, which was probably layered over something else as well. She also had a blue skirt with flower patterns and black fuzzy boots, as well as a black beanie with a blue flower on her head. She was also wearing a blue medical mask with flower patterns. Even though she was obviously sick, she still had the energy to scream, let alone stand. "But whenever we try to go near him-!"

"He starts getting more and more hysterical." Rokomi flicked her glasses. Surprisingly, she was the only calm one in the room. Ichi, Yuki, Fuyu, and Homura were obviously panicking, and Hana was hysterical (which was normal), but Rokomi? She was calm. "Sokomi-neesan went out earlier to get something to eat for Suuji-kun. Kaoru-san, Ken-san, and Ookina-san said they were having a discussion with Suuji-kun's doctor, as well as Mr. Lonely's doctor. For the time being, we were trying our best to.. well, calm him down. Mr. Lonely's at another room, but the doctor's said that we can't visit him just yet."

"Is.. is that so..?" Osomatsu turned to Jyushi. Immediately, he felt his big brother instincts spike up to a hundred upon seeing Jyushi's distressed face. He was worried for Lonely, Totoko, and Nyaa-chan, but Jyushi was in front of him at the moment, and there was something wrong. Jyushi wasn't smiling, he wasn't laughing, he wasn't.. he wasn't being himself. Jyushi was terrified, crying, and even telling everyone to go away. "Jyushi, what's the matter-"

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Jyushi wrapped the blankets around his body protectively, blinking to get the tears away from his eyes. Osomatsu felt something in his chest as he heard those words. Judging by the reactions of the others, it seemed as if Jyushi didn't just forget who Ichi was; he forgot who everyone was, apparently. Especially since he had such a fearful look behind those tear-filled eyes.. "GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!"

Again, Ichi tried to reach out to him. "Jyushi-!"

"I SAID GET OUT!"

Homura was seemingly startled by how loud Jyushi's voice was getting, since she backed out of the room a bit. That was closely followed by Iyami, then Hana and Chibita, and then Fuyu, Yuki, and Rokomi. Only Osomatsu, Kara, Todo, and Ichi stood their ground, and the latter didn't seem to plan on leaving despite what Jyushi was telling him.

"Jyushi, please!" For the third time, Ichi moved towards Jyushi, which caused his younger brother to back away until his back pressed against the bed frame. Ichi got close enough to extend an arm towards his terrified little brother, thankfully. "It's me, your older brother-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Jyushi screamed again, more tears coming from his eyes.

Ichi's arm was suddenly pulled away harshly. "What-?!" When he turned his head, he realized Todo was gripping onto his arm with an unreadable expression on his face. "Katsuna-?!"

"Shut the fuck up, Ichi." Todo hissed between his teeth, before glancing at Jyushi. His eyes softened, and Osomatsu could swear that there was pity visible on Todo's features. "He's.. he's scared. We shouldn't force him to do anything he doesn't want. That'll only cause him to get even more scared of us. Plus, he can't remember us. It's only natural he'd get wary."

"But..!"

"Ichi, he's crying, for god's sake!" Todo raised the volume of his voice. "Don't you get it?! This isn't something you can snap him out of! This is-!"

Jyushi's sniffling cut Todo off. Everyone in the room looked at the patient on his bed, who was now huddling his legs close to his chest. Jyushi was still crying, but he wasn't as hostile as he was earlier. Still, Todo knew that if he dared to take another step forward, Jyushi would cry and scream, and that was a painful thing to see.

So they just stared at each other dumbly, until Jyushi's shoulders stopped shaking and he stopped sniffling, but still looked at everyone with fear visible on his usually bright eyes.

 _Where.. where did the light in his eyes go? His hope, his happiness.. where is it now..?_


	103. Chapter 103: Attempts at Normalcy

Dekapan, Kaoru, Ken-san, and Sokomi came back a few minutes later, and were speechless to see the amount of stuff on the floor. Hana, Chibita, Homura, and Iyami were standing at the back of the room, just in case Jyushi were to throw something at them again. Fuyu and Yuki were on both of Ichi's side, just to ensure that Ichi didn't do anything to Jyushi while they were around, knowing how much Ichi cared for Jyushi. Rokomi and Kara had cleaned up a few shards of glass from the vase that Jyushi threw across the room, and thankfully, neither of them got any cuts from the glass. Osomatsu and Todo were standing beside each other, though Osomatsu was looking away from Jyushi's bed and was texting on his phone.

Fuyu and Homura had set out a plastic container containing food on Jyushi's bed, coaxing him to eat. The food on the container were two fruit cupcakes, something sweet, which was something Jyushi would usually like to eat. However, Jyushi refused to even look at it, and nearly screamed when Fuyu got a bit too close. For now, everyone had to keep their distance from Jyushi, not wanting to scare him further. Fuyu and Yuki were holding hands as comforting gestures, while Dekapan, Ken-san, and Kaoru were whispering about something. Chibita, Hana, and Homura were quietly chatting, while Iyami just listened with crossed legs. Kara also seemed to be chatting with Sokomi and Rokomi, and Osomatsu was still texting his phone. Todo was watching Jyushi with worry visible on his face.

"I can't inject him with the syringe while he can't remember anything.. if the syringe really gives Jyushi some of Jyushimatsu's memories.. wouldn't it be risky to inject it to Jyushi while he can't remember who I even am or who Ichi was? It might cause him to believe he is Jyushimatsu, and an identity crisis is not what we all need right now.. I mean, if he remembers something, but it isn't really his.. he might believe he's someone he isn't. Does that make sense?" Osomatsu read his text internally, knowing that Sokomi, Rokomi, and Ken-san had no idea that he came from another dimension. "Hopefully, it does. Plus, I can't really inject a patient with a syringe while I'm in a hospital.. the doctors might kill me, and so will Ichi. Again, sorry for bothering you all."

 _And.. here we go, send._

His phone vibrated on his hands five seconds after he sent the text.

 **"Don't worry about 'bothering' us. This is fine, we're your brothers, so we're gonna help you out, okay? Don't inject him with the syringe yet, there's a chance that your theory is true. We're gonna get to the bottom of this, Osomatsu-niisan. That, and figuring out how to get the flower that's the cure. Ichimatsu seems to be in a better mood now, and he's playing a board game with Jyushimatsu right now. Todomatsu's at work, as usual, and Karamatsu-niisan's helping me, the professor, and Dayon. We're trying to see what's wrong with the other Jyushimatsu's head. I mean, if could be a side effect from having Tougou take control of his head. We don't really know what happened to Jyushi while he was mentally unconscious, so it may take awhile for us to get answers."**

Osomatsu sighed, ignoring Todo, who glanced at him in worry. "..That's fine. As long as you get results." He typed out, glancing at Jyushi. Still scared, but quiet and huddling his blanket as if his life depended on it. Poor kid, Osomatsu thought. It was causing him so much pain to see one of his little brothers look so scared. "I understand. Sorry for bothering you so early in the morning, Choromatsu. I'll handle what's happening over here in this dimension. You continue doing what you're doing. Again, sorry if onii-chan is such a bother."

Again, he sent the text. Within a few seconds, he got his reply again. He hoped that Sokomi, Rokomi, and Ken-san weren't suspicious of why the phone was replying quickly.

 **"I said it wasn't bothering us by a bit, Osomatsu-niisan. Quit thinking of that, okay? We're all worried here, and that's perfectly fine. Ichimatsu's worried for the other Jyushimatsu, and so is Karamatsu. Todomatsu doesn't want to admit it, but he's worried too. But they're glad you're fine, especially with all the crazy shit you went through last night. For now, try to relax. We'll handle this, alright? I'll call you later. Jyushimatsu's excited to see you.. and he wants to thank you."**

Osomatsu blinked. Jyushimatsu wanted to thank him? "What for?"

His phone vibrated again as soon as he sent the text.

 **"Well, he's thanking you for finding something that'll cure his sickness, naturally. He's been sick for a month, and he's really happy about hearing the news. He's excited to talk to you later too.. and I'm pretty sure he's making you a card to show his thanks. It's kind of calming to see him smile again.. finally, he's getting better. And we're close to getting you back too, right? So.. it's best if you take a break for now. I'll call you later, Osomatsu-niisan."**

Osomatsu put his phone back in his bag, not bothering to reply. But even with everything that was going on right now, he was glad that Jyushimatsu was getting better. Now, if he could end Jyushi's suffering too, it'll be perfectly fine. If Jyushimatsu could get better, so will Jyushi. He had to remain positive for now, just as Jyushimatsu usually would.

 _Muscle hustle, right? I gotta keep being strong for them all.._

"As much as I'd like to stay longer for Jyushi-kun's sake.. we still have work to do, unfortunately. And we have electricity to pay for, especially with how often Rakomi and Dotty both use their hairdryers and whatnot." Sokomi spoke up in a quiet voice, checking her phone and clicking her tongue in annoyance. Not only was she late for work, but she also had seventeen messages from her other sisters. "And those other four sisters of mine are utterly hopeless without me around." She snapped her phone shut. "Will it be okay for Rokomi and I to excuse ourselves?"

Ichi would have answered rudely and said something about Sokomi and Rokomi following them last night and not leaving until Jyushi woke up, and that he barely gave two shits if they decided to leave and never show their faces to him again, but Jyushi was hugging himself on his bed with scared eyes, and Ichi didn't really feel like answering at the moment. Thankfully, Dekapan did it for him. "Please do so. You have work to do, and we appreciate you staying for the night. Please visit again if you have the time."

"We will." Rokomi bowed her head, a small smile on her face as she flicked her oval glasses. "I just exchanged numbers with both Hana-chan and Homura-chan. We'll drop by this evening, once we're done with work. Sounds good?"

"That would be rather lovely." Fuyu clapped her hands together. "The more the merrier, right? Why don't you two invite your other sisters while you're at it? I'm sure they'd want to see Jyushi-kun as well." Jyushi didn't seem happy about that idea, since Fuyu heard him make a small noise. Nonetheless, she decided that it was best to have many people visit him, since seeing so many familiar faces might cause some of Jyushi's memories to return. "Hm, but speaking of which.. are we going to work today, President Ichi?"

Ichi once again didn't provide any answers. Dekapan sighed. "Yes. I'll be working as well, but Ichi will be resting for the day. However, you, Yuki-kun, Homura-kun, and Ken-san still have work to do. I still have to talk with 'him' regarding Hatabou's death and all.." He turned to Iyami and Chibita. "You could all stay here if you'd like. Or go to the hotel for the time being. I'll be dealing with some other things.." And by some other things, he meant he was going to look further into multi-dimensional bullshit in hopes that he can send off Osomatsu in his little merry way.

"...You forgot me!" Hana pouted, swinging her legs. If the mask wasn't covering her mouth, her cheeks would probably be puffed up like a fish right now.

Dekapan sighed yet again, putting a hand on his forehead. "It's because you're not going to work today, Hana-kun."

As expected, Hana made an inhumane, ear-piercing shriek. Chibita and Iyami fell off their seats, Jyushi immediately wrapped the blanket around himself even more, and Sokomi had to cover Rokomi's ears to prevent her younger sister from going deaf. "What?! No! Why?! Did I get fired or something?! Huh?!"

For the first time since Jyushi quieted down, Ichi spoke up. "Hana. You're sick." His eye twitched in annoyance. "And no way am I letting you end up in this hospital as well. Go home and get some rest."

"As if!" The smallest girl in the room huffed, fists on her hips in a manner that was supposed to be sassy. "I'm not going home, especially if Homura-chan's busy at work!"

Ichi blinked, before tiredly fixing his glasses and turning at Dekapan. "..You're right. Change of plans, Dekapan."

Hana fist-bumped the air in victory, jumping off her seat with a bright smile. "Alright-!"

"Homura, we're sending you home with Hana. Leave the paperwork to us."

Without hesitation, Homura saluted. "Understood, sir."

"WHAT?!"

"You're sick, Hana-chan.." Yuki pointed out. It was a miracle how Hana was so energetic despite her cold, and the fact that she was thrown out of a window last night was also an addition to the fact that she was supposed to be tired. "It's best if you try to rest for the time being. I'll do most of Homura-chan's paperwork while Fuyu deals with your's. You go rest until your cold is gone."

"But resting is boring!" Hana huffed, stomping her feet. "No fun at all! Homura-chan gets fussy over me when I'm sick, and the only thing I'm allowed to do is watch TV or read books! We can't play a board game if there are two of us!"

"Well, if that's the case.. why don't Iyami-san and Chibita-san come with you?" Kara suggested. Immediately, their heads snapped at him, and he felt like shrinking away from all the attention he was getting. "Um.. Homura-san..? Would.. that be fine with you? I mean.. Chibita-san and Iyami-san have been helping us out for so long.. I think it won't be too bad to have them at your place for the day? Plus.. Chibita-san's there, and he and Hana-san get along, so.."

"..That's actually a good idea, Kyabarie." Ichi murmured, hands on his chin. "Well? Tsuyoi, Shiirudo? How much do I have to pay you two to tolerate Hana for the entire day?"

Chibita raised his hands and waved them, his face reddening. He had just remembered that Ichi was rich, and he could do anything if he wanted to. Still, spending the day with Hana won't be so bad, with pay or not.. and the fact that he just thought of such a thing just caused his face to get even redder. Spending a day with Hana? Sounds fun, especially with the hellish night they just went through. But with that mischievous smile Osomatsu was giving him, there was no way in hell he would admit that out loud. "N-No! It's fine, I-!"

"A thousand yen won't be so bad." Iyami snickered mischievously, before he felt Chibita smack his groin with his ladle. "SHEEEEEEEEH! ME WAS JUST JOKING, CHIBITA!"

"Idjit!" He gritted his teeth, a vein on his head.

Hana finally seemed to be going with an idea for once, and Homura sighed in relief. "I.. I promise to make it up to you, sirs! Um.. Hana-chan, let's go now. Iyami-san, Chibita-san. Is.. is it okay if we use your van?"

"No problem." Iyami said, putting a hand over to his chest. "Me is feeling quite generous today, so maybe me will give you three a ride for a bit of yen-"

Again, Chibita smacked him with his ladle. "Idjit!"

"That was just a joke!"

"Thank you so much in advance!" Homura bowed. "Um.. we'll see you all later! Or tomorrow!"

"Bye bye!"

As Hana, Homura, Chibita, and Iyami left the room, Ken-san followed behind, saying something about needing to train the guards. Then Sokomi and Rokomi left, promising that they and the other sisters will be there by evening. Dekapan left as well, leaving only a scared Jyushi, a conflicted Ichi, a somewhat calm Kara and Todo, an oddly quiet Osomatsu, and Kaoru.

Despite the obvious fear Jyushi had, Kaoru still looked at him with his friendliest, brightest smile.

"Well!" He clapped his hands together. "I have an idea all of us could enjoy!"

They highly doubted that. But this was Kaoru, anything was possible.


	104. Chapter 104: Dirtied Hands

With loads of work that he'd probably miss, Ichi only had two things to do today, and that was attempt at communicating with Jyushi, or rest. Resting was obviously something he didn't want to do when he could either work or talk with his little brother, but the latter was impossible for now. Jyushi was scared of him, and he was sure that if he dared to do any paperwork today, he'd miss something important, or get a lecture from Dekapan about how he needs to rest and whatnot. He wouldn't listen to him anyway; Dekapan was old himself, and Ichi felt bad for having him carry his burden. At this age, Dekapan should have been retired right now.

But Dekapan didn't have a choice. As an Ookina, he was supposed to assist the Suujis in any way possible, and Dekapan had known Ichi ever since he was born. Ichi hated it, and if he could change the past, he'd most likely dismiss Dekapan. He needed rest, and years of handling someone like Ichi was tiresome. Especially since Dekapan had assisted in the death of Shiroku, Ichi's father.. Ichi was thankful for Dekapan. Dekapan didn't deserve to work in a day where he was supposed to be resting. Fuyu should be resting too, since he had just heard about something interesting from Hana earlier.

Maybe he'd buy the Kyuujitsus a couple of baby toys some other time, though he'd have to wait if the baby turned out to be a boy or girl. Or just buy things early, who gave a shit, they're babies. The Kyuujitsus were such a nice couple, and they were so kind and helpful towards anyone that ever needed help. It was surprising to see both of them be so generous, especially since they had a hard time getting help back when Ichi hadn't hired them both yet. He was glad he did; hiring both Fuyu and Yuki wasn't a mistake, and paying off their debts was just a little way of Ichi showing he did, in fact, care.

He may be cold and suspicious of people.. yet he didn't know if he could justify that trait of his. It was natural, when he was the one that practically raised Jyushi. He had to be suspicious and cautious, with all the people in the world out to kill him and use his head as an interior decoration. The Suujis were a force to be reckoned with, and despite the connections Ichi had, the amount of bodyguards he had hired who swore their loyalty to him, and the amount of employees he trained with swords, Ichi's life was in danger. And why?

Just because he carried the family name.

He had made a promise with Jyushi a few years ago, that they would be the last of the Suujis. That they wouldn't marry a girl and have her carry the Suuji name. That they wouldn't get any children, so the poor child wouldn't have to end up the same as them. Ichi and Jyushi had suffered so much just because of their family name and the supposedly evil blood of the Suujis coursing through their veins.

They would be the last of the Suujis, the last generation, and Ichi would keep that promise until the very end.

Though he wouldn't really give a shit if Jyushi decided to date an alien or something, just as long as Jyushi didn't let his significant other get the name. They didn't have to let their situation get any worse by giving their burden to anyone else.

He looked at his ring on his left index finger. It was a silvery piece of metal with the number "1" on it, similar to the number on his gray hoodie, and the real meaning of his name. He held back a snort. His name meant to signify the fact that he was number one, the black king in this game of chess, the ruler of the world. That was what his name meant, apparently. That he was number one, and that everything he wanted and needed could be given to him in a silver platter. Never in his wildest dreams did Ichi ever think of the fact that it could have signified that he was the "first" child of Suuji Nana.

Because Jyushi was unexpected. A surprise. The kind of gift that was, though surprising, such a blessing to receive.

He wondered why Jyushi was given his name. It was a question that he often thought about, but was unable to think deeper onto it because of work. "Jyushi" was definitely not a normal name. Could there be meaning behind such a name? Maybe it was because Jyushi was born on the fourteenth of March, White Day, a day of thanking the people who had gifted you with chocolates on Valentines Day? Or maybe it was because Suuji Nana had two children?

..That was an interesting thought though.

 _Mom's name means "seven". She has two children; Jyushi and I. Seven times two is fourteen. Fourteen. Jyushi. Huh. I still wonder why she picked that name of all things though._

Then again, referring to the second child as the second child was kind of degrading, wasn't it? He was glad that his mother was nice enough to not do that. Their mother adored them both, referring to them as her most important treasures, and that the fact they were alive was a blessing to her. She was fun and graceful at the same time, with a smile so bright, it rivaled the sun's. And Jyushi had that trait of her's, as well as more; her bright smile, her sparkling yellow eyes, her stiff cowlick, her extremely hyperactive nature, her general friendliness, and even thought the same as her.

Except with no hate. Unlike Nana, Jyushi couldn't bring himself to hate anyone or anything, and the way Jyushi clung to their father during Nana's funeral was proof of that. Even though their father pushed Jyushi away, Jyushi still called out to him, wanting to be comforted by the man who had the same blood as him. Even though Dekapan, Hatabou, and Ichi tried to pull Jyushi away from his cold hearted father, he still insisted on going to him, claiming that a monster such as their father felt devastated at the death of Nana.

Ichi highly doubted that. Suuji Shiroku, father of two, was the same murderer of Suuji Nana, his own wife and the mother of Suuji Ichi and Suuji Jyushi. He shuddered at the memory of his mother's corpse, remembering how the entire staff of the Suuji Manor had dropped what they were doing in order to check out what caused the maid and Jyushi to faint upon walking into Nana's study. He didn't really know why Shiroku dared to look at Ichi in shock when Ichi had poisoned the tea and had looked at him with such disgust.

 _Mom hated dad so much.. I wonder why she decided to marry him. There are clearly better choices.. or maybe if she decided not to marry at all, we wouldn't have been born, and we wouldn't need to suffer like this. No guys deserve her._

He can't blame her though. As Jyushi always said, despite the amount of suffering they had went through as children, he was glad that they were still alive. He was glad that he was still able to hear the sounds around him, despite his disability that prevented him from walking. Even with his limits, Jyushi didn't hate the world for being so unfair to both of them. Ichi envied Jyushi's positivite nature at times, but he knew he needed it more than anything in this world.

 _As long as Jyushi is smiling, I'll be fine._

He couldn't necessarily say that he was feeling very sick on his stomach, watching Jyushi huddle in fear like that. Right now, Todo and Kara were sitting on their chairs with worried looks, but neither of them were speaking up. Kaoru and Osomatsu seemed to be gently pursuing Jyushi into eating one of the fruit cupcakes, which only caused the yellow-eyed male to shake his head in fear. It hurt him, watching Jyushi like that. Jyushi didn't deserve that kind of fear, Jyushi should be smiling.

He looked at his palm, wondering how it was so clean with all the sins he had committed. Meanwhile, Jyushi's hands were now dirty from last night's incident, but in his heart, Jyushi was still pure. Yet, here he was, suffering and afraid.

If anything, it was Ichi who deserved to feel all of Jyushi's pain. Jyushi never did anything wrong, despite what the younger brother said about himself. Jyushi didn't do anything wrong, so why was the world doing this to him?

He clenched his palm into a fist, feeling his nails dig against his skin. He hoped that it would bleed, so his hands would be dirty yet again.

 _I promised I'd protect him.. but why does stuff like this happen?_

He only wanted Jyushi to live. To smile. But here he was now, in a hospital bed, due to a near-death experience which not only took away his memories from him, but also dirtied his hands with Ichi's katana, the same weapon that was used to kill Suuji Nana, Ichi's mother, and Shonouske Hatabou, Ichi's best friend.

"Jyushi-chan." Kaoru continued to pursue Jyushi into eating the cupcake, but not getting near him, as he didn't want Jyushi to get even more scared. "Darling, you need to eat! I'm sure you didn't eat much last night! You need a little more meat in your bones, don't you think? You need all the sugar too, since you don't seem to be peppy or anything! I promise that I'll bring you something else to eat later, but for, at least take a bite off of this? C'mon! It's sweet! Just how you like it!" He chirped, pushing the plate forward a bit.

Osomatsu bit his lip. Kaoru was an enthusiastic, jolly fellow. He hoped that his enthusiasm wasn't scaring poor little Jyushi. But to his surprise, Jyushi peeked out of his blanket, lowering it a bit and looking at them with hopeful eyes. He was actually hungry, Osomatsu could tell. Even with the memory loss, Osomatsu could tell Jyushi absolutely loved sweets. "C'mon, buddy." Osomatsu said, as if he was beckoning a toddler to walk towards him. "Don't be so shy! Both of those cupcakes are your's."

Jyushi slowly extended an arm towards the cupcake, pinching a crumb of off it and sniffing the crumb, before slowly putting it on his lips. Once he started chewing, his eyes brightened a bit, before he sat up straight and put the plate on his lap, holding the cupcake with both hands as he munched on it. Some of the crumbs landed on the plate, but some were on the bed. Nonetheless, Jyushi continued to eat the cupcake messily, getting frosting and crumbs on his face.

Everyone watched him, small smiles creeping on their faces. As expected; gentle persuasion was the only way to get Jyushi to do something. Demanding him to do something would scare him and make him cry rather than listen. Once Jyushi finished the cupcake, he burped a bit, eyeing the other one. Maybe he was still hungry, but eating that fast probably wasn't healthy.

Todo stood up and picked up a paper cup from the water dispenser at the corner of the room. He filled it up and extended the cup over to Kaoru, knowing that Jyushi might scream if he tried to go near him. "Here. He might choke on his food if he doesn't drink anything."

Much to his surprise, Jyushi crawled forward, the blanket draping on his shoulders. His frost-covered fingers were now on the bed sheets, but he reached out to the paper cup on Todo's hand, making a small noise. "...Can I..?"

Todo blinked. He didn't expect Jyushi to be willing to take something from him easily. Slowly, Todo handed the cup over to Jyushi, who took few sips out of it. He handed the cup back to Todo, before pushing himself back at the edge of the bed, wiping his messy face with his over sized sleeve. "Your face is messy." He pointed out. Jyushi looked up to him curiously, looking at his own sleeve, and then at Todo again. It felt as if he was talking to a stranger, with how Jyushi was looking at him. And Todo hated having attention for more than a few seconds. "Uh.. Kara?" He called out to his best friend. "Any towels there?"

"Oh! Um, here." Kara stood up, taking a white handkerchief out of his pocket. Still, he wasn't sure if he could approach Jyushi. Todo might be an exception, since Todo stopped Ichi from making him uncomfortable, but Kara himself just watched earlier. "D-Do you want me to, or..?"

As expected, Jyushi squeaked like a mouse and hid himself in his blankets. "Nnnn.." He whined, shaking his head frantically.

Osomatsu frowned. Why was it that he was scared of Kara and Ichi, but perfectly fine with Todo? "Hm. Hey Kara, give that handkerchief to Todo."

Kara nodded, instantly understanding what Osomatsu was planning. When Todo took the handkerchief from Osomatsu, he gently moved towards Jyushi. "Alright, I'm not gonna hurt you. Promise. Come here." He noticed Jyushi suddenly raise his head upwards. "Jyushi." Jyushi peeked out of his blankets again, and shifted towards Todo. Todo took it as a sign that Jyushi wasn't scared of him, and gently took a hold of one of Jyushi's hands. There were frosting on his fingers, and Todo thought about how gross and sticky they would be if he didn't wiped them soon. "Alright, let's wipe off the frosting here, alright-"

"Nii-san."

Todo blinked. Ichi snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Jyushi in disbelief, Kaoru let out a surprised noise, and Osomatsu and Kara looked at each other in confusion. "..Excuse me..?"

Suddenly, Jyushi was crying again. "Nii-san.." He whimpered, looking at Todo with tear-filled eyes. "Nii-san, nii-san, nii-san.."

Todo instantly knew what was going on, and his eyes widened in horror. "N-No, wait! I'm not your nii-san-"

"Nii-san." Jyushi repeated again, burying his face on Todo's hoodie. "Nii-san.."

 _Oh my god._

Todo heard the sound of something snapping, and he really hoped it wasn't Ichi.


	105. Chapter 105: Curtain Call

"Nii-san.. don't leave me.. nii-san.."

Kaoru needed an excuse to usher out Ichi without causing too much of a scene. While he succeeded in feeding Jyushi and getting him to drink something, he didn't expect Jyushi to crawl over to Todo and cuddle his side out of fear. Osomatsu and Kara both seemed to be thinking of the same thing as well, and considering Ichi managed to break another pair of glasses, this time by snapping it with his fingers, they knew that they needed to do something. Fast. A murder could be done anywhere but a hospital, for crying out loud.

Thankfully, a nurse had opened the door before Ichi could do anything. Osomatsu instantly noticed how her eyes were a gold color, similar to Jyushi's yellow eyes. Her black hair was also tied into a bun. As much as Osomatsu had a thing for pretty girls in nurse outfits, there was something about that girl that just seemed.. off. Which was an odd thing to say since he just met this woman today, here at the hospital. "Sir Suuji Ichi? Sorry for disturbing you."

Ichi turned his head to her, his eyes full of hatred. "What do you want?" He snarled, curling his fists. That tone of his voice caused Kara to flinch and back away a bit, and Jyushi's hold on Todo tightened out of fear, whimpering. It was good that Ichi now had his attention on the nurse rather than Jyushi and Todo, because Ichi would have probably destroyed the hospital bed upon seeing Jyushi cling onto Todo. Todo hesitantly wrapped his arms around Jyushi and hugged him, trying to soothe him.

The nurse seemed unfazed. Osomatsu instantly knew that this woman hated her job. He was impressed by how calm she seemed to be though. Then again, a hospital was a place full of anxiety of the people and patients alike, as well as people who were probably dying. Or dead, who knows. As morbid as it sounded, that was the sad truth. "Sir, there seems to be a problem regarding the other patient you have brought in last night." She said, clutching her clipboard on her chest while her pen was tucked on her ear.

"Which one? I brought in four patients last night; my brother, Kodoku, Yowai, and Ongaku." Ichi clicked his tongue in annoyance, crossing his arms. "Yowai Totoko had awoken hours ago, correct? Her parents are on the way, I had contacted them already. As for Ongaku Reika.. we'll look for something about her, she has no family left, but she's feeling better, compared to both Yowai and Jyushi." He glanced at his brother, and Todo could feel Ichi's glare stab through his soul when he saw Jyushi cling into Todo tighter. Taking a deep breath, he turned away from them and faced the nurse again. "Is it Kodoku then? You and the other doctors didn't allow us to see him, unlike Yowai and Ongaku."

"Yes. It's him. Sir Kodoku appears to be a bit.. underweight. I don't know what your personal connection to Sir Kodoku is, but I do know that he hasn't been eating properly for.. awhile." She started flipping the pages of her clipboard. "He just woke up a few minutes ago, but he told us not to let you know." She snorted, knowing perfectly well that she just destroyed Lonely's wish. "The thing is, when we tried feeding him something, he instantly vomited it out. And it was nothing heavy, just bread and soup, and some sliced pears."

Osomatsu felt the hair on his skin stand up straight. The room seemed to have gotten colder all of a sudden. "Is.. is he sick then?" He hoped not. Jyushimatsu was sick, but finally had the cure. He hoped that Lonely wouldn't have to stay at the hospital for so long, especially since Oso told them to relax.

 _Or maybe it's because Choro is an alternate version of Fappymatsu. And I'm worried as fuck._

That probably was it.

"He probably can't eat too much food for now. When we asked him what he has been eating recently, he just answers that he often eats bread with jam, porridge, or just crackers. If not those, then it's apple pies or raw onions. As in, onions that have been peeled. He eats it just like that." Noticing the looks of disgust on the others' faces, she silently agreed with them. "He also said there was an instance where he ate raw onions for an entire week or so. And for two straight years-"

"Am I the only one wondering how that guy is still alive?!" Todo knew Choro was a weirdo, but he didn't know Choro was this weird. Hell, he knew that Choro was beyond insane, with how he claimed to be a hero or something. The end result of being a hero wasn't pretty, and it lead to someone's mansion burning down and four people ending up on hospital beds. "Who the fuck manages to survive by eating raw onions for two years?! How is he even breathing?! Is that the reason why he's so fucking weird?!"

"He's the only person to live by eating one type of food, probably." The nurse shrugged. "Anyway, he requested us to not let you guys see him until he feels.. 'better', however long that would take."

"..Thanks for informing us. We'll do as Kodoku wishes then." Ichi squinted his eyes, before scowling. "Apologies, but my spectacles are broken. If you are the one tending to Kodoku, may I at least know your name?"

"Ningyou Shiyou, at your service." She told him, scribbling on her clipboard. Osomatsu was impressed that she could remain being a nurse for so long, when she obviously hated her job. He hoped that the nurse didn't hate her job to the point she would neglect taking care of Lonely. "I'll be in charge of Kodoku Choro for the time being. Now if you excuse me.."

She then left the room, gently closing the door. Once that was over with, Jyushi looked up from Todo's hoodie and straight at the door. He still had a tight grip on Todo though. "..'Kodoku'..?"

 _Ah. Does he remember Choro then..?_

"He's a friend of your's!" Kaoru replied for them, clapping his hands together. He was anything but bubbly as he usually was, but for Jyushi's sake, as well as Todo's, he'd have to act cheerful. Maybe Jyushi could remember him if he acted as he usually was. "He's an eccentric one, but he happens to be very fond of you! Do you perhaps remember him at all, Jyushi-chan?"

He shook his head. Well, that was to be expected. "It's fine, I guess." Todo murmured, running his fingers through Jyushi's hair. He wasn't used to comforting anyone, so Jyushi clinging onto him for dear life was so new to him. Ichi seemed to have calmed down a bit, but that didn't mean he wasn't glaring at Todo as he tried to soothe Jyushi.

Kara sighed, leaning against the wall. "So, there seems to be something wrong with Lonely, huh? ..I want to make him something to eat, but I fear that he would just throw it up." He frowned. "I think it's best to wait for the doctor's approval."

"It is. Don't rush into things." Ichi told him, picking up his broken glasses and throwing it in the nearby bin. "If he vomits all over his room, I'm not paying for that. I already payed for everything, including the bills for Kodoku, Yowai, and Ongaku."

"You're not giving Totoko-chan a debt are you, Ichi-kun?" Asked Kaoru worriedly. Hospital bills were expensive, and despite Totoko's parent's fish market going well with all the customers from Akatsuka Ward wanting fresh fish nearly every single day, Kaoru doubted that what they earned from the market would be enough to pay for hospital bills. Not everybody was as rich as Ichi. "I'll pay for it if I have to!" He cried. He really wanted Totoko to feel better soon, knowing how that girl loved cute clothes..

Ichi raised his hands. "No. It's fine, Masayoshi-san. You served us well a few years back, and seeing as you know Matsuno and the rest.." He sighed. "I won't mind. I just loaned a bit of yen, that's all. I do expect them to not end up in the same hospital again. Besides.. this was all my fault." He put a hand over his head. "If I hadn't left for France.."

"Any reason you left for France in the first place?" Osomatsu asked. "Work-related stuff, right?"

"Partially. I was actually planning on sending Jyushi there, along with the Kyuujitsus." He murmured. "Things are dangerous here at Akatsuka, and the entirety of Japan is against my family and my company. It would have been a better decision to send Jyushi off to some family friends of the Suujis, and handle things here on my own. It's safer that way, and very few people at France know about Flag Corporation in the first place. And those few people are family friends."

"That's kinda mean though, sending your brother off to another country while you stay here." Osomatsu pointed out.

Ichi glared at him. "It was for his safety. Between his safety and happiness, it is clear that his safety is much, much more important." Because how can one achieve happiness when they're already dead? That was foolish, Ichi thought. And he didn't think like a fool, he thought more in the logical side of things. "There is no way to achieve both-"

"There is, actually." Osomatsu interrupted. When Ichi looked at him again, he shrugged. "I mean, there's one way to achieve happiness and safety for Jyushi. Right, Jyushi?"

Jyushi, who was now hiding behind Todo, squeaked in fear. "I.. don't know.."

Kara seemed interested, as he fiddled with his hoodie. "So, Osomatsu-niisan.. what do you suggest?"

"Well.. I suggest that-"

The door opened yet again, and the nurse from earlier, Shiyou, walked in. "Sorry to interrupt, but we have a situation that I think you fellas will find interesting. It's about Sir Kodoku."

 _Again?! If Kodoku vomited on every single piece of furniture in this entire building, I swear to god-_

"What happened?" Kaoru asked worriedly. "Did he go from bad to worse?" He hoped not.

Shiyou took her time to respond, tapping her fingers against her clipboard. "Mmm.. that's to be determined, actually. Dunno."

"What kind of answer is that?!" Ichi roared, a vein on his forehead.

"Hey, I'm just being honest." She said with a shrug and an annoyed look. "After all, I don't know if a patient is alright if they're not there in their bed."

Everyone paused.

"..What?" It was Kara that spoke, breaking the silence.

"I went to check up on him, but when I did, his bed was empty. The blankets and curtains were tied together too, and the window was open. I guess someone watched way too much cartoons, but he didn't even bother to fix the bed when he left." She took out a piece of paper that had been clipped onto her clipboard. "Oh, and this was on his bed too. Care to read? I didn't"

"How are you so calm?!" Todo shrieked in disbelief, but only calmed down when Jyushi's hold on him tightened.

Kara took the paper off of the nurse's hands, unfolding it and began reading it. He'd explain it to the rest later.

 **"Dearest audience of mine,**

 **I feel as if I need to reevaluate my life choices, especially with all that has happened last night. I do not remember much, but I do remember going into the mind of Sweets, alongside Owl, Captain Katana, Karat Cake, and Tater Tot. Besides that, I seem to be having visions of attacking Snow, Fall, Small, and Tall. It rhymes, I am aware, but I am too busy basking in my own self-pity to enjoy the small poem that I just made.**

 **I remember hurting Summer, Chiisana Hana. I grabbed her and threw her out of the window. I fear for her safety. Did she die? Did she survive? Regardless, I feel immense guilt for doing such a thing to her. And to think I had started the party for the sake of protecting Sweets..**

 **I truly am a hypocrite, am I not?**

 **I fear so. I even failed to make my first friend smile, and the last image of him I saw was his pained expression. It hurts me to think of that image, how his once-bright eyes were dull and void, with no sign of hope to be found. But one could only imagine my joy when I heard from my nurse that Sweets is fine, still breathing and definitely still alive. He deserves to be safe, he deserves to be happy, and despite being his first-ever friend, I failed to do both. I only endangered him, which not only lead to some of his brother's employees getting involved.. but also the death of his childhood friend.**

 **I truly am the worst.**

 **As a result, I will go back to where I belong. No longer will I be the Akatsuka Nightingale known as Lonely, but I myself know that I can no longer use my real name. My parents do not deserve a terrible person such as I as their son. From the heavens above, they must be disgusted by me. I will not be surprised if my father decides to step down the stairs of heaven just to slap some sense into me.**

 **Apologies for taking most of your time. My final show was a failure, and I can no longer face my audience with pride as I used to. Please stay safe. Koroshi Tougou must be out there, still.. but I will no longer pursue him if that happens to be the case. I cannot save anyone. I cannot do anything. I am useless. I am alone.**

 **As I finish writing this letter, Kodoku Choro will soon die off alongside Lonely. I am a nameless soul wandering the land, as lost as sheep with no shepherd. I might as well lessen the burdens in this city instead of trying to live when I know for a fact that I cannot live any longer.**

 **Sincerely, Kodoku Choro.**

 **Note; Please do not refer to me by the name above. It is no longer me."**

As Kara finished reading the letter, he immediately ran towards the door and out of Jyushi's room.

"Kara-?!"

 _I won't.. I won't let you..! I nearly lost Todo once.. I'm not letting you do the same to yourself, Choro..!_


	106. Chapter 106: Picture Pair

The thing Lonely hated about what he was wearing was the fact that no one bothered to give him something to wear underneath it. It was a soft, smooth fabric that was a bit cold due to being in the hospital for so long, but Lonely hated the fact that they didn't bother to put anything underneath it! Besides a pair of boxers which he was thankful for, but there was no shirt underneath. The fact that it was snowing didn't help a bit, and he was barefoot as he bounced from place to place with a bit of difficulty.

He really needed his hang glider right now, but he wondered where it was. He had hidden the hang glider at the abandoned church at the forest, where he usually hid it, and he hoped that no one found it and took it away. That hang glider was made by him using some materials he found while wandering through the streets of Akatsuka, and he was a bit disappointed that the people in the city didn't know how to use broken things to create better materials and stuff that they could use. The hang glider was made from a bunch of scraps Lonely found, and it was in good shape. He considered it as one of his most important items, along with his rapier, deck of cards, and his cape.

He hoped that those items hadn't been confiscated. He cherished them so much, and needed those to defend himself. But here he was, running in the snow-covered ground barefoot, in a hospital gown. He was a fast runner, and whenever someone looked at him, he immediately disregarded their presence and continued to run with his eyes shut tight. He was in an unfamiliar area. It would have been easier if he was soaring through the sky, but he wasn't. He was running in his nightgown, ignoring some of the things he had stepped on, which were small rocks that would cause his feet to get small bruises.

He stopped upon reaching an alleyway, just enough to catch his breath as he slumped against the wall. He really wished he had a shirt underneath his hospital gown, because the melted snow that stained his nightgown was cold against his skin. There was no turning back, it seemed. He needed to go back to the forest where he belonged. He didn't belong in Akatsuka City. The city was full of people who Lonely didn't know much about, and they were just so..

 _Unpredictable._

Lonely didn't like socializing. Lonely didn't know how to socialize. Hell, Lonely's first friend was a boy he met days ago. He gently brought a hand up to his face, before they traced over the scars on his right eye. He didn't have his mask with him. How would he cover the scars now? These ugly scars.. Lonely needed to hide them with something.. his hand would have to do for now, unfortunately. No way in hell was he tearing off his boxers to hide his scars. It was already cold enough. he certainly didn't need to walk around in only a hospital gown and nothing else.

There was no turning back, he reminded himself. He had left a note and escaped a tall building with only curtains and blankets, so it was obvious he had to keep on moving forward. The forest was the place where he could truly be alone and far from all these people, as the alleyway would only give him solitude for a short amount of time, just enough to catch his breath. Lonely was glad that the nurse didn't give him anything else to eat, otherwise, he would have felt nauseous by now.

He needed to keep on running, but when he tried to move, he collapsed onto his knees and started coughing. Shit. His body still wasn't feeling well, and he was idiotic enough to run around outside in loose clothing that would offer little to no warmth to him.

 _Is this the way I go..? Hopefully not._

Could he at least die somewhere.. well, pleasant? Alleyways didn't look pretty to him in the slightest. Plus, dying in an alleyway would attract too much attention. At least he would die alone in the forest and leave it all to the snow to bury his body. He didn't want to scare the same people he had tried to protect in the past after all.

 _"Protect". Hah._

That was something he failed at doing. How many people had their lives taken away from them by Koroshi Tougou just because Lonely failed to protect them? How many times has he failed? How many times had he convinced himself that he wouldn't let such tragedies occur ever again? And how many times has it repeated, with him trying to protect someone, only for Tougou to always be one step ahead of him? He was an idiot to think that he could take down the same man who took down both his parents, as well as people whose identities were unknown to Lonely.

He didn't bother to know them much, and even if he did, their names would slip from his mind. He didn't need to get attached to people who would have to die eventually. As pessimistic as it sounded, that was the cold truth. Lonely knew that despite all the tricks up his sleeve, he needed to be prepared just in case something were to happen. And he was right. He failed most of them, and if Jyushi was proof that he didn't fail in protecting all of them.. well, that happens to be a big, fat lie.

 _Because Sweets had been used as a puppet. And Shonouske Hatabou was killed. Not only that, but I threw Summer out of a window.. I myself have hurt them as well.._

Lonely really wished he would disappear. He wished to be anywhere but here. But how on earth was he going to get to the forest from here? Closing his eyes with a hand over his right eye, he sighed. He hoped that his note was found late and his nurse had been doing other things. He was sure he was far from the forest, and there was no way he could get there by foot.

 _Maybe I should just die here._

That sounded appealing to him, actually.

A voice called out to him. "Sir! Are you okay?!"

Immediately, Lonely snapped his eyes open and turned his head to the other direction as he scrambled to his feet, which were now cold and desperate for warmth. He tried to yell out, but no voice came out of his mouth. Something was stuck, and Choro couldn't find it in himself to speak or express his shock. His feet were cold and the skin was stinging from both the cold and the bruises he got from stepping on pebbles, and his arms were exposed to the cold air and were chilly. He was slightly shivering as well.

"Sir! Are you injured?!"

Across him were two males; one of them was probably as tall as Hatabou or Hana, while the other was a tad bit taller than the smaller male he was standing next to, as well as a bit intimidating. Both of them were wearing what seemed to be uniforms, considering they were both wearing black blazers with matching pants, as well as black sweater vests and striped neckties underneath their blazers. The bigger one had two bags on both of his arm, while the smaller one seemed to be carrying a camera around his neck.

The bigger one nudged the smaller one on the side, leaning in to whisper something to his friend. "Oi, Futsumaru! He's wearing a-"

The smaller one, Futsumaru, interrupted by waving his hand dismissively, sighing. "Yes, yes, I know, Kusosuke-kun. He's wearing a hospital gown, that's pretty much the reason I'm worried."

The bigger one, Kusosuke, looked at Lonely with uncertainty, sweat dripping from his forehead. It was probably out of nervousness, because it was so cold, there was no way in hell that it could have been from the non-existent heat. "Does that mean he's an escaped patient? Like from those zombie animes and stuff?" He shuddered. "Creepy."

Futsumaru scowled. "For the last time, anything from anime is not real. And no, he probably isn't. An escaped patient, yes, but definitely not a zombie. But we have a better thing to worry about than things that don't exist." Slowly, he walked towards Lonely, who backed away in paranoia. Futsumaru put both of his hands in front of him to signal that he didn't mean any harm. "Sir, please calm down! I know you're cold and maybe a bit scared, but let us help you, okay?"

Lonely only stared at him.

 _How.. am I supposed to react to this..?_

"Sir, what's your name?" Futsumaru asked as he walked to him. When he got close enough, he held both of Lonely's hands, flinching at how cold he was. "Whoa! I don't think it's a good idea to just walk around barefoot.. and in a hospital gown, no less!" He noticed that there was a tag around Lonely's wrist, so he squinted his eyes to have a better look. "Oh.. 'Kodoku Choro'? That's your name?"

Lonely immediately pulled away from Futsumaru. "N-No!" He sputtered out.

Futsumaru cocked his head to the side as Kusosuke approached them. "Eh? But it says there that your name is-"

"T-This is no longer me, okay?! Please refer to me as something else!" Lonely shrieked out. He normally kept his cool, but at times like this, it was best to just scream and let it all out. He had nothing to lose after all, and seriously, who was this guy?! He was honestly scaring Lonely. Not just that, but how could he not notice the tag on his arm?! Of course he was going to get identified as a patient!

Kusosuke looked at Futsumaru with a bit of uncertainty. "Hey, Futsumaru."

The smaller sighed, expecting something stupid to once again come out from Kusosuke's mouth. "What is it now, Kusosuke-kun?"

"Don't' you think.. he looks a bit like 'them'?"

 _.."Them"?_

"What are you talking about?" The smaller male asked, hands on his hips.

"You know! 'Them'!" He waved his hands together, before putting one hand near his chin. "What were their names..? I know what they look like.. ah! That's right!" He pointed at Lonely, who put both his hands over his chest upon being pointed at so suddenly. "Kyabarie and Katsuna! From high school!"

 _K-Kyabarie and Katsuna?! As in.. Kyabarie Kara and Katsuna Todo?!_

Futsumaru's eyes widened. "Oh my god.. he does! He looks just like them! There's another doppelganger here in Akatsuka City!" Immediately, he fumbled with his camera. "Hold on, Kodoku-san! I just need a picture of you-!"

"W-What are you doing?!" Lonely backed away. "Stop that!"

"It ain't gonna hurt!" Kusosuke assured him. "Trust us, buddy! Futsumaru, snap the picture!"

"Hold on!" Futsumaru hissed as he fumbled with his camera. "Just need to get the settings right-"

"I SAID STOP!" Lonely yelled, his voice echoing and causing some stray cats to run out of the trash bins out of fear. Futsumaru and Kusosuke backed away a bit from him, and Futsumaru dropped his camera. Using that as a distraction, Lonely run past them and used the crates and trash bins at the alleyway to jump against the walls and run up to one of the buildings. He needed to get out here fast; those two knew Kara and Todo, and that means.. he could be found.

Kusosuke blinked. "Dude."

"What-?"

"That was a real life anime hero!"


	107. Chapter 107: Childish Promises

After Kara had ran out, Osomatsu dragged Ichi with him to follow after the blue-eyed cavalier in panic, yelling at him to slow down and explain himself. Kaoru picked up the letter and skimmed through it, before hastily running out as well. Unfortunately, the ex-policeman had brought the letter with him, so Todo was left wondering what was going on. He would have ran out of the room as well, but Jyushi was still clinging onto him, and there was something so unnerving about the nurse, so no way in hell was Todo leaving Jyushi with the likes of her. Thankfully, she had left once Kaoru ran out, so it was only Todo with Jyushi now.

"Jyushi." He stroked the other's hair softly. It felt so weird being hugged this long. He didn't mind being hugged in general as long as it was someone he was close to, like Kara. Not that he was saying he wouldn't give Jyushi a hug when he obviously needed it. But being clung into for a long amount of time was getting a bit uncomfortable. Especially since Todo normally hated physical affection in the first place. He would have pushed Jyushi away if he hadn't been able to feel guilty for thinking about such thoughts. "Can you look up for a moment? Please?"

Jyushi shyly looked up at Todo's face, almost afraid that Todo would hurt him. The pink-haired punk noticed that there was nothing wrong with Jyushi's eyes. They were the usual bright yellow, but with a bit of fear visible. No sign of Kamimatsu controlling him like a puppet. Carefully, he put a hand on Jyushi's cheek. Somewhat cold, but that was to be expected when Jyushi had spent the night at the hospital. The yellow-eyed male nuzzled into Todo's hand, closing his eyes. "Nii-san.."

Todo wanted to correct him so bad. He wasn't Jyushi's older brother, he wasn't anyone's older brother. He was an only child. But seeing Jyushi like this.. his eyes softened. He couldn't push him away, not when Jyushi didn't even know what was going on. There was something about Todo that made Jyushi think he was his older brother, and he himself didn't know what it was, but it didn't matter right now. He needed to calm Jyushi. "You must have been scared." He murmured. Jyushi nodded in agreement. "Well.. could you at least tell me anything you remember? Anything at all?"

Jyushi pulled away and put a sleeve-clad hand onto his mouth, trying to cover up the frown on his face. "..My name.. my name is Jyushi.. and I like sweets..?" He looked up at Todo. Of course. Jyushi had been called "Jyushi" by everyone earlier, so it was natural he would believe he really was Jyushi. The sweets thing though.. did he learn that from Kaoru when the latter insisted that he should eat the pastries? That, or Jyushi remembered he liked sweets upon eating the pastries. "..That's it.. nii-san.."

 _He really thinks I'm his older brother, huh? Well, we do share the same face.. but so do Osomatsu, Kara, Ichi, and Lonely. Shouldn't he trust Ichi more? I mean, Ichi was probably the first one he saw when he awakened.. why was he so scared of Ichi earlier..?_

"Well.. since you seem to have trouble remembering.. I'll try to remind you a few things that I know of. Don't get your hopes up though. I only met you days ago, so I don't know everything. Just the basics and stuff." He sighed, brushing his hair out of his eyes. He was honestly bad at this. Of all people, why did fate decide that he should act as Jyushi's older brother for the time being? Poor guy didn't deserve trash like him. At least Ichi was capable of babying him. Todo wasn't used to being so gentle with his words.

Jyushi cocked his head to the side. "Okay then.. so who are you..?"

And by god did Todo hate introductions. "I'm Katsuna Todo, if you're wondering who I am. I gave you my jacket days ago, when you got lost out there in the city.. you were getting coffee for your guardian, if I remember correctly." He noticed Jyushi suddenly look at him in fear. "You.. you live at Flag Corporation, as far as I'm concerned. You're a pretty rich kid, so anything you want, you can get easily. As for your family.." He bit his lip. "Your mom and dad.. aren't around. But there's Ichi, so that's a relief, eh?"

 _Wow. Smooth, Todo. You are going to have your head cut off by a maniac wielding a fucking katana, I just know it._

Jyushi looked down. "..Does that mean.. you're not my.. nii-san..?" His shoulders trembled as he started to sniffle. He tried to cover his teary eyes with his sleeves, but it didn't seem to work. His tears were now dripping on the bed as he refused to look at Todo.

 _Oh fuck._

Now Todo had to fix this. If Ichi saw Jyushi cry, he knew he was going to die without even getting to explain. "N-No! I mean, we're not related biologically, but.. you're my brother, in a way. There's nothing to be sad about, okay? I'm.. I'm here. And I'm staying with you until you get your memory back." He may not be able to explain Osomatsu's situation to Jyushi right now, but he could at least make some sense.. right? He reached out to Jyushi, and clasped both of his hands. "That's a promise. Alright? So.. don't be sad. Please."

Jyushi stared at both of his hands. Todo didn't know if Jyushi found their contact to be uncomfortable or if he liked it, but it was mostly the latter, as Jyushi refused to pull away. "..C-Can I still.. call you nii-san though..?" He asked.

 _No. No you can't. Ichi would murder me._

But Todo went against common sense and logic, and gave Jyushi a soft smile to reassure him that everything would be okay. "..Sure. I'll be your nii-san, if you want me to."

 _Good game, Katsuna Todo. Kiss your ass goodbye._

Jyushi pulled his hands away from Todo's grip and hugged him, burying his face in Todo's hoodie and crying. Todo just let the hug happen and hugged back, trying to soothe the other by rubbing his back. This was awkward, giving someone comfort and all. But Todo didn't care at the moment. Jyushi was scared and confused, and he thought of Todo as his only protection at the moment. "I told you there's no reason to be sad, right? C'mon. Smile, okay?"

Jyushi nodded, sniffling. "I'm trying, nii-san.."

"As long as you're trying then." Todo sighed. "It's fine. Now.. why don't we do something to cheer you up?" That was always what Kara suggested when Todo felt down and like shit. Jyushi looked up at him with a confused expression, and Todo reminded himself that Jyushi couldn't even remember how old he was. Jyushi probably forgot all of his hobbies too. And Todo didn't really give a shit to be as observant as Osomatsu was. "Shit.. I don't know what you like to do.. but.. I do know that you like drawing." He remembered the papers back at Flag Corporation's highest floor, as well as the crayons. That was enough of a sign that he liked art, right?

"Drawing..?" Jyushi looked around the room. Nothing to be used for drawing, it seemed. "What.. what do I like to draw?"

Judging by the pictures, Jyushi seemed to like drawing people. Maybe even animals too. "The usual things, I guess." Todo shrugged. "Hm.. but where will we get drawing materials-"

 _Wait a minute._

"..Jyushi hold on, I'm gonna find that creepy nurse." If she had been able to keep her job for so long, maybe she could help Todo find something to work with. Jyushi looked at him with a scared expression, causing him to sigh yet again. "I promise I won't take long. Just.. let go of me first, okay? I won't leave this hospital without you."

"..Promise?" Jyushi raised a pinky up. Todo blinked.

 _This is so.. childish.. and girly- oh, what the hell._

He linked his pinky with Jyushi's, hoping that there were no cameras in the room to capture this silly moment between them. He may be a twenty-two year old man, but if someone as naive and innocent as Jyushi offered him a pinky promise, he'd be a monster to turn it down and disregard it, thinking of it as nothing more than a silly ritual between children. "Promise."

And by that action, Jyushi finally made a smile. Now that embarrassing pinky promise seemed worth it. "I trust you, nii-san."

* * *

Kaoru had managed to catch up with them once Kara stopped to catch his breath. "Geez, you could have at least told us what was going on before you ran like hell! I haven't ran that fast since high school!" Osomatsu whined. Ichi was beside him, also out of breath, but he refused to accept any of Osomatsu's comforting gestures. "It's winter and it's snowing, and you already got me sweating like hell!"

"I'm so sorry for being so hasty, Osomatsu-niisan." Kara panted out through his coughs. "But.. we need to look for Lonely. And fast." He coughed out, pounding on his own chest as hard as he could. Osomatsu was immediately by his side, rubbing his back to assist him in regulating his breathing.

"Kodoku's in his hospital room." Ichi hissed under his break, putting his hoodie on for some reason. He seemed to be trying to hide his own face as well. "Why are we looking for him, his room was literally a few walks away from Jyushi's-"

"He escaped through the window, Ichi-kun." Kaoru told him, waving his finger around for emphasis. "I have no idea how he got out of a hospital using just curtains and blankets.. but he did. He's out, and this letter right here.." He waved the paper around. "..is proof of that."

Osomatsu's eyes widened. "He did?! Wow, so the nurse wasn't lying-"

"Why didn't she act like nothing big happened then?!" Ichi roared, stomping his foot on the snow-covered sidewalk. "This is bullshit! We need to get back to the hospital, now-!"

"Chill." Osomatsu frowned as he grabbed the sides of Ichi's hood. "This isn't gonna help much, Ichi."

Ichi's eyes widened. "Wait, no, don't take it off-!"

Too late. Osomatsu took off his hoodie, letting the cool winter breeze brush against his face. "I know it's snowing, but your hot-head needs to cool down a bit."

Ichi suddenly slapped his hands away with a growl, putting his hoodie back on and trying to hide his face. "Idiot!" He hissed under his breath. "I need to hide my identity! But you dragged me out of the hospital so fast, I didn't get the rest of my disguise!"

Kara and Osomatsu looked at one another in confusion. "Disguise? What for?"

"Well.." Kaoru walked over to Ichi, patting his shoulder. "Ichi-kun is Flag Corporation's president! It's only natural that the media would be out to get him, and Ichi-kun hates noise and unnecessary rallies.. but he certainly cannot take a limo everywhere, oh no. So he has to hide his identity of course! Akatsuka knows of those pretty purple eyes he has, so he has to hide them often."

"They're not pretty." Ichi clicked his tongue. "They're horrible. Now, can we just get this over with? Where even the fuck could Kodoku be?"

"I have a guess, actually." Kara said, taking the letter from Kaoru. "How long would it take for us to get to the forest on foot?"

Ichi looked at him as if he was stupid. Kara flinched a bit. "..I'll call the damn limo." He sighed, taking his phone out of his pocket. "Stupid, cringe-worthy magician.. who escapes a hospital in only a hospital gown? What a fucking dumbass."


	108. Chapter 108: Back To Square One

Futsumaru was the definition of every annoying journalist that was straight out of an anime. If he had a trope about him, it was how annoying he got when he was persistent on snapping a picture of something interesting. And seeing a man who looked like a high school classmate of their's who had a scar on his right eye, slicked back hair with green strands, and wearing nothing but a hospital gown was something interesting. God, if college didn't require him to have so many assignments regarding juicy stories, he wouldn't have been running around the city with Kusosuke in the first place. But he needed to pass some headline about an interesting topic in Akatsuka, and he was sure everyone else in his class was going to talk about the burning of the manor at the forest. Futsumaru wanted something interesting, something different.

Lonely looked interesting to him, and call it a hunch, but Futsumaru suspected that Lonely was somehow involved with the manor burning down last night. He had heard many people talk about how a party was hosted there by a gentleman who went by the name of "Lonely", and how he disappeared for the rest of the party as soon as he made his introduction. Flag Corporation also got involved with the party and marched in last night, and people said they heard about "Flag Corporation's Ultimate Database" being there as well. There were loads of things to talk about, such as the murder that occurred during the party, and how the host was unconscious when people started evacuating. Plus, what was Flag Corporation doing there? What was "Flag Corporation's Ultimate Database"? Who murdered one of the guests at the party? Who was the host?

So many questions Futsumaru wanted to ask, and he wanted nothing more than to go to the forest himself and investigate the matter further. But all plans were tossed aside when he saw Lonely at the alleyway. The definition of mysterious, with how odd his hair was styled and how he managed to escape from any question as fast as possible. Not only that, but how did Lonely escape from a hospital? That was the most important question of all. In nothing but a hospital gown and boxers, he managed to escape a hospital, and was making a run for it. And damn, was he fast.

But, thanks to his rather short stature, he had no problem running around and chasing after Lonely, who was now jumping from building to building. Futsumaru frantically snapped pictures with his camera as he ran and dodged every obstacle in his way, and Kusosuke followed behind him while screaming at him to slow down. As if. He feared that if he blinked, he'd lose track of Lonely. It was amazing how the latter could run so fast and jump so high despite wearing nothing else but a hospital gown and boxers. His feet were probably cold from the snow, but as if that'd do anything to slow him down-

Suddenly, Lonely lost his footing. How did Futsumaru know? Because Lonely seemed to have jumped at the wrong time and tripped over the edge of one of the smaller buildings, a café, and fell straight into another alleyway. The people looked at the direction of the alleyway when they heard the sound of trash cans clattering, but probably assumed it was just a bunch of stray cats having a fight, as they turned away immediately. One of the trashcans rolled out of the alleyway, and Futsumaru stopped in front of it and lowered his camera.

"He fell!" Kusosuke whispered loudly, worry evident.

A vein appeared on Futsumaru's forehead. He knew his roommate was slower than he was, but stating the obvious didn't really help. "He did, Kusosuke-kun! I saw him fall!" He hissed quietly, removing his camera and pushing it against Kusosuke's chest. Was he irritable today? Of course he was, he didn't even have his cup of coffee today as he had to get out of bed early and look for something interesting for his stupid assignment for college. "As much as I want to take more pictures of the guy, we have to check if he's okay!"

He ran into the alleyway against, kicking trashcans out of the way. As expected, Lonely was there, but he seemed to have landed on five large bags of flour, which thankfully, didn't burst upon having him land there. However, he seemed to be unconscious as his forehead was bleeding, and his fingers were occasionally twitching every now and then. Futsumaru also saw that there was a bit of a dark color on Lonely's left foot, indicating that it might be sprained.

"Oh my god!" Futsumaru ran over to Lonely and grabbed his wrist, making sure that he didn't accidentally bump the sprained ankle. Looking up, he realized that there was a metal railing of the balcony on the building just beside the café. Lonely must have hit it when he fell! "Dude, he still has a pulse.. shit, we need to get him back to the hospital! The guy's bleeding! Argh, we don't even know who Kodoku-san could be related to! This is a disaster!" He shrieked. "W-What if he dies, Kusosuke-kun?! I don't wanna be responsible for someone's death! I mean, the only reason he was running was because he was scared of us, right?! D-Does this mean I'm a murderer-?!"

Kusosuke knelt down beside Futsumaru and gently pulled Lonely's head onto his lap, before putting a hand on Futsumaru's shoulder. "Calm down. Panicking's not going to do anything." He told him. At times like this, he needed to keep Futsumaru on the ground just in case the other were to fly away from panicking too much. After Futsumaru muffled his screams by pounding his face into the bag of flour multiple times, probably caking his face in flour if he managed to burst a hole onto it. Kusosuke carefully grabbed Lonely's wrist and inspected it. "We don't know anyone who could know of anyone named Kodoku Choro.."

"That's why I'm screaming, Kusosuke-kun!"

"I can see that, Futsumaru.." Kusosuke sighed, wondering why Futsumaru was such a mess. "Anyways, we need to get him back there. He has a tag on him, and I'm pretty sure the nurses back at the hospital probably realize he's no longer there."

Futsumaru took deep breaths, before smacking his face against the bag of flour again. That action alone caused a cloud to puff out of the bag, which meant that Futsumaru just managed to pop the bag of flour. "This is fine. That's logical. Let's do that." He muffled. "We.. we're gonna figure out a way to get him back to the hospital, right? I mean, he looks like a bloody mess right now, it's gonna look weird if we leave the alleyway carrying him like he's a sack of potatoes or something."

"Or we could hide the body?" Kusosuke joked, trying to lighten up the mood.

He heard Futsumaru's muffled scream against the bag of flour. While Kusosuke thought his little joke was hilarious, Futsumaru didn't really need to hear something so morbid such as that. He respected Kusosuke, he really did, but he wished he didn't say something like that. His anxiety was only growing even more. "You're making it sound like we killed him!" He shrieked.

That was the last thing Futsumaru needed; getting accused of killing someone. God, he just wanted to pass college and get it over with. His parents didn't pay for everything just to have their son kicked out of a good college just because he was seen with a body that was still alive, but definitely looked dead in the eyes of others. He'd find a way to drag Lonely out of the alleyway later, but for now, he needed to suffocate himself in this bag of flour. Hopefully, he'd wake up and realize that everything was just a dream, and he'd leave his and Kusosuke's shared apartment and slap his professor in the face with a wet fish for giving the assignment in the first place.

 _Yeah. I'll do that._

Suddenly, the duo heard footsteps approaching them. Kusosuke kept his focus on Lonely by trying to rub some of his blood off with his handkerchief, but Futsumaru, whose face was now caked in flour, had snapped his head up to the figure who approached them.

His eyes widened. "KUSOSUKE-KUN!"

"Wha-?!"

Futsumaru pulled Kusosuke by his arm and forced him to stumble against the floor, dropping Lonely. A katana had pierced through the floor, just where Kusosuke was standing, and only a few inches away from Lonely's head. If Futsumaru hadn't pulled him out of the way in time, then Kusosuke could have been stabbed in the back by a sharp katana.. wait, who carries around katanas these days-?!

"What have you done to him?!" The figure stepped out as he roared at them. He seemed to be wearing a gray hoodie over his face, but he immediately pulled it down to glare at both Futsumaru and Kusosuke. Scruffy black hair and purple eyes that seemed a bit familiar, but Futsumaru couldn't tell where he saw them before. He grabbed the katana from the floor and pulled it out with no difficulty, pointing it at Futsumaru and Kusosuke. "Tch. The last thing I need is people like you making things harder for us! We found this idiot, but.. you fuckers, if he's dead, I swear to whatever the hell that is holy..!"

 _The hell is this guy talking about?! Wait! Is he thinking that we hurt Kodoku-san?! I mean, he looks like him-!_

"This isn't worth it." He gritted his teeth, raising his katana above his head. "Now die!"

"No, wait! We didn't-!"

Someone grabbed the purple-eyed male's arm and stopped him from slashing the katana. "Wha-?! Unhand me!"

"Ichi! Stop that! You're gonna kill them!" Another voice joined in. This time, Futsumaru saw what seemed to be another doppelganger, except his eyes were black and his hoodie was red. He pulled at the other's arm, Ichi's, and tried to keep him in place by locking his neck with his arm. "Shit, Ichi! Don't hurt them-!"

"Matsuno, you idiot!" Ichi flailed, dropping his katana. "Let me go! MATSUNO!"

"Are you two okay?!"

Futsumaru and Kusosuke looked up and saw yet another doppelganger. But this time, he had familiar blue eyes that both of them recognized too well.

"Kyabarie-san!" They said in unison.

He looked the same to them. Neat black hair and two cowlicks and all, and there was an aura radiating from him, It must be his normal "fussy mother hen" aura that he was famous at high school for. He was now kneeling in front of them with such a worried expression on his face, and there was another man (thankfully not another look-a-like) that was now carrying Lonely on his arms, lightly patting the other's head. "You two.. did you get hurt? At all?" He asked with his voice laced with concern.

 _He's still the same Kyabarie Kara.._

They nodded dumbly. Kara sighed in relief, putting his hands over to his own mouth. "What a relief.."

 _Was.. Choro really trying to go back to the forest? Doesn't he know that Tougou is dead? If Ichi didn't stop the limo when he saw Choro fall off a building, who knows what could have happened.._

As Osomatsu managed to calm down Ichi and Kaoru left the alleyway with an unconscious Lonely on his arms, the back door of the café opened, revealing a waiter. He looked at the five of them for a moment, before moving on to stare at the same bags of flour that Lonely landed on. It was only then that everyone realized that they were just beside a café, right at the area where the employees probably kept some of their equipment. Not only that, but one of the bags of flour were now spilling all over the floor, mixing with the snow.

"Oh shit.." Osomatsu murmured under his breath. "Did we.. cause a scene-?"

Ichi slapped Osomatsu's hands away from him, grumbling about something as he took out a few bills from his pocket, grabbing the waiter's wrist and putting the bills on his hand. "Don't tell your co-workers or your manager about what you saw. Use this to buy replacements for the stuff that needs to be replaced." He growled lowly. "If you say a single word about what you just saw at this alleyway, I will make your life hell. Understood?"

The waiter turned pale and nodded, slamming the door shut.

That was all what Ichi needed to hear before he grabbed both Kara and Osomatsu by their hoodies, dragging them out of the alleyway.


	109. Chapter 109: The Friend

They had went back to the hospital via the limo Ichi had called for, and just to make sure he didn't escape once he was awake, Kaoru and Kara decided to stay at his room for the time being, along with Choro's nurse. They also made sure to keep the windows blocked. As for Osomatsu and Ichi, they headed back to Jyushi's room, with Osomatsu already thinking of an apology for leaving Todo all alone there. Technically, he wasn't alone, he got Jyushi with him, but Osomatsu still felt bad for just leaving Todo there with the responsibility of watching over Jyushi, who couldn't even remember much at this point.

When they opened the door to his room, however, they saw papers everywhere, as well as a box of crayons sitting on Jyushi's bed. Jyushi had his back turned against the door as he was using the wall as a flat surface to draw something. Todo was sitting on the bed as well, boredly making paper airplanes from the stack of printer paper on the floor and throwing them in whatever direction he wanted. After making yet another one, Todo threw it, and it flew over to Ichi's forehead, lightly poking his skin.

"Ah. You're back. Took you guys long enough. I was starting to think you guys just left me for no reason." Todo stood up from the bed. Jyushi turned to look at them, putting the paper he was drawing on close to his chest and quickly darting under the covers out of fear. Some of the papers on his bed fell to the floor, and the box of crayons tilted over, dropping it's contents. "The fuck happened there? You guys just left without a word. Where's Kara?" Todo scowled, crumpling one of the printer papers that he had planned to fold as a paper airplane.

He was either irritated of getting left behind or irritated at the fact that Kara wasn't with them. Either way, Osomatsu didn't want to die. He was aware that Todo was strong enough to throw a fridge at him, and with that perfect aim of his, he'd probably succeed in doing so.

"Kodoku escaped his room and we chased him down. We found him at an alleyway, bleeding. He probably has a sprained ankle as well." Ichi mumbled, kicking a few of the paper airplanes on the floor. He saw Todo's face upon looking up. "Don't ask how, we don't know either. But he's back now, and Kyabarie's at the other room keeping an eye out for him just in case he tries to escape again. Until then, we're staying here. Period." His eyes darted over to Jyushi who was shuffling under the covers, and his eyes softened. "..How is he, Katsuna?"

"Oh." Well, it was time to leave out the part where Jyushi started crying unless he wanted to have his ass handed to him. "We talked for a bit. You could fill him out on other stuff. I don't know much about him 'sides the basic." He patted Jyushi's head. The latter popped his head out of the blankets and leaned against Todo's hand. "He wanted to draw, so I had the nurse from earlier bring me a box of crayons and a stack of printer paper. Problem is, she brought too much and we made a bit of a mess." He sighed, sitting back down on the bed.

"We can see that. Not gonna lie, I did the same back in high school. Teachers would always get my ass whenever I threw paper planes at them during class." Osomatsu chuckled at the memory, picking up one of the drawings from the floor. It was a scribble of what seemed to be a woman with long black hair and yellow eyes, as well as a purple dress with yellow flowers on her hair. Jyushi was a good artist, despite the fact he just used crayons to make such a simple doodle. He turned to Jyushi, who was once again clinging onto Todo's hoodie. Maybe if he talked to him gently, Jyushi would be less scared. "Cute. Who is this pretty lady over here, Jyushi?" He decided to ask a simple, casual question to lighten up the mood.

 _Jyushi's calmed down a bit, so I hope he doesn't scream again._

Jyushi looked at him, and then at the drawing, giving Osomatsu a sense of relief. He didn't shy away from them anymore, but was still a bit scared. Still, that was progress. Jyushi wasn't straight-up screaming at them to go away as he did earlier. "..Ah. That's my drawing of my mama." Jyushi said, reaching out for the drawing with his fingers slightly peeking out of the sleeves of his large hospital gown. "Mama. I really like how I drew my mama in that picture."

Everyone froze.

 _Ma.. mama? He.. remembers his mother then..? But what about Ichi..? Or Dekapan? Why does he remember his mom, but not the others?_

Something was fishy, and it definitely wasn't the fish crackers Sokomi brought earlier.

"Mama is really nice." Jyushi continued with a soft voice, a tint of sadness in his eyes. "I can't remember her much though.. I only know few things about her.." He mumbled. "I really want to remember more things about my mama."

 _Oh.. so he doesn't.._

Ichi picked up another drawing on the floor. This time, the drawing was of a man with long black hair that was tied into a ponytail. The man had purple eyes, so it was obvious who it was; not Ichi, but rather, someone else, despite their similarities. A monster, considering Jyushi drew that man with rows of sharp teeth, a pair of horns, bat wings, and even a devil's tail. It was a supposedly childish sketch skillfully made with crayons, and Ichi admired his little brother's artistic skill. He would praise him if not for the fear of Jyushi suddenly shying away from him again. "This is..?"

Jyushi hid from Ichi's line of sight by hiding behind Todo, his sleeve-clad hands holding onto Todo's shoulders. Ichi felt a bit of heartache upon seeing his brother react to him as if he was something to be feared. Well.. he was, but never once in his life did Ichi lay a finger on Jyushi. "..Papa. That's my papa." He murmured. He seemed to be hiding away from the drawing rather than Ichi himself. Why would he even draw something that scared him? "He's scary when mad. He breaks a lot of things." His legs shifted a bit. "He's really scary when mama's not around.."

 _As expected. This is how he sees our dad. A complete monster._

Osomatsu took a good look at the other drawings on the floor. It was mainly sketches of Jyushi and Ichi's supposed mother and father, but nothing else besides messes of color. If it wasn't a man or a woman in the drawing, it would just be messy scribbles of crayon. He handed the drawing over to Ichi and bent down to pick up the papers that had scribbles of color in them and nothing else. It looked like a child barfed it out, to be honest. "Well.. what are these supposed to be, Jyushi?"

"..That's my drawing of my friend." He said.

The temperature of the room must have dropped because it suddenly felt colder. It was morbid to hear something like that from someone as childish as Jyushi, almost as if it was straight out of a bad horror film. It didn't help that Jyushi sounded so monotone when he said that. "Uh.. what?" Todo turned to him, hoping that he didn't have a literal possessed child behind him. And not by Kamimatsu, by actual fucking demons.

 _Eh, what's the difference?_

Jyushi wasn't looking at them though. His fingers were grasping onto Todo's hoodie and he was burying his face on Todo's back. He looked up a bit to stare at the mess of colors on the paper. "My friend. That's my friend." He repeated, reaching out to the paper in Osomatsu's hands with his right hand. "Put it down. Please. He doesn't like it if people clean my mess up for me.." He whimpered. "He's a bit scary too."

Osomatsu did as he was asked, obviously creeped out as he placed the paper back on the floor. Ichi tapped his fingers on his arms impatiently as he tapped his foot, while Todo looked like he was trying his best to not lose his cool. "Your friend.. huh?" He cracked a nervous smile. He prayed for an actual exorcism now. Where was a priest if you needed one? "So, uh.. who's your friend, Jyushi?"

"He's my friend.. what else could he be?" Jyushi frowned a bit.

 _Ah. Of course. Thanks Captain Obvious._

"But.." Jyushi continued to speak, slowly moving his face away from Todo's back, but still clinging onto the other. "He doesn't show his face to me. He just tells me that I should stop crying." Jyushi murmured. "I only see him when everything is quiet, or when I'm sleeping. He appears and tells me to smile, but when everyone starts talking.. he vanishes. I guess he doesn't like noise.." He put a sleeve-clad hand over his mouth as he looked down. "..He doesn't talk much either. He talks bad about everything and everyone around me.. but he's really nice to me."

"..I see." Ichi coughed awkwardly. "S-So.. who is this friend of your's?"

Jyushi shrugged. "Dunno.. he doesn't tell me his name. He tells me not to worry about it too much.." He looked up at them again. "..But he always says that he'll protect me, no matter what.. and that anyone who hurts me.. he'll kill them. At least, that's what he said.."

 _Oh fuck this shit, I'm not dealing with demon-possessed children right now, nope._

Immediately, Todo stood up from the bed and patted Osomatsu's shoulder, leaning closer. Jyushi looked fearful as soon as Todo stood up, but the pink-eyed male tried to ignore his clone's yellow puppy-like eyes that were glimmering with tears. Despite the fact it was killing him inside to just leave Jyushi in the room so scared, Todo honestly felt so uncomfortable just by listening to the conversation. But hey, Todo was honestly freaked out, so that was a good excuse. "Uh, Osomatsu." He whispered. "This is creeping me out, and since you guys left me to deal with him earlier.. do me a solid and just continue to entertain his thoughts or whatever. I'm going to visit Lonely."

 _I'm not gonna leave the hospital. Because that means I'm breaking my promise with Jyushi._

He glanced at Jyushi. "I'll go out for a bit, okay? I'll be back after I check out on Lonely." Which was a lie, he'd stay away from this room until they figure out who this "friend" was and how to get rid of him, because if other dimensions existed, who was to say that demons who possessed children didn't?

Jyushi's eyes welled with tears. "B-But..!"

With that statement, Todo left the room, leaving Jyushi alone with Osomatsu and Ichi. The yellow-eyed male looked around the room in fear, trying his best to avoid eye contact with two of his older brothers. "U-Um.." It was very obvious that he was still scared of Osomatsu and Ichi, since he took the covers and covered himself with them yet again. "P-Please..! D-Don't hurt me..!"

"W-What?! Of course we won't!" Osomatsu moved forward, and as expected, Jyushi shrunk away. This hurt Osomatsu's heart, to see any of his little brothers so scared. It reminded Osomatsu of that one time he kicked Jyushimatsu, and how Jyushimatsu looked so terrified and betrayed, as if Osomatsu was actually going to kill him. "Hey! We're not gonna hurt you! I promise that! We just wanna talk with you and help you remember stuff!"

"..My friend says you're not.." Jyushi whimpered. "He says.. you're gonna hurt me.."

"Who even the hell is that friend." Ichi clicked his tongue in annoyance. Osomatsu glared at him. "What?"

"Dude." He mouthed. Or was that supposed to be a loud whisper? "Don't be too blunt with him. He's pretty scared, and who the fuck cares if we can't see this friend of his? He's there and Jyushi can see him, and do you really think Jyushi's scaring us?" And as creepy as it was, Osomatsu feared that Jyushi's "friend" was just behind them. If he could see the supernatural, he'd be wetting his pants right now. "And you're only gonna make Jyushi even more scared of us. As Todo said, let's entertain his thoughts for a bit."

Ichi crossed his arms in irritation. "Apologies." He spat at Osomatsu, before turning to Jyushi. Again, his expression softened. "..Continue."

"U-Um.." Jyushi hugged a pillow close to his chest. "It.. it-"

Suddenly, the phone in his bag started vibrating. Immediately, he fished it out of the bag and unlocked the screen. It wasn't a text this time; it seemed to be a video call. Osomatsu gave an apologetic smile to both Ichi and Jyushi and ran straight to the bathroom in Jyushi's room.

 **"Osomatsu-niisan?! Why did you pick up the phone so late?!"**

"What the fuck, Choromatsu.." Osomatsu mumbled as Choromatsu's voiced practically pierced through his eardrums. "Your voice is so loud! The hell is it? You kinda scared me a bit, ya know?!"

 **"Never mind that! Kamimatsu's in that building! And his presence is a strong one!"**

Osomatsu's breath hitched. "W-What..?"

 **"Kamimatsu.. I.. I don't know how or why, but he's in that hospital. He seems to be weaker than yesterday, but.. he's still there. And not just in one place."**

 _Not just in one place..?_

"Are you implying Kamimatsu can split his powers? Or he gave it to someone?" He asked. Hopefully, that wasn't the case. Oso wasn't with them, so whatever Oso did to snap Jyushi out of Kamimatsu's control yesterday.. he couldn't do that. Choromatsu looked absolutely panicked in the cellphone screen, and his hair was an absolute mess. Not as big of a mess like Ichi's, but still a mess.

 **"That.. that's probably it.. Osomatsu-niisan.. be careful, okay?"**

"I will."

 **"We'll look further in the manner, Osomatsu-niisan. I'll call you back."**

With that, Choromatsu hung up.


	110. Chapter 110: The Demon Within

So Kamimatsu's here somewhere? Now they'll have to put their guard up again. So much for relaxing, Osomatsu thought bitterly as he left the bathroom. Ichi and Jyushi were looking at him worriedly, and not wanting to let his little brothers worry for him yet again, he put on his usual goofy grin and rubbed his nose, putting his phone back in the bag. "Heya! What'd I miss? Sorry about that, my mom called me and she could probably disowned me if I don't answer her, hahaha!" He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "So! What'd ya guys talk about while I was there-"

"He said his friend came over." Ichi interrupted with a low voice, fists clenching at his sides. As Jyushi's older brother, biological older brother if he needed to be specific, it pained Ichi to see Jyushi in this kind of state. His brother was normally so bubbly and happy, even with his tendencies to be a crybaby at times. But what happened? What reduced his brother to this sort of mess, wherein he could see something they couldn't and hear voices they could not? This hurt Ichi so much. Jyushi was suffering, he just knew it. "And he just left, after you opened the bathroom door."

 _Apparently, that fucker dropped by. I don't fucking know, I can't see him, but if I could, I probably would have sliced him in fucking half._

Osomatsu stopped walking towards them. Jyushi wasn't even looking at Ichi anymore and was facing at the window, the covers pulled up to his lap. Just by seeing such a sight, Osomatsu immediately felt shivers up his spine. This was honestly something straight out of a badly acted horror film, though Osomatsu hoped that wasn't the case. He had Kamimatsu to worry about too. He really hoped that Jyushi was just seeing things or just playing around rather than being serious about this 'friend' of his.

 _Because I will literally ask for an actual fucking priest if that happens to be the case._

"Uh.. J-Jyushi-?"

Jyushi looked at him and away from the window, and Osomatsu flinched at the sight of Jyushi's eyes. Unlike earlier, they weren't glimmering with tears or looking at him with fear. Rather, he looked tired. "..My friend says I should sleep now. He said that I shouldn't do much today since I just woke up and can't remember anything much.." Jyushi spoke up again, voice monotone. He then proceeded to lie down on the pillow and pull the blankets up to his chest, closing his eyes. "So I'll sleep now." He mumbled, turning to his left side.

"Jyushi-" Osomatsu put a hand on Ichi's shoulder, silencing him. Ichi turned to him with a desperate look, wanting nothing else but to find a way for his brother to go back to being normal; to being the bubbly Jyushi he knew he was. Because whoever was in that bed wasn't Jyushi. He couldn't remember Jyushi being that creepy at all. "But, Matsuno-!"

"It's fine." Osomatsu assured him as Jyushi seemed to have fallen asleep rather quickly. Osomatsu sighed, lowering his voice, but still keeping his hand on Ichi's shoulder as a comforting gesture. "Actually, there's something I want to talk to you about."

"What?" He snarled under his breath, looking down at his shoes. "You dragged me out in the cold earlier only to drag me back here, and my brother is suffering.." He gritted his teeth. "What else can the universe do to me? My mother is gone, my childhood friend is gone, and Jyushi.. what has happened to him..?" He looked up at Osomatsu, hatred visible in his purple eyes. "If there's anything else they could take from me, I sincerely hope it's you. Ever since you encountered my brother.." Finally, he slapped Osomatsu's hand away. "If you hadn't met my brother, then..!"

Osomatsu was unfazed by Ichi's outburst. The only thing he was concerned about was the stinging sensation in his hand that was a result from Ichi's slap. He glanced at it, before looking back at Ichi. "..Choromatsu called, if you're done blaming me for everything, including the death of your mom which I had no control of. He said that Kamimatsu seems to be in the building.. somewhere."

"W-What..?"

He noticed the look on Ichi's face, which seemed to be a mixture of panic and confusion. Immediately, he reverted back to his aloof nature in order to reassure the other that he was perfectly okay. "Ssssh! Don't freak out! I mean, I'm freaking out, sure, but if you're gonna do it too, be quiet! I don't want Jyushi to hear.. I mean, there's a chance that he lost his memory and sees shit because of Kamimatsu's influence."

"But didn't the other you already handle that?" He crossed his arms. "I watched as Oso take that.. 'God's Essence' out of Jyushi. And Yuki and the others were possessed.. clearly Yuki is fine, as well as Hana. Tsuyoi and Shiirudo seem to be alright too, as well as Yowai and Ongaku.. but why is Jyushi the only one like this?"

"Lonely got possessed too, you know." Osomatsu said. Ichi raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I think it was when you guys were doing something else? But Lonely got possessed too. He was being even more painful, and hell, did you know he threw Hana out of the window? She lived, but god, we were all worried for her. Kaoru got a small wound too. But I didn't do the same thing as Oso did to snap him out of it. I only needed to talk to him, and that was it."

"..Talk?" Ichi looked at the sleeping Jyushi. "Oso said that talking was useless. Yet.. I tried regardless." It was rare for Ichi to go against logic in the first place, but it was for Jyushi's sake. And he certainly didn't want to hurt his precious little brother. "I tried to reach out to Jyushi, and he snapped out after a few seconds.. only to return to fighting me again. How did you do it?"

"..I don't know. I just told him to stop, and he started screaming and.. crying.. and he passed out. Thing is, Kamimatsu's somewhere 'round here. He probably possessed someone, and there's a chance.." He took a deep breath. "..That he may have something to do with Jyushi's memory loss and his little 'friend'. That alone sounds pretty concerning, doesn't it?" He looked at Jyushi. "Since we both care for him so much, I think it's right that we just investigate around the hospital for a bit. I mean, you have money and power, that'd be easy, right?"

Ichi blinked, before scoffing. "As if I would use my position to abuse my power-"

"Who the fuck was the one to pay a waiter some cash just so he could replace the bag of flour that Kara's high school buddies accidentally spilled all over the alleyway?" Osomatsu made a cheeky grin, poking his finger at Ichi's chest. "Don't play nice now, Ichi. Especially not after you nearly killed me on the day we met!" He saw a vein appear on Ichi's forehead. "Good times, eh, buddy?"

"...Point taken." The purple-eyed male sighed, trying his best not to kill Osomatsu on the spot. "But.. should we leave Jyushi here all alone..?"

"He'll be fine, Ichi. Let's tell the doctors to keep an eye out for him, 'kay? We need to find Kamimatsu before he does more shit that can ruin lives." His thoughts briefly went to Oso and how he just left last night, but Osomatsu shooed those thoughts away. "Anyway, let's hustle. Fappymatsu's gonna help us with this trusty phone of mine! We're gonna beat the shit out of Kamimatsu!" That would make Oso's job easier, Osomatsu assumed. He wondered why Oso and Kamimatsu hadn't been so buddy-buddy last night, when he clearly remembered that those two joined forces for him to end up in this dimension in the first place.

 _Then again.. people change. And Oso probably did too. Or maybe Oso was never bad in the first place._

"So let's go."

The duo then left the room without another word, though Ichi made sure to glance at the sleeping Jyushi before he closed the door. Jyushi seemed to be at peace when he was sleeping, unlike earlier, wherein he as screaming and looking at everyone as if they were out to kill him. Ichi's eyes softened when he saw Jyushi cuddle a pillow close to his chest and bury his face in it. Jyushi must have lost Kiiro-kun at the manor, which meant that Kiiro-kun has probably burned to ashes as well.

 _Maybe I'll make another stuffed toy for him._

Jyushi was still a kid and who wanted something to cuddle with when he's sleeping, even if the others say he's growing up and didn't really need one anymore. Ichi really hoped that he, Jyushi, doesn't lose that innocence of his. If he does, nothing would be as bright anymore. Jyushi would break completely. Reality was harsh, and that was a fact that Jyushi himself knew. But what Jyushi didn't know was that Ichi sugar-coated it just a bit, so everything didn't seem as bad.

Call it selfish, but Jyushi needed to learn about these kinds of things himself and not by seeing his brother commit so much sins. Jyushi didn't need to suffer anymore.

 _And god, please don't make him suffer even more than this._

"Sweet dreams, Jyushi." He whispered under his breath, before closing the door quietly and following after the now-noisy Osomatsu who was now riled up to capture Kamimatsu once and for all.

 _Fate, you're an even bigger asshole than I am. If you're gonna hurt Jyushi, go through me first._

Despite how much of a sinner he was, Ichi truly loved his brother.

 _That is the only truth in this world full of liars._

* * *

"I don't like them."

Jyushi immediately sat up upon hearing the voice, yellow eyes widened in fear. He put his sleeve-clad hands over his mouth as everything in the room seemingly mingled with one another to create a monstrosity of a dimension. He needed to keep his mouth shut despite the amount of cries of help he wanted to make right now. Keeping himself silent was much more important than blocking the voices who were speaking to him all at once.

Suddenly, Jyushi could feel something latch onto his back, holding both of Jyushi's shoulders. Black, claw-like hands pressed against Jyushi's hospital gown, but it didn't cause the fragile and thin fabric to tear. Rather, the claws dug into Jyushi's shoulder blades instead, and the yellow-eyed male had to stifle his pained cries. Whatever was latching onto his back also placed their chin on top of Jyushi's head, indicating that they were taller and bigger than him, something to be feared.

"I don't like them." The voice repeated, but this time, the hatred was obvious.

It was only then that Jyushi realized he was no longer in the hospital room. One of the hands of the creature latching onto his back went to cover Jyushi's eyes, but Jyushi still kept his hands on his mouth to prevent himself from making any sort of sound. The creature's free hand was still on his shoulder, and it's grip was tightening even more. The claws didn't help, and it was causing such a painful feeling on Jyushi's shoulder blade.

"Why didn't you trust me?" The voice spoke again, feigning hurt. "Why? Why didn't you trust me?"

 _I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say so much._

"Why didn't you just keep your mouth shut?"

 _I don't know._

"Why do you have to be so useless?"

 _I wonder that everyday too._

Jyushi decided to give up for the time being. What was the point in fighting for something you couldn't even remember? Jyushi didn't know. He knew nothing anymore. Not even his own memories that were shrouded by thick smoke.

"Remember. I'm the only one you can trust. I'm your friend."

 _Yes you are._

Jyushi blacked out after accepting that fact.


	111. Chapter 111: Gold Eyes, Red Footprints

All it took for them to gain access over every single file in the offices in the hospital was for Ichi to say his full name and the company he worked for, as well as a few bills to keep the staff quiet. Oh, and a hand-written letter from Ichi claiming that he was the real deal of a president and that if word catches on to the media or press, Ichi would have their butts on his office wall in plates. It was impressive to see a clone of Ichimatsu do things with diligence and utmost seriousness, and Osomatsu couldn't even understand half the words Ichi had said. Probably some rich-person-who-also-happens-to-be-a-president-of-a-company kind of language, in Osomatsu's opinion.

And here they were now, in a storage room with a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorknob, as suggested by Ichi so that they wouldn't get disturbed as they scanned through the files and took notes about important things, such as the dates certain staff members were hired, and information about patients and their reasons for ending up in the hospital. Well, Ichi was doing the latter, writing as quick as he could in his little purple planner that had a leather cover and multiple papers and bookmarks sticking out. That obviously meant that Ichi was one of those people who multi-tasked and planned ahead.

Osomatsu was just grabbing the files of the pretty nurses who worked at the hospital and taking a good long look at them, especially this one who had quite a big chest that was obvious in her portrait-

"Matsuno, you idiot!" Ichi barked, a vein appearing on his forehead. Osomatsu just realized that Ichi had another pair of glasses. Did he pull another pair from earlier? If so, Osomatsu didn't notice such a thing. Or maybe he did, but forgot due to the fact he was a teeny bit excited about seeing the files of cute nurses. Hey, Osomatsu had no shame when it comes to cute girls, even at times like this. "Stop doing that! We have work to do and you are not helping in the slightest! I told you that we would just focus on the important stuff! Why are you ogling at those nurses' portraits?!"

"But you gotta admit that she's pretty cute-"

"No she isn't! Kindly fuck off or help me in this, Matsuno! Because you're not helping at all!" Growled Ichi. "I did not just give money to shut them up only to not find something, and your sick hobbies is only making this task harder! This is work we're doing here, and it's for my brother! Unless you want him to suffer even more than he already has, do something that's actually useful!" He said as he stood up and gripped his purple planner with his one hand tightly, and Oso feared he might actually crush it.

"Alright, alright!" Osoomatsu put his hands together in front of him as if to defend himself from Ichi's harsh words that could rival Todomatsu's in how blunt and real they were. And he certainly didn't need an arrow up his ass again. That'd be a pain to take off. "Geez! No need to be so harsh 'bout it, Ichi! Sheesh, I think that physically hurt me!" He whined playfully.

The purple-eyed male only growled at his little act in annoyance. Ichi grumbled about something as he sat back down on the floor, writing something in his planner with his pen again. But if he were to keep up with how rough he was pressing the tip of the pen against the thin paper, he'd probably rip a page, which could lead to more irritation. "Tch. How are you so calm about this? Especially when things are getting weirder and weirder.."

"You say that after we just went through a hellish party that had some psycho controlling your brother." Osomatsu scoffed.

"That's besides the point, Matsuno! You don't think I remember something that happened just last night?! I hadn't even gotten decent sleep since yesterday! I had to make sure my employees were fine and the guests from the party didn't say a word! But I failed the latter, and the press is gonna eat my ass if I'm seen in public, with or without protection!" Ichi hissed, slamming his planner down on the floor. "Besides that, I still have a lot of questions to ask of you regarding the world you came from! You can't just waltz in this dimension and expect us to go along with whatever plan you have without explaining things to us! Especially if you're having my brother involved in this..!"

"Hey! You're making it sound like I'm about to do the same incident from last time, which was clearly not my fault! And in my defense, Kara and Todo already know, as well as Chibita and Iyami." Suddenly, Ichi swatted him in the head with his planner. And it hurt, especially since the cover was leather. "Ow! What did I say?!"

"What about me, Jyushi, and Kodoku?!" He snapped, raising the same hand he used to smack Osomatsu with. At least it wasn't the hard-covered planner this time. "The three of us don't know much, and from what I know, we're part of this as well! I refuse to assist you if I don't completely understand the entire story!" Ichi hissed. "And I doubt Kodoku even knows about this at all!"

"You're right. He doesn't know. But I told you the basics two days ago, hell, you even listened to Choromatsu reminding me of how I ended up here- OW! Stop hitting me!"

"Then explain everything! Be specific when you do so, that is an order!"

"What am I, your servant?! That's- OW! ICHI!"

"Explain!" Ichi barked out, face turning red from the anger he was experiencing. It was a mix of anger, irritation, annoyance, and sleep deprivation. And Ichi needed a nap. Maybe a mug of black coffee too, as bitter and as dark as his soul. Just anything that could cause him to be less sleepy and irritable, because he wondered why the hell did he even have to put up with an idiot like Osomatsu. He wasn't that much of an idiot earlier! Did all it take for him to turn back into a moron was to see a pretty nurse with a big chest?!

"Right now?!"

"Of course! What else does it sound like, Matsuno?!"

"But Lonely's not here- OW!"

"Explain it to me, you fucking idiot!"

"Why are you so pissy today?!"

"Who wouldn't be pissy?! You dragged me out in the cold without a proper disguise on! You risked my life!"

"W-What?! Dude, you're overreacting!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

A loud thump on the door stopped their bickering. "Can you two not. You may be in the storage room, but people passing by can still hear you." A monotone voice said from the other side of the door. They realized it was the voice of Choro's nurse, Shiyou, and there seemed to be a bit of annoyance on her voice. "You two were given a room to do your little treasure hunt, but at least keep it down. This is a hospital and we need tranquility for the patients to heal better, and you two are certainly doing a ruckus loud enough to be heard over these halls."

Both looked at each other. "Oh, um, sorry for the ruckus, Shiyou-san." Osomatsu said in an apologetic tone, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"..Apologies." Ichi grunted out, crossing his arms and sitting back down on the floor.

"Wait, what are you doing here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be at Lo- Choro's room?" Osomatsu asked.

"She's a nurse. She probably went to pick something up. I mean, she works here, so of course she's gonna walk by." Ichi rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms, eyeing at the mess on the floor. Folders, papers, pens, and envelopes were all over the place now. Ichi really hated the fact they had to do this in a storage room, of all places, but if they wanted to keep their little mission a secret, they would have to deal with this for now.

And then the door clicked. The duo's heads perked up at the sound.

 _Wait.. doesn't that sound mean that-?_

"Actually.." Shiyou seemed to be chuckling from the other side of the door, and her chuckles sent shivers down their spines. "I just had to finish a bit of something. And I just did. After all, 'he' must be waiting. And getting rather impatient too. But we don't need anymore nuisances now, do we? So I'll leave you two to your little mission."

Immediately, Ichi jumped up and reached out for the doorknob. But much to his horror, when he turned it, the door didn't open. The door was locked from outside.

 _Oh fuck! Does this mean that Shiyou-san is-?!_

"Let us out!" Ichi roared, thumping on the door with his fists. "Ningyou! Let us out!"

But she didn't reply. They just heard the sound of her heels clicking against the floor as she left, cackling. Ichi continued to bang on the door repeatedly, screaming out curses at the nurse.

 _Does this mean that Shiyou-san is.. being controlled by Kamimatsu?!_

Osomatsu looked down on his feet.

 _Shit. I guess golden eyes aren't to be trusted at all times.._

* * *

Todo sighed as he stuffed his hands back in his pockets, walking back to Jyushi's room. He had chatted with Kara and Kaoru for a bit, seeing as Lonely was still unconscious because of the bleeding wound. He really felt bad for not coming along with Osomatsu and the others earlier when they left, but seeing as how Jyushi had been clinging onto him, Todo didn't really have to, not when he was needed. And that felt nice. Being needed and all. Todo didn't really have confidence in himself, and even though it felt uncomfortable, it felt nice to be wanted.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw the door of Jyushi's room wide open, seemingly broken and with scratches on it too. There were red footprints that were most likely leading somewhere else, but Todo needed to know one thing first.

 _Is Jyushi in the room?_

"What the hell..?!" He muttered under his breath, before running inside the room. "Jyushi?! Jyushi, where are you?!"

And much to his horror, Jyushi wasn't. The windows were shut tight, the blankets and pillows were on the floor, and the bed seemed to be stained with the same red footprints from outside the room. He could also see Jyushi's silk white stockings from earlier, but they were stained red now and were just on the floor. The stack of printer paper from earlier wasn't as blank as it was earlier, and Todo was sure that every single paper had something red in them. Or scribbles of crayons that were a mix of purple, red, and black. Speaking of crayons, a lot of them were now in half on the floor, and the box from earlier seemed to be nowhere in sight, leaving a mess.

Todo himself didn't even know what was much worse; the mess of crayons and papers, or the red footprints and stockings. Either way, they were disturbing as hell. Especially since some of the papers had the red footprints in them.

And Todo wasn't stupid; he knew that was blood.

 _Where the fuck is Jyushi?! He couldn't have left! He can't walk, he was scared to leave this room to begin with.. and where did all this blood come from?! Are his feet bleeding?! That doesn't even make any sense-!_

But then he noticed something on the floor, something that stood out from the rest of the papers. He picked it up with his thumb and index finger, inspecting the little drawing Jyushi seemingly made. It was odd, since it looked bad compared to the other drawings Jyushi made from earlier. It was a drawing of Jyushi, large blue tears in his eyes while something seemed to be behind him. Upon close inspection, Todo realized what it was. It may have been a crude drawing made in crayon, but Todo instantly knew who the other was just by seeing those eyes.

It was Ichi.


	112. Chapter 112: Sweet Devil, Bitter Angel

The hospital had an area which served as a place for the patients to stroll around if they wanted to leave their stuffy and boring hospital rooms for awhile. It wasn't too bad, as trees surrounded the area. Normally, there would be flowers here too, but as it was winter, the trees were covered in snow and the pots were empty. Not only that, but the ground was covered in snow, probably enough to freeze one's entire foot. They needed boots if they wanted to take a nice walk without risking their feet getting frozen.

Except Jyushi was walking barefoot as he followed what the creature that was holding onto his shoulder was saying. Unlike earlier, the creature looked more human than monstrous. The creature now resembled a human, taller than Jyushi as Jyushi only reached his shoulders. Despite that, the creature was covered in a mixture of black and violet goop that dripped onto the pure white snow, causing it to melt.

Jyushi slowly walked with the assistance of his cane, ignoring the stinging pain on his feet, which had bled earlier. They felt a bit better upon stepping on the cold snow which contrasted against the rather hot sensation on his feet. Not entirely Jyushi's fault, since his "friend" had thought it was best to coax Jyushi into going outside by "playing" around a bit with Jyushi's feet and making them bleed. Jyushi didn't know why, but he seemed to be unable to walk, as he wobbled as soon as he kicked the blankets off him and tried to stand up. And when he removed his bloody stockings, he found out that there seemed to be bruises on his legs, leaving him to wonder where they were from.

"Forward." His friend instructed him.

Jyushi put his cane in front of him and continued to walk forward, when there was clearly nothing beyond them besides even more snow. But who the hell was he to question that? He nodded and continued on walking, the cold sensation on his feet no longer bothering him. Still, there was a bit of sore feeling in his legs, and whatever it was, Jyushi didn't like it. He didn't like the slimy feeling on his shoulder either, but if he were to say something about that, his friend might do something drastic again. And the thing with his feet already hurt.

"You know." His friend spoke up. "I saved you. From that nurse. The one that's supposedly treating your friend. If you didn't leave the bed, she would have walked over to your room at this time, and killed you. She's not normal, you know." He clicked his tongue. "And you were so hesitant on leaving the room too.. geez, if I didn't scratch you up, who knows what could have happened? Those things on your feet are nothing compared to what she could have done to ya, and even then, I did that for a good reason. I saved your ass. You should be thankful."

Jyushi nodded. "You saved me." He said in a monotone voice. He knew that this friend just wanted a compliment. But even if his friend claimed to have been doing something good, it still didn't change the fact that his friend grabbed him by his feet and clawed them and caused them to bleed. Not only that, but they messed up the entire hospital room too. His friend was a bit of a jerk, but if Jyushi were to speak his mind, he'd get worse punishments.

But hey. His friend was looking out for him..

 _..Right..?_

"Heck yeah I did. I'm the best." His friend chuckled. "But I really hope we get me a proper physical body soon. This is disgusting, eh? Slime and shit."

Jyushi didn't answer. If he agreed, there's a chance he was going to get hit. Though he was also sure that if he didn't speak, his friend might berate him for being so rude and deciding not to question at all. But being scolded was better than being hit. And the slime was actually disgusting. Jyushi didn't want to get any on his face at all. It was so slimy, and warm against his skin, and it was causing the snow to melt, so there was a chance that it was acidic too. Jyushi certainly didn't want to have his face melt off. That would be painful.

And that seemed to have been the best option, as his friend seemed pleased. "You're too nice." He scoffed. "Your kindness is gonna get you killed. Even without your memories, you just can't help but be a crybaby instead of fightin' for yourself for once. Heh, looks like that bastard's back-up plan backfired on him."

That caught Jyushi's attention. "Who-?"

"You'll see, bud. Trust me, he's an asshole. But it won't take much to lure him out." He snapped his fingers with his free hand. A red sphere appeared on his hand. "But lemme tell you something. He's considered to be perfect. The embodiment of perfection. Kindness, grace, and talent? He has everything. Hell, even if he has the same face as six other shitheads, he's still considered good-looking. I absolutely hate him since he's a pompous, arrogant, son of a bitch, and not only that." He raised the sphere above his head. "But 'cuz of him, I nearly effin' died. Like, no kidding. I live on the shitty behavior of six fuckin' brats, but he decided to throw one of 'em into this dimension. And not just that. He got one of 'em weakened up too." He clicked his tongue. "And revenge is shitty and petty. Hence why I'm doing it."

Well, Jyushi was already aware that his friend wasn't completely human. Though he didn't understand what he just said. Still, he nodded in agreement.

"And thing is? The brats in this dimension are too soft. Unlike the other dimensions where they at least have a bit of evil in them.. these guys in this dimension are incapable of evil. Even the purple-eyed one, and he's a murderer!" The red sphere split into six, surrounding them both. "The blue one's self explanatory. He's too much of a good guy. The pink one is actually a good guy who pretends to be shitty, but is bad at being shitty! The green one.. I don't even know, he's weird as fuck. And the red one.. there's somethin' about him, and I can say that it's not evil." He removed his hand from Jyushi, leaving a small amount of slime on the other's shoulder. "And then there's you."

 _What about me?_

"..You're an interesting case." He chuckled darkly. "You've done nothing wrong in your life. You're a naive kid, who grew up to be so kind and trusting, and optimistic too.. but even with that kindness, you suffered so much. Yet, you still smile and pretend that everything is fine and dandy. Interesting. You could have been the strongest in this dimension.. if you weren't so kind. Hell, I would have picked the green guy over ya, but as I said, that guy's freaking weird. Not only that, but there was something preventing me from getting into his head. Whatever the fuck it was, it was tough."

The red spheres started glowing. The atmosphere felt warmer, even with the snow.

"You'll be bait again, okay?"

 _.."Again"?_

"Oh wait. I'm a fuckin' moron. All ya need to know is that you were kinda used as bait yesterday. And it worked. Anyway, let's get this party started! I have a pompous prick that I need to kill!" He cupped his hands right where his mouth should have been if he wasn't a walking mess of slime. "Oi, Kamimatsu! It's me! Long time no see, eh, brother? So, how does it feel?! Hidin' behind your shitty powers and tryin' so hard to undo a brat's mistake?! A mistake that lead to everything, eh?! You're a fucking genius! Now!" He started cackling. "Come out and face me like a man!"

In response, something flew at their direction. Jyushi's eyes widened, but then a red barrier surrounded him, blocking him from the golden spheres that were aiming at him.

"Hahahaha! Come out! Or do you not have anymore puppets to use besides that nurse from earlier?! Idiot!" The slime on his friend's body seemed to be dripping everywhere, but it didn't seem to make his somewhat-human form any less. Some of the slime dripped on the barrier Jyushi was trapped in, and he couldn't even see what his friend was doing anymore. The creature covered in slime raised his arm above his head. "Not even your puppets are strong! They all break free from your control! And why?! Because you let a brat take your own powers and use them against you! Pathetic!"

More golden spheres appeared. "Such a nuisance."

Jyushi couldn't see with the slime covering the barrier his friend made to protect him, but he was sure that the voice didn't belong to his friend. Yet, even with his memories fuzzy, that voice sounded so familiar..

 _"My name is Kamimatsu."_

Jyushi's eyes widened as images flashed before him. He found himself being held in the neck by an older man with piercing red eyes, redder than the blood stained on his knife.

 _"If you wish to protect what is most important to you, you have to make a deal with me."_

Jyushi looked down and he could see his own hands moving and pressing the keys of a piano in a delicate manner, as if the keys were glass. Besides the pleasant sound coming from the piano, he could hear a music box as well.

 _"Since I'm already in you, you have no choice in this manner. If you force me out, chances are, you're gonna die."_

He found himself turning around and seeing six similar faces, all similar to his. They all had such shocked expressions, but one of them was kneeling on the floor and clutching both sides of his head, as if trying to block the sounds surrounding him.

 _"But here's a thing; if you give me something important to you, material or not, you'll get my power and I'm not gonna shorten your lifespan or anything. As in, something really important to you. The more valuable, the stronger the power."_

He looked at his own palms. Blood.

 _"So? What should it be, Jyushi-kun? You said you wanted to protect your brother from Koroshi Tougou. Will it be your little stuffed animal that he made for you? Perhaps the ring on your finger? Or maybe even one of your eyes? They are rather pretty. Similar to mine.. but your's.. they are brighter. Like the sun."_

He saw Ichi standing in front of him, a small smile on his face as he outstretched a hand towards him. He opened his lips and mouthed something, but Jyushi couldn't hear what Ichi was trying to say.

Suddenly, Jyushi was hearing his own voice.

 _"..Please.. I want.. my nii-san to be safe.. so.. I'll do anything.. all of our promises together.. all of our dreams.. all of our times together.. I'll sacrifice them all for Ichi-niisan's safety. So.. I'll sacrifice my everything. I'll sacrifice what is most important to me."_

And now, the Ichi in front of him was no longer happy. Even his clothes changed from what seemed to be his normal work outfit to a suit, and there was even blood on Ichi's cheek. Again, he was reaching out for Jyushi, and there seemed to be desperation in his eyes.

Now, he was hearing someone else's voice. It was Ichi's.

 _"Please! Don't take him away from me, he's my little brother!"_

Jyushi reached out for Ichi as well. But the moment their hands met, Ichi suddenly faded away.

 _"I'll give my memories! All of them.. all of the precious times I spent with Ichi-niisan! And Flag Corporation, every single employee! Hatabou, Ookina-san, Fuyu-san, Yuki-san, Homura-san, Hana-san, Kaoru-san, Ken-san.. even Sokomi-neesan and her sisters, Chibita-san, Iyami-san, Lonely, Todo-niisan, Kara-niisan.. and Osomatsu-niisan! To keep them safe.. please, take away these memories! If not for them, I wouldn't have had such a good life.. even when my own papa hurt me and my mama.. please! Keep Ichi-niisan safe! In exchange, I'll give you my memories!"_

Kamimatsu flashed before him, and he just realized that they had the same face, with the exception that Kamimatsu was wearing a white hoodie and had two cowlicks. His eyes seemed to be a different shade of yellow. Gold, maybe? But that wasn't important. Kamimatsu was smiling at him.

 _"Ooh. They seem to be very valuable indeed. These memories are what make you.. well, you. I'll be taking these now, hm? Now.. close your eyes. I'll make sure Koroshi Tougou dies tonight, don't worry. Let's just let him think that he actually has a chance against you.. and Oso."_

The barrier finally shattered when another golden sphere had hit. But instead of seeing a slime-covered figure of a human, someone was now standing in front of Jyushi. Jyushi could only see them from behind, but he could see that they had wild spiky black hair with two cowlicks. The figure seemed to be wearing a black hoodie, jeans, and untied black shoes, with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He glanced at Jyushi, and Jyushi realized that the figure seemed to be wearing a mask that covered his entire face. The mask was black and had two red eyes and a grin, showing rows of sharp teeth.

And floating above them, was Kamimatsu, who look disgusted.

"Akumatsu.." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "How despicable. Using a human's energy to give yourself a physical form."

The figure, Akumatsu, shrugged as he chuckled and turned to face Kamimatsu. "This actually feels nice. I bet I have a better face than your's." Again, he glanced at Jyushi. "Yo. I'll be usin' your power for awhile, buddy. Thanks for cooperating. Now stay there like a good boy or I'll tear your legs off." He turned back to Kamimatsu and snapped his fingers. More red spheres appeared. "Now, let me show you how grateful I am for nearly killing me by banishing Matsuno Osomatsu to this dimension, Kamimatsu!"

Kamimatsu scoffed. "Disgusting. A world such as this is truly flawed. I can't believe I even let Oso help me in the first place. He's such a nuisance." He raised an arm above his head, summoning spheres of his own that would counter Akumatsu's. A sword also appeared above him, and he grabbed it with his right hand. "But I do like a good challenge. And I'll finally get rid of you and get my powers back."

Akumatsu started to cackle. "And they said I'm evil and shitty! But really, the shitty one here is you! You're so selfish for tricking the Matsuno Osomatsu of this world into thinking he can get happiness.. by getting rid of someone else's! You're the shittiest, and it's just so fucking ironic! Hahaha!" Another barrier surrounded Jyushi as Akumatsu prepared to jump. "Enough chit-chat! Die!"


	113. Chapter 113: The King's Pawns

"Let us out!"

The door wasn't anything Ichi could normally break with his fists or by normally kicking it down. It was a heavy steel door that were similar to the fire exits one would see in any building, and if there was one person that could break steel doors, it was Katsuna Todo. But he wasn't there at the moment. It was only Ichi and Osomatsu, and the latter was having an conversation with Choromatsu using his phone. It wasn't really a conversation when everything they were doing was screaming at one another to calm down while both of them were freaking out. Hypocrites, he thought with his ever-present scowl.

He looked at his own hands. He'd been banging on the door for awhile now, and his fists were a bit sore and red from how hard he tried to knock the door down. Still, he shouldn't give up so easily. What kind of company president would he be if he gave up so easily? He wasn't a coward. His pride wouldn't let him give up in the same room as Matsuno Osomatsu, dubbed as the biggest idiot who has ever lived in Ichi's book. And he was trying his utmost best not to just grab Osomatsu and bang him against the door in futile hopes that the door would open.

Crap. He left his phone at his bag at Jyushi's room. He can't contact Dekapan or anyone from Flag Corporation to get them out. And this hallway, where the storage room was located, was usually empty, so it could take hours for the duo to get out, unless someone walked by. The chances of someone walking by the storage room were low though, since it was a rather busy day at the hospital and most of the staff were scurrying at the lobby or fussing over their patients. Damn, Ichi never wished for someone to slack on the job, because he was sure that the storage room was the best place to nap.

He remembered that very few employees in Flag Corporation ever got fired, because Ichi handpicked every single one of them. He could see their potential and their willingness to work so hard, and Ichi was thankful for that. That meant he seldom needed to worry about employees, because he had pride in them that they would do their work with diligence instead of slacking around like the employees companies that rivaled Flag Corporation. Hand-picking employees who he knew absolutely needed jobs not only helped his company in their growth, but also the employees themselves. Fuyu and Yuki were an example of this, and Ichi wiped Yuki's debt clean the moment Yuki accepted Ichi's offer.

It may not seem like it, but Ichi did care for his employees. Just not as much as he cared for Jyushi, but that was understandable, as Jyushi was what was most important to Ichi and he didn't mind showing that openly. It hurt him so much to see Jyushi in a state of fear, and he hated whatever it was that caused Jyushi to lose his memories. He couldn't deny the slight jealousy he felt when Jyushi clung onto Todo out of fear either, but no way in hell was he going to admit that. That was petty, and Suuji Ichi was too prideful and had a big ego to let something like envy or other negative emotions become obvious.

He wanted to punch Todo though. But he probably won't, because even if Todo didn't do anything that lead to Jyushi thinking he was his brother, Todo still helped him out last night in protecting Jyushi, even though the results were.. not what Ichi was expecting. They lost Hatabou, a valuable employee and friend, and Ichi hoped that Hatabou was resting in heaven at peace, maybe even having a tea party with his mother. He didn't know what to say about Tougou, however, because Tougou was a sick-minded criminal who didn't know how to cope with the death of his wife.

 _Still, that doesn't justify anything. He killed many. But for what cost? A sick hobby to distract him from how cruel reality is?_

Ichi looked at his own fists again, but mostly, his attention was focused on the silver ring on his left index finger. A small silver ring that he had engraved with an important number as soon as he managed to get enough time. It was a smooth metallic piece of jewelry that he rarely took off, even when taking a bath. And Jyushi's was often hidden underneath cotton gloves and long sleeves that covered his hands. But even with those covering the ring, Ichi felt as if there was always a connection between him and his little brother. They had the same blood after all.

 _Jyushi.._

He knew he had to get out of here. So even if banging on the door hurts him so much, he needed to keep on doing it, even if all of his fingers were to break and blled. Jyushi needed him. He could tell. He could just imagine what pain Jyushi was going through, all alone in the hospital room. Whatever the hell Jyushi's "friend" was, Ichi hoped that it was physical so he could grab it by the neck and toss it outside the window just like the garbage it probably was.

 _I promised her.. I promised her that I would protect Jyushi.. and I'm not breaking my promise with her._

Another bang. Futile. It did nothing, not even a dent. But what it did do was cause a stinging sensation on Ichi's fists. "I swear to god, if we don't find a way out of here, I'm using Matsuno to break the door down!" He growled, his fists stinging from the pain. Shiyou was out there, and apparently, she was possessed by Kamimatsu. As a nurse, Shiyou could enter Jyushi's room without it being too suspicious.. and that was the problem. She could harm Ichi's little brother at any given moment without looking suspicious.

Osomatsu's head snapped towards him. "Wait, what?!"

 **"For fuck's sake, there is literally an application there that I sent last night! Karamatsu-niisan's other self used it yesterday, when you were passed out, you stupid eldest brother!"**

Osomatsu once again turned back to the phone, where he could see Choromatsu looking at him as if he just broke in some pretty girl's house in the middle of the night. Well, not really, but Choromatsu was looking at him as if he were the biggest idiot in all of Japan- no, wait, the world. How rude. Choromatsu didn't need to make that clear."..Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" He whined, scanning through the applications on the phone. And there he saw yet another icon besides the messenger app, the video caller app, the code cracker app, and the shield app. It read "SurgeOfEnergyTest1007" when he opened it, and displayed nothing but a gray screen and a green button. "God, Risingfappyski! How the fuck does this work?! And did you honestly take a one thousand and seven tests just to get this program to work?! How are you still alive?! Do we oew Dekapan our kidneys now?!"

 **"It's Choromatsu! Stop calling me that, you might influence the other versions of us to call me that! Argh, you should have asked about that too! It completely slipped from my mind that we sent you that last night!"**

Osomatsu quieted down as Choromatsu stopped screaming. While he did exit the application, he did leave the application activated, so he could hear Choromatsu's voice but not see his face. Kind of like an actual phone call. It could have been one if they weren't chatting at different dimensions. "..Oh, so it's not my fault then! Wow, Choromatsu! Getting old already?" He grinned cheekily as he laughed, rubbing his nose with his finger. He could feel Ichi's judging lok at him, and if Choromatsu were able to see, he'd probably judge him too.

 **"..Idiot. Anyway, make sure that Ichimatsu's other self is not in front of you. We don't want him getting hit. It's fairly simple to use. Just push the button. It sends a surge of energy to turn into some sort of energy wave that can knock things over, people or objects. The less tired you are, the better it works. If someone like Jyushimatsu takes a hold of it, we'd all be dead."**

Ah. Was it a way to attack? Oso only had his fists to use after all, and he wasn't even able to showcase his abilities last night. Maybe he did get a chance to fight against Tougou and a possessed Jyushi, but still. Fists against magical bullshit wasn't really a fair move. Especially since he had to wait for something to attack him before he could counter it. It was basically waiting for death, except Oso had to punch death from where the fuck it came form. He wasn't complaining though, it saved his and Todo's ass, and if the application was human, he'd give it a kiss as thanks.

 _..Okay, what the fuck. Have I been trapped in this room for so long that I actually thought of kissing a phone application?_

He pushed that thought aside. "So, is it similar to the dimensional shield?"

 **"Think of it that way, except this one doesn't require you getting aimed at by a gun, or any sort of projectile. Rather, it uses up a bit of your energy, so you'll feel a bit tired after. But it only takes a few deep breaths, maybe even a glass of water or a sandwich or two, to get your energy back. It just makes you feel like you ran a mile. As long as you don't abuse the hell out of it, it's fine. Using it too much will cause you to collapse and need a rest."**

"Yes, but do we need to sell our kidneys to Dekapan-"

 **"And to answer your question from earlier; yes. It took us exactly one thousand and seven tests just to get that to work. No, we don't owe Dekapan anything, especially not our kidneys. So please don't get yourself killed, or I'll revive you from the dead and kill you yet again. We didn't make that program just for your idiotic ass to die off."**

"Neat application, Risingfappyski." Oso grinned, fiddling with his phone and ignoring Choromatsu's threat and squawk at the nickname. "Guess I'll use it now. This room is makin' me feel claustrophobic, and I'm pretty sure Ichi can't handle being stuck here with me for another minute." He saw Ichi turn away and scoff. "Thanks for the heads up, Choromatsu. I'll call ya later."

 **"Alright. As I said, stay safe, Osomatsu-niisan."**

He chuckled. "Will do." After hearing a beep, he knew Choromatsu hung up. His eyes softened. He really missed having an argument with Choromatsu, and today's call just made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Gross, he thought with a laugh. "Silly little brothers, always worrying for nii-san.. I really don't deserve them." He mumbled as he turned to Ichi. "Alright! Stand back, Ichi. I don't wanna hurt myself when you hit the door."

"Idiot." Ichi clicked his tongue in annoyance, picking up his pen and journal and shuffling through the papers and files that they didn't even bother to clean up. "Well, this was a waste of time." He mumbled as he walked besides Osomatsu, grumbling. He really didn't like wasting time. As a president, time was everything. "We didn't learn anything new at all."

"We learned that Shiyou-san is working with Kamimatsu." Osomatsu piped up.

Ichi raised an eyebrow, adjusting his glasses that Osomatsu still wondered where he got from god knows where. "Yes, but didn't you say there were two?"

The eldest Matsuno shrugged. "We'll burn that bridge when we get there."

The look on Ichi's face was absolutely priceless. "Don't you mean 'cross'?!" He shrieked. "Are you implying we'll screw up?!"

"Look, you're with me, so we probably will."

"Why am I even-"

Ichi was cut off when Osomatsu pushed the button, and all of a sudden, Osomatsu flew back, hitting Ichi and causing them to crash against the boxes in the storage room. The door was blown away, and even the papers in the room fluttered, reminding Ichi of the Monochrome Dreamland from yesterday. Osomatsu got up, hair ruffled, but he combed it back and started laughing as he jumped up.

"So cool!" With that, Osomatsu ran out of the room. "I'm gonna use this to kill Shiyou-san!"

"Matsuno!" Ichi scrambled to his feet. "Your brother just told you to not use it unnecessarily!"

"Sorry, Ichi!" Osomatsu yelled in a cheery voice. "But I'm not pompous enough to know what 'unnecessarily' means!"

"MATSUNO!"


	114. Chapter 114: The Beginning's End

Lonely jolted awake when Todo slammed his door open, startling Kara and Kaoru as well. The green-eyed magician was honestly so lost on how he ended up at the hospital again, and the fact that the windows were now covered with planks of wood only added to his confusion even more. Not only that, but he felt something tight around his forehead, and when he ran his fingers over whatever it was, he realized it had a rather rough texture. Were these bandages? And what was with his head? He felt like he just bumped his head into a hard piece of metal, because this headache was murdering him slowly. He squinted a bit and saw Kaoru looking at him in concern, but then there was Kara at the doorway, trying to calm down a hysterical Todo.

"My dear friend, what seems to be the matter?! You were here not too long ago, whatever is the matter?!" Kara asked, holding both of Todo's wrists with a tight grip, but for someone like Todo, it probably felt like a bunch of clothes hangers were just hanging off his arms. He must have been unaware that he slipped into his painful language, but if he was aware, he was probably using it to calm down Todo, who was trying to say something in the midst of his screaming and harsh breathing. There was also something in Todo's hands, but as far as Lonely was concerned, it was just paper. "You need to calm down, you're pale-!"

"Jyushi's not in his bed, Kara! Jyushi can't even fucking stand, how the fuck did he leave?!" Todo yelled. Kara and Kaoru immediately paled, and so did Lonely.

Despite that, Kara kept a tight hold on Todo's wrists. "Todo, please, calm down-"

"A-And his door was broken! There were bloody footprints and papers and drawings everywhere! Even his bed!" Hastily, Todo pulled away and unfolded the crumpled paper on his hand, practically shoving it in Kara's face. "Look at this! Remember what I said about Jyushi saying he has some creepy imaginary friend and shit?! Well, look at what demonic piece of evidence I found lying on the floor! I swear, it's probably not even Kamimatsu anymore! It's a demon, Kara! An actual fucking demon-!"

Despite everything Todo just said, Lonely only reacted at the words "demon" and "Kamimatsu". Other than that, hearing that Jyushi, his dear friend Sweets, not being in his hospital bed when he was supposed to be resting, is worrisome. How could he even have left the room? This makes no sense. "Sweets is in danger?! And from a demon?! We must act quickly!" Immediately, Lonely pushed the covers off him and jumped out of his bed. But upon standing up, he felt a painful sensation on one of his feet, causing him to stumble back into the bed and whine in pain.

"Oh! You have a sprained ankle, sweetie! It's not too bad that we have to put it in a cast thankfully, and you may be able to walk in a few days." Kaoru told him, walking over to his side and forcing Lonely to lie back on the bed. "Stretch your foot out. The doctors said we need to put ice packs on that-"

"But I'm perfectly fine! Lonely said, despite the stinging pain in his ankle. It was a darker color than his skin, which probably meant it was swelling. That didn't stop the green-eyed magician from repeatedly struggling against Kaoru.

Kara looked at him as if he was a mental asylum patient, and even Todo stopped screaming halfway his little story. Both individuals looked at one another with confused expressions, before looking back to Lonely. With the way they looked at him and then each other in sync, it was as if they were a pair of twins, particularly the creepy kind that loved to finish each other's sentences and have exact same clothes with complementary colors. Lonely saw a lot of those in the books he read back at the Suuji Manor, and he must admit, he is still rather confused about the fact why he shares the same face with six other people. He really hopes to resolve that soon.

"Um.. your head was bleeding when we found you, Lonely.. we had to patch it up so you don't bleed to death." Kara meekly uttered out, shuddering as he remembered the events from earlier. "I'm pretty sure you fell off a building too? I mean, my old high school friends, Futsumaru and Kusosuke, said you were running around in the cold.. and you fell off a building by slipping off the edge? You landed in a large bag of flour though.. I'm not even gonna ask why you were jumping building to building.. that was a rather dangerous stunt though." He sighed, turning his head. "I don't know what you had to deal with, so I'm not even going to ask why you think jumping from building to building is normal. Just.. don't be too reckless, alright?"

Lonely looked rather appalled, offended, even.

 _"Reckless"? That word doesn't fit me at all! How is it that I, a master of the night, fell off a building, out of sheer recklessness?! Truly that is impossible! Unless.. oh no! C-Could it be.. that my skills as the hero of Akatsuka are getting rusty because I attempted to abandon my duties as the Akatsuka Nightingale?! S-Surely that cannot be it..!_

Todo looked back at Kara and ignored Lonely's existential crisis, something that only Kaoru seemed to notice and care about. "A-Anyway, when I got there, Ichi and Osomatsu weren't there! I doubt they even know about Jyushi not being there, and this drawing is just creepy as fuck, okay? Does he depict Ichi as a demon of some sort?"

Kara took the drawing from Todo's hands. Well.. it was disturbing, he could admit. A nice drawing, but disturbing nonetheless. "Was this all?"

"There were papers with bloodied footprints, but no way in fuck am I picking those up." He looked away, clenching his fists. "Besides that, I looked at even the bathroom and the closets, and not a single sign of Jyushi! I already told Jyushi's doctor and nurse about this, so I hope that they get it cleaned."

"A clean hospital room calms the patient. And Jyushi certainly was not calm earlier!" Kaoru cried. "My poor little Jyushi-chan!"

"And I looked around the food court and other rooms too, but I can't find Jyushi anywhere. And the bloody footprints just disappear after a few corners, so I couldn't follow them forever-"

Todo was cut off as they heard a loud clap of thunder. Kara immediately clung onto Todo out of fear as he shrieked, and the lights flickered for a moment. Lonely jumped in his bed while Kaoru looked around the room curiously, and Todo was trying to calm his friend down.

"What's going on?" Murmured Kaoru, glancing at the window. And then he remembered that it was covered in wooden planks, thanks to a certain somebody snooping out. Shit. He wouldn't get to see what was going on outside then, but he was glad he didn't go to work today. "I doubt that there's supposed to be thunder at winter.."

"..There is not supposed to be thunder in winter, normally." Lonely muttered under his breath, putting his fingers to his chin as if to make it obvious that he had been thinking. Lonely wasn't completely confident in his answer though.. if he remembered the books correctly, that is. He had so much time in fifteen years after all, so he decided to read every single book in the Suuji Manor, and taught himself how to survive such situations. If he wasn't so dedicated to learning, god knows he'd be dead by now. "Unless we are near a large body of water, which we are not. So this cannot be normal.."

Immediately, Todo rushed to the window and tore off one of the wooden planks with his bare hands. Kara called out to him about the dangers of splinters, but Todo didn't listen and pried the wood off the window just to see what was going on outside. "We haven't dealt with anything normal ever since we met with Osomatsu! Why the fuck do we even think that we have a chance of being normal now?! If something seems off, let's just blame fucking Kamimatsu or whatever! I mean, he's probably the reason why Jyushi's so off in the first place!" He hissed through his teeth, pulling yet another plank of wood off.

He could see that the skies were dark, darker than usual, and the clouds were even grayer and heavier. As Lonely's window displayed a view of outside, which had a court in it, meant for strolling. And as expected (Todo honestly needed to get used to supernatural bullshit at this point), there seemed to be something going on in the ground. And by something, he could see golden spheres being hurled back and forth, as well as red spheres, and a large red barrier covering an area which had a tree in it.

 _For fuck's sake.. can't we have ONE normal day?! We had to deal with a psychopath last night, and now, we're dealing with our fucking city being a battlefield for magical bullshit fights?!_

"An interesting sight to behold!" Lonely said in awe, his green eyes sparkling. Unlike the other three, he was the only one who seemed to not be terrified or worried at all. His green eyes were holding such wonder that Todo wanted to smack it off his face. "Nature is truly wonderful to bless us with such a- ah, wait, it seems as if that the apocalypse is falling upon us." He pushed his lips together in what seemed to be a pout. He was frowning now, which probably meant that he realized that it wasn't Mother Nature's blessings. Rather, fate decided to fuck with them yet again."..Drat. I guess Mother Nature is angry?"

 _At you, probably._

"Something is up again, and I'm pretty sure it's not an apocalypse.." Kara nervously fiddled with his hands as he looked at the window. He had the exact same expression as Todo, except he was less pissed off. He was more likely to be worried. "..We dealt with so much oddities in the past few days, especially after getting injected by Osomatsu-niisan's syringe.. do you think this has something to do with-"

"If it's magical bullshit.." Todo took a deep breath. "It's probably Kamimatsu. He's the only one we know that has connections to supernatural shit at this point. And Jyushi might be down there." He bit his lip, before walking away from the window and to the doorway. "..Actually, Jyushi's probably down there. I'm gonna go check it out. You two make sure Lonely doesn't escape again, or I will seize his ass. Jyushi's down there, I can feel it."

"What makes you so sure, Todo-kun?" Asked Kaoru. He may have been an ex-police officer, but he really wanted to go check out what kind of chaos was going on outside. Problem is, he could sense that Todo was the stubborn type. And Kaoru hated to get in an argument with the stubborn types, especially if they were someone like Todo! Even Kara and Lonely seemed to know that. His poor heart wouldn't be able to take it.

Todo stopped in his tracks, though he didn't look back at them. "With everything we've been through, I really don't know how we can stay optimistic. And I know for a fact that it's only going to get worse." He murmured, before exiting the room and slamming the door shut.

Lonely blinked, surprised from Todo suddenly leaving. "..Can I-"

Kara sighed. Todo was going to get himself killed, and he was stuck in here with Lonely. Now, he had no problem with taking care of someone who obviously needed it. But Lonely was just so odd. Nonetheless, he closed his eyes and ruffled the other's hair. "No, you can't go with him."

"Then..may I-"

"No, you may not."


	115. Chapter 115: Pawn of The Devil

"What did I fucking tell you, Matsuno?! Abusing the program isn't my issue, my issue is that you tire yourself out by running around like a complete moron! You won't be able to use the program when you're tired, remember?!" Ichi scolded as Osomatsu took yet another drink of water, as well as a large bite of the sandwich that Ichi for for him at the food court. Maybe running out and cheering wasn't the best idea, especially since Osomatsu got tired after running around. While the eldest Matsuno was thankful that Ichi was nice enough to buy him a sandwich, Ichi also smacked him with his journal again for being an idiot. "Can you hurry up and finish your snack already?! We need to check on Jyushi, and if you die right on the spot, good luck bringing yourself to the emergency room!"

 _Dear god, you're so pissy today. Like, you're so pissy, you remind me of Choromatsu or Todomatsu. Or even Totoko-chan- actually, that's an insult to Totoko-chan. At least she punches a wet fish._

Ichi was going to get a heart attack if he kept screaming at Osomatsu as if the latter had murdered his entire family and ate their remains with a plastic fork. Gross comparison, but with how red his face was and how murderous he looked, that probably was the case. Still. Osomatsu was a bit concerned why he got tired after running just a few corners away from the storage room, while he had no issue running around the maze of a manor last night. But he decided not to mind it much, as he was busy focusing on this cheap egg salad sandwich that Ichi got him.

It even came with a small plastic contained containing a salad and a small plastic spoon! They were kind of cute too! Osomatsu put it in his bag, and maybe he'd eat it as soon as he was done with this sandwich, because even if it was cheap, it was a good sandwich that didn't deserve to be at a hospital's food court-

"Matsuno, can you get any slower than that?!" Ichi hissed. "If something happens to Jyushi, I swear to god, Matsuno! I'm going to shove that sandwich up your ass if you don't hurry the fuck up!"

 _Okay, maybe the salad can wait for me later._

Osomatsu decided to shove the sandwich down his mouth, some crumbs on his face, and then down it with the bottle of water that Ichi also got for him, emptying it completely. Teasing Ichi for being too moody and irritated or snapping at him for the same reason wouldn't be too much of a good idea anyway, so after wiping the crumbs off his face with the sleeve of his red hoodie, he stood up from his seat and stretched. His phone was back in his little red bag now, and he was also done recharging himself just in case something were to kill them again. "Aight. I'm done with my snack now! Let's hustle over to-"

"Osomatsu! Ichi!"

Ah. He knew that voice. Somewhat rough, not too deep, probably belonged to an ex-delinquent, and probably has fluffy pink hair. And sounded an itty bit like Todomatsu too. "Todo?" He turned his head to the direction he heard the sound coming from. Well, this was interesting. Todo looked more of a mess than usual, Osomatsu noted, as some of his hairs were sticking out of place. Was he stressed or something? Never mind that. "Aren't you supposed to be with Kara and Kaoru? And you're kinda pale too, what's with that-"

"I've been there twice already! Where the hell have you guys been?! I went to Lonely's room twice, and the little moron just woke up!" He clenched his fists angrily, gritting his teeth. "When I went to Jyushi's room, you guys weren't there at all! Not only that, but Jyushi himself is not there as well! His room is a mess and bloodied footprints are all over the damn place! Not just that, but there were papers too! And Jyushi's bed sheets had blood as well! Who the fuck wouldn't get scared or worried upon seeing that?! Huh?!"

As expected, Ichi jolted upon hearing about his brother. "W-What?!" Could Jyushi have bled everywhere?! Did Shiyou get to him?! Does he have to call backup now and send Ken-san and the rest of his SWAT Team to infiltrate the hospital?!

"Calm down. You're gonna pass out from the lack of air if you keep on talking like that." Osomatsu grabbed Todo by both his shoulders firmly, not noticing Ichi suffering an inner turmoil from behind him. But then again, who would, with Ichi just staring into nothingness. Todo was at least more obvious. "Deep breaths, Todo. You need to relax a bit. Follow my lead, okay? Deep, steady breaths."

"..Alright." The pink-eyed male nodded and took a deep breath. "..Hah."

"Better?"

"Kinda."

Osomatsu smiled at him. He learned how to deal with situations like this, especially since his brothers were a mess whenever they tried to speak all at once. "Good. Now, continue."

"There's something going on outside.. I don't know what, but I feel like it's Kamimatsu. Golden spheres and all, similar to the ones that Tougou and Jyushi used last night. And the weather's acting funny. It's darker than usual, and it's not even noon! There's something going on, and I feel like Kamimatsu has something to do with it!" He grabbed Osomatsu's wrist. "So you have no choice in this, bastard! We need to go check, Jyushi might be in there! If something happens to him, I will tear off Kamimatsu's eyeballs with my bare hands!"

Thankfully, they were in a much more secluded part of the hospital, because if they weren't, the doctors, nurses, and especially the poor patients, would get a heart attack upon hearing Todo's threat. Osomatsu nodded, grabbing Ichi's wrist as well, as Todo had a grip on Osomatsu's other wrist. "Got it! Lead the way, Tater Tot!"

"Stop calling me that!" The pink-haired punk growled.

Ichi was too caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't realize he was being dragged around by both Osomatsu and Todo to the hallway that lead back to the lobby. A thousand possibilities swirled in his mind, and his anxiety was only building more and more with each passing second. He really wished Jyushi wasn't suffering right now. Jyushi didn't need to suffer anymore than he already had. Ichi couldn't handle seeing his brother so terrified and in pain anymore.

 _This is too much.._

He could only pray that Suuji Nana up in heaven would be patient with him. Because he sure as hell wasn't going to be patient with himself.

* * *

Akumatsu frowned as he hid behind a tree for protection, looking at his hand. It seemed to be dripping with liquid, more slime, and he couldn't help but click his tongue in annoyance. "Physical bodies are a bitch to handle, buddy. Even with your broken legs, you're so lucky that your skin doesn't melt off." He murmured to Jyushi, who was beside him and curled in a ball. He had carried Jyushi behind a tree and set up a barrier when Kamimatsu was getting too powerful, but he wasn't really protecting Jyushi. He just needed Jyushi for now, since Jyushi had enough energy that he could use to keep up this physical form.

He was honest when he said he didn't like the Altmatsus. Unlike the Matsunos, who had a shard of evil that Akumatsu relied on to exist, the Altmatsus didn't seem to possess any, as if they were incapable of evil. Either that, or the evil had been sucked out of them, because he was sure that all of them had a little bit of evil, even if it was just a petty feeling such as envy or greed. But he couldn't absorb it for some reason, and his form was currently unstable, to the point where he was practically non-existent in the physical world, and only Jyushi could see him.

It didn't make any sense. There was a bit of evil within every person, and the Altmatsus were no exception. Yet, for some fucking reason, Akumatsu couldn't sense any evil within them, even though four of them could kill a man if they tried hard enough. Hell, one of them was a murderer!

He used an itty bit of power he got from Jyushi's blood to get a physical form, but it was just a mess of dripping slime that tried to stay up as a human figure. It was utterly gross too. But with a bit of energy, he could form his own body and kick Kamimatsu's ass. The problem was, Jyushi was too weak. Kamimatsu's influence on him the previous day took out most of his energy, but Akumatsu was stuck with Jyushi. He would have picked the green-eyed bastard over a yellow-eyed crybaby, but as he said earlier, there was something protecting Lonely from Akumatsu, which was the reason why he was stuck with Jyushi for now.

And now, his skin was dripping with more slime. Great. Not only that, but Kamimatsu had been summoning golden swords made out of his own powers to attempt and pierce through the red barrier Akumatsu formed around Jyushi, which was supposedly stronger and bigger than the one earlier. "Hand." He told to Jyushi. "No backing out now, buddy. Kamimatsu's out there, wanting to kill me, and I need all your energy to take that fucker down. Back down now, and guess who the fuck is gonna get killed. Ding-ding, it's us both."

Jyushi weakly extended a sleeve-clad hand to the person sitting beside him. The more than Akumatsu used his power to fight against Kamimatsu, the more energy was drained from Jyushi. He honestly felt like passing out. "..Hurry.." Jyushi rasped out, feeling something pulsing within his chest as he leaned back against the tree. "I feel.. weak.."

"That's normal. If you let me punch Kamimatsu to the void, I'll give you back the energy I'm using to form this physical body." He put his hand over Jyushi's, before pressing on his palms with his claws. It was something that came with his physical body, and god knows why. "I ain't sugar-coating anything here, buddy. It's gonna hurt. But the Matsunos handled it pretty well in the past.~" He chuckled at the memory. "You could probably hold on your own too. What I'm doin' here isn't just for me, ya know. It's also for Osomatsu, your so-called 'brother' from the other dimension." Even with the mask covering his face, it seemed as if Jyushi could see through him. "So if you wanna help him, ya gotta help me out here."

 _..Why would.. I want to help Osomatsu-san..?_

"You may not remember much, but I do know for a fact that you do care for him. Which is disgusting, ick."

Despite the questions Jyushi had, he nodded. "..Go ahead."

Akumatsu chuckled from underneath his mask. "Good boy."

"Akumatsu, stop being such a coward!" Kamimatsu called from outside the barrier. "Or I will destroy your shield!"

"Don't listen to 'im, kid. He's just bullshitin'." Akumatsu was now holding Jyushi's hand with both of his clawed hands, the nails pressing against the skin in a way that was sure to pierce through it and make it bleed. "Ready?"

Jyushi couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. "Mm."

The last thing Jyushi saw before he lost consciousness was something black oozing out of his hand.


	116. Chapter 116: The Four Mistakes

_Oh, for fuck's sake. You call this "weird"? Bitch, please. If Kamimatsu was able to control someone's fucking head and destroy someone and spill their guts all over the place.. this is just him baking a fucking cake._

Well, "something going on outside" was the understatement of the entire fucking century, Osomatsu thought. As soon as the trio stepped out of the hospital, the snow was immediately at their faces due to the strong wind, as if there was a blizzard. Osomatsu was glad he was wearing the scarf, but Ichi and Todo? Not so lucky? He kept his grip on his two little brothers tightly as he tried to approach what was in the middle of the area, which seemed to be something red which was surrounding a tree. It was somewhat transparent enough to show that there were two figures within the tree's area, but beside that, Osomatsu couldn't differentiate them from one another. It was probably a barrier, Osomatsu thought.

"Fuck!" That was Todo who cursed. He had raised up his hoodie to protect his face from being pelted by snow, but it wasn't helping, especially since he was wearing such a thin shirt underneath his hoodie. He should have just slipped his hoodie on his pajamas earlier, at least the cotton was thicker and he wouldn't freeze to death. Well, Todo always wanted to die, at least he could do it right here and now. Hell, they didn't even need to bury him! Just leave him on the snow! Despite that wonderful thought, Todo absolutely did not want to die with Osomatsu and Ichi out in the same hellish weather as him. He wasn't sharing his place in hell with those two with him."What's with this weather?! It was just fine earlier when we left the hotel!"

 _Something is definitely wrong then. Even the weather when we looked for Lonely was fine enough, and that was like an hour ago! Or was it two? Tch. As if it matters in the first place. Shit, so Kamimatsu really has something to do with this?!_

As if to prove his point, a golden light appeared a few inches away from the red barrier. And a golden light never meant anything good to both Ichi and Todo, who had to deal with such things the previous night while Osomatsu was passed out. Sure, religious people would associate such a thing with gods, angels, or heaven, but to both of them, it was something to either hate or be terrified of, especially since it was the same color as those energy spheres that were being hurled at them the previous night. "This is unsafe.." Ichi murmured under his breath.

Osomatsu might have heard him and decided to ignore him, or he just wasn't able to hear the purple-eyed megalomaniac because of the sudden blizzard. But Ichi believed that Osomatsu was the type to have done the former; Osomatsu wouldn't listen to him anyway. If Kamimatsu's involved, Osomatsu probably won't listen to him. "We're gonna fucking go through this blizzard as if it's not even here, which could be a bit hard, I mean, we probably might swallow the snow and die instantly, but eh. We have bigger things to worry about. Like freezing in the fucking cold and possibly losing Jyushi and losing sight of that asshole known as Kamimatsu."

"..I'm pretty sure the three of us dying is also considered a threat of some sort." Ichi grumbled, removing his glasses and stuffing it in the pocket of his gray hoodie. He, unfortunately, had no pockets on his pants, and if he loses his third (or was it fourth?) pair of glasses this week because a pair of glasses decided to fall off his pants, he will literally buy the company that produces him these purple-framed glasses and put them just outside his office. He lifted up his hoodie to cover his face from the snow, not liking the chilly feeling on his face at all.

 _For god's sake, winter is the absolute worst season, and this is the entire fucking reason._

The snow was starting to cover up their feet, but Osomatsu kept walking once he was sure that both his brothers were alright. His feet felt rather heavy, but since when did heavy weight stop or burden Osomatsu? He practically carried his five other twins once and survived through it, so something like this should be a piece of cake. Except it wasn't. It was as if something was sticking to his feet and refused to let go, and if Osomatsu wasn't self-conscious about Todo and Ichi thinking he was taking his sweet-ass time dragging them, he would have stopped.

 _Easy steps, Osomatsu. This is gonna be a piece of ca- who the fuck am I kidding, it's a fucking blizzard and we're probably gonna die in here._

The phone in his bag started ringing, but Osomatsu ignored it. He could miss a call or two, especially since he was stuck in a fucking blizzard while both of his hands were occupied. Choromatsu would understand later, and Osomatsu could tolerate the screaming of the third brother. He always did anyway. So he just kept walking, with Todo and Ichi following him. Even with this sudden, familiarly heavy feeling in his chest, he could keep walking-

 _Wait. When.. and where.. have I felt this before?_

He was sure he felt this odd feeling before..

It was as if something was thumping against his chest. Was he full of energy and adrenaline? No, Osomatsu didn't feel like running at all today. But there was something within him, maybe an energy of some sort, that was similar to a fire being fanned. With each step Osomatsu took, the feeling in his chest only became more and more powerful. Yet, it wasn't painful at all. In fact, it was kind of.. good? Like a surge of energy was coursing through his veins, or Osomatsu took a jar of sugar and downed it along with a can of soda. It made him feel jittery.

 _Why do I suddenly want to flip a table? And.. why do I want to punch a cow? And rob a back? And grope someone at a mixer- oh wait, that's normal._

The closer he got to what seemed to be a large red barrier, the dizzier he was getting, as well as more lightheaded. It was as if Osomatsu downed a bottle of beer. That reminded the eldest Matsuno brother that he hadn't gotten a drink in the past week due to stress and anxiety. Maybe he could drink with Todo and Ichi, since Kara said that he didn't like drinking. But back to the point at hand, there was something in that barrier. And whatever it was, it was making Osomatsu feel dizzy.

He swore he saw his brothers when he blinked. Great. He was hallucinating in the middle of a snowstorm.

 _What in the ever living fuck is going on?_

"What's in that thing? People? God, how do they even make those?" Ichi asked as he squinted his eyes, but he knew the answer to that question was something sarcastic from Todo that would more or less just be "magical bullshit" or whatever. They were a few meters away from the shield, and now, there was only one silhouette within the shield. They could see another silhouette within the shield, but unlike the other, it didn't seem to be sitting up. The other silhouette was holding the other in their arms, as if the other was unconscious, but then they moved the other figure so that they were leaning against the tree. "Is.. is one of them.. unconscious-"

And then his eyes widened once the red shield seemingly weakened a bit and became a bit more transparent. Ichi took two steps forward and forced Osomatsu to let go of his wrist so he could move. He leaned forward to take a look at whatever was in the barrier, and when he saw it, the color on his face seemingly disappeared, despite it being obscured by his gray hood.

Lying against the tree and surrounded by a red barrier was Jyushi, unconscious.

* * *

Akumatsu took a look at his hand as he walked away from the barrier after he made sure that Jyushi was safe. It wouldn't be too good if Jyushi died off, because if he did, Akumatsu would immediately melt into a literal puddle of disgusting goop that was warm enough to melt the snow. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. He strengthened the shield and everything, though the shield was much more transparent now, due to expanding too much. Not that it mattered. No one was insane enough to look for Jyushi outside the hospital during a blizzard.

He clenched his fist in front of him as he managed to form a red shield to block more of Kamimatsu's spheres. And it did. He managed to form a strong enough shield, which was now attached to his left arm. "Hehe! Nice one, kid. This feels better than just takin' a bit of your blood and goin' with it. Besides, I don't wanna make your feet bleed too much. Ya might cry and make me feel bad." He glanced at Jyushi. The yellow-eyed male didn't even struggle. "Don't worry, buddy. I'm gonna help ya out by givin' you back what this bastard took from ya. Just lemme borrow your energy for a minute."

"A physical form such as your's is unstable." Kamimatsu scrunched his nose in disgust as he pointed out the obvious. He had summoned his sword earlier, and he now had his arms crossed. "You truly are desperate. Haven't you heard? Those who are good always triumph in the very end, Akumatsu, my.. brother." He said the last word with venom, as if saying it left a bitter taste in his mouth. "This world, those other versions of the Matsunos.. all of this is a mistake." He pointed his sword at the sky, before pointing it to Akumatsu. "This world is vile, evil.. darker.. than the world where we originated from. That is why I must get rid of it."

"Bullshit." Akumatsu grinned cheekily underneath his mask. "Ya hate this world because 'he' made it right? Sure, he did it by mistake, by attempting to fix his fuck-ups.. but let's be real, he's pretty damn impressive. Even though the world here is far worse than the one on the other dimension, it's still a world." He snapped his fingers. A red sphere appeared, and when Akumatsu reached out to pull something out of it, he got a spear. "Ya act like there aren't any other worlds out there. Ya must really hate the guy, eh, goody-two-shoes?"

Kamimatsu maintained his stoic expression. "They all exist for a reason. This one, however, does not. Thus, it has no reason to be here."

 _Wow. So salty._

It was a bit more stable now, thankfully. His physical form, that is. Slime wasn't dripping off his fingers as it had been doing earlier. While Jyushi certainly didn't have anything evil for Akumatsu to absorb, Akumatsu decided it would be easier to borrow a part of Jyushi's energy that was usually in his soul. Since Jyushi couldn't fight or walk anyway, what was the point in him having so much energy? Akumatsu found it easier to take the energy that Jyushi wouldn't use instead of just dripping disgusting slime all over the place and blaming the alternate versions of the Matsunos.

Sure, negative energy was good and all, and it could overpower him to the point he wasn't a dripping mess of slime or a pitiful human who unfortunately shared the same face as thirteen other brats. He could just be a mess of energy, like a giant purple ball of fire, and while he did prefer being in that form rather than being in a weak form similar to Kamimatsu, he wasn't able to. The Matsunos, as stupid as they were, were such interesting specimens to Akumatsu. Not only did they seem to possess supernatural abilities from switching species to warping reality as they know it, but the amount of negativity flowing from each and every single one of them?

The six of them alone could summon Akumatsu whenever they pleased due to how strong the evil in their souls were. Their shittyness as human beings were too much that Akumatsu's entire existence relied on them. And that was pretty damn impressive, Akumatsu had to admit. If those six were involved with shady shit like criminals and whatnot, Akumatsu was sure that they'd be the deadliest family in Akatsuka City.

But no.

They were oblivious, socially-awkward (yes, even Todomatsu), shitty NEETs who all looked the same, thought the same, acted the same, and had the same heart.

The same, black heart that possessed all evil known to mankind.

Where they got their evil was a mystery, but whatever it was, Akumatsu wanted to know why shitty NEETs such as them were the ones to inherit it. And to be honest, despite their idiocy, their shallowness, and their pettiness.. they were an amusing bunch, Akumatsu had to admit. Even though they were foolish in their own little ways; Choromatsu was always pretending to be smart, but was just an idol otaku. Karamatsu was doting, but he was a narcissistic asshat. Todomatsu was sociable, but was sly and a dried-up monster. Ichimatsu was a softy, but he was choosy with whoever he was friendly with. And Jyushimatsu was kind, but his kindness was just foolishness in Akumatsu's opinion.

Don't even get him started on Matsuno Osomatsu. He was definitely the shittiest of the bunch, as well as their older brother and their leader. Rather impressive to hold three titles at once.

He then realized that Kamimatsu was still looking at him, disgusted. "No reason, huh?" Akumatsu fiddled with his spear. "If this world doesn't have a reason to be here, does that mean everything here is meaningless? These kids right here? Their suffering? Their pain, their pasts, and who they are.." God this sounded so sappy and gross. He let out a snort. He had a reputation to keep! "Yeah, everything's disgusting. But is it really meaningless?"

"Yes." Kamimatsu scoffed. "Mistakes are meaningless. They can easily be avoided. But he still made a mistake. And not just one, but four." He looked at Akumatsu with the most intense glare anyone could see him wear. "Four mistakes, Akumatsu. Three are separate worlds, and two of them aren't even physical. How does one create not just one world, but three, out of a simple 'mistake'?!"

"You sound so salty." Chuckled Akumatsu. "Am I really the evil one here? Me? The one who's not trying to kill the alternate versions of his own brothers because he has a god complex shoved up his ass? Me, whose only sin in this world is mentally scarring a nineteen-year old crybaby and being a lil' too rough with 'im?" He nearly burst out laughing at Kamimatsu's pissed off expression. "God, maybe this is the reason I'm so unstable. Or maybe it's because I'm far away from those sextuplet assholes. But either way, aren't you the saltiest potato chip in the bag? Wow, you put Matsuno Choromatsu to shame. Maybe the other version of Matsuno Karamatsu can use you for cooking? I mean, you're salty and all-"

"Yes, Akumatsu. We get the joke. Salt. I'm salty. Salt is used for cooking. Kyabarie Kara likes to cook. Yes, me and your non-existent audience get it. You're a comedian. Hilarious." A vein appeared on Kamimatsu's forehead and his eye twitched in annoyance. "I hate jokes. No wonder I hate all of you." The golden spheres beside him glowed brighter. He sighed and slashed his sword, almost as if he was testing it out. "Now, I have bigger things to do, like hunt down that pest who goes by the name of Matsuno Oso. Now please do me a favor and just die."

The golden spheres were hurled at Akumatsu, who didn't even move until he was a few inches away. And by move, he only teleported from one place to another, with his shield blocking Kamimatsu's attacks. "Heh! Is this the best you can do?! What a loser!" Akumatsu cackled. He swung his spear to the side, and the red spheres that were surrounding him formed into small knives as he rolled away from the tree where Jyushi was hiding. He needed to have Kamimatsu aim somewhere else.. so he could find an opening to shove this bastard back in the void where he belongs. At least, for the time being. "This is how you get shit done!"

"Tch! Die, you pest!"

* * *

"Is that-?!"

Osomatsu suddenly felt something on his chest, and unlike earlier, it was painful. But as he opened his mouth to let out a scream, there was suddenly something oozing out of his mouth, and Osomatsu couldn't even react to it, as he knelt down on the snow and started coughing the smoke out through his mouth. Whatever it was, it was a thick cloud of black smoke, and upon seeing it, Todo and Ichi backed away in fear. But despite the sudden pain in his chest and how lightheaded he was getting, almost as if he had been drugged, there was only one thing that was going through Osomatsu's head.

"Osomatsu?!"

"Matsuno?! What's happening to you?! Matsuno!"

 _He's here. The devil's here. The devil's here, and he's somehow going to help us._


	117. Chapter 117: Cruel Clocks

_How could I be such a fool to not feel their presence?! Was I too focused on Akumatsu's presence instead?! Was his evil aura so strong that it blocked out Osomatsu's?! I shouldn't have been too careless..!_

Kamimatsu cursed himself so much. He was too focused on getting rid of Akumatsu to notice that Osomatsu had arrived. And not just Osomatsu. He brought help.

First of all, Kamimatsu was wondering why the fuck would Osomatsu decide to travel outside the hospital when Kamimatsu made sure that there was a snowstorm loud and strong enough to scare people away. The eldest brother of the Matsunos was truly a reckless idiot, it seemed. And idiots weren't even supposed to catch colds. It was a wonder how the Matsunos even got sick in the first place, when they were all the same faced six idiots of Akatsuka Ward. Ah well. With the Jyushi-Virus in their system (god knows how it worked), they barely got sick anymore.

Second of all, he had brought Todo and Ichi with him. Those two were powerful, sure, but unlike Kamimatsu or Oso, they didn't have any powers to fight with. But Kamimatsu knew it would be foolish to underestimate them for being human, especially since Ichi had been strong enough to deal with Jyushi last night with only a katana, and even went as far as to slash energy spheres just so he or Jyushi wouldn't get hurt.

 _He doesn't seem to be holding anything.. but then again, his katana can be easily hidden._

Underestimating them was a bad thing. Might as well keep his guard up, even if those two didn't give two shits about him. He knew that the Altmatsus were softer than the Matsunos, but it didn't mean "soft" as in unwilling to hurt anyone. Kamimatsu knew that the Altmatsus were naturally weaker than the Matsunos, and that was a fact. They were just weaker in comparison. The Matsunos were literally demons that Kamimatsu had no idea where they came from and how they got their powers. Clearly, they were much more normal back when they were children.

If the twelve of them were to engage in a fight, the Matsunos would win, due to the natural evil and supernatural ability they had. But still. The Altmatsus, in their own way, were strong. And Kamimatsu knew it would only lead to his defeat if he were to underestimate their strengths just because they didn't have the natural evil that made the Matsunos a threat to Kamimatsu. Especially Oso. Oso, similar to Osomatsu, was the deadliest of the bunch, hence why Kamimatsu needed to find him immediately.

 _That stupid owl-eyed brat is the reason that-_

"OSOMATSU-NIISAN!" His thoughts were cut off by a certain someone's screech. Osomatsu seemed to have collapsed, but Todo caught him before he hit the snow. Osomatsu leaned against Todo as the pink-haired punk tried to force Osomatsu to stand up, but to no avail."Oi! Osomatsu! Osomatsu-niisan! What's wrong?! Osomatsu!" Osomatsu seemed to be unconscious, but his mouth was wide open and his eyes were white, almost as if his pupils rolled back. "And geez, close your mouth if you're gonna lose consciousness! That's gross, and you're gonna fucking drool on me! Are you gonna let a fly in there?! Oi, Osomatsu! Are you even awake?! Don't fall asleep now, I can't carry you!"

While Todo was fussing (and yelling) over Osomatsu, the purple-eyed male ran over to Jyushi, but was blocked by the barrier. It was as if it was thick glass, but that didn't stop Ichi from banging on the barrier with his fists again. Jyushi didn't do anything to signify he was still alive. His sleeve-clad hands were on his lap, and he was sitting in a "W" position. If Jyushi woke up, Ichi was sure Jyushi would be in so much pain because of the formation of his legs. "Jyushi! Jyushi! Wake up, it's Niichi! JYUSHI!"

Jyushi didn't respond. He was lying against the tree motionlessly, not even showing any signs of breathing.

 _It can't be..! Jyushi's..!_

"JYUSHI!"

"Ah, fuck." Akumatsu cursed. He didn't notice the three of them until Todo and Ichi screamed. Todo was now kneeling on the cold ground with an unconscious Osomatsu leaning on his shoulder, while Ichi was banging on the red barrier Akumatsu created to protect Jyushi's body from Kamimatsu's attacks. "Those idiots! Who the fuck goes out in a blizzard-" Suddenly, he saw a small black orb floating above Osomatsu, with something swirling inside it. That certain something somewhat resembled black smoke. The sphere was surrounded by a glowing red aura that almost resembled fire."Helloooooo, what do we have here? Is this-?"

A golden sphere of energy managed to hit Akumatsu, causing him to fly back and crash against the barrier, shattering it. Ichi covered his face with his arms, but much to his surprise, no shards hit him. As soon as Akumatsu crashed on the barrier, a huge wave of energy just released, blowing Ichi away and causing him to crash at another tree. Todo was knocked off his feet, and he brought Osomatsu down with him as he fell to the snow. "You underestimated me far too much, Akumatsu." Kamimatsu hissed. "And you're gonna pay the price for doing so."

Akumatsu sat up and adjusted the mask covering his face so it wouldn't fall off. "You're gonna be the only one payin' for shit here, Kamimatsu." He growled. He realized that the black sphere was now hovering towards him. He outstretched his arm and opened his palm to welcome it. The black sphere then flew to Akumatsu's direction, and he grabbed it with his left hand, as the right was occupied by the spear. It was like a smooth, glass ball, with something warm radiating from it, and it was probably warm because of the red aura it possessed. Akumatsu honestly hoped it would have been squishy instead, just so he could squish it until it exploded. "The fuck is this bullshit-"

 _"I said it hurts, damn it!"_

From underneath his mask, Akumatsu's eyes widened when he heard the familiar voice. It was definitely Osomatsu's voice, and Akumatsu heard it once he made contact with the ball. And he seemed to be the only one to hear such a thing, as Kamimatsu was now charging yet another attack while Todo was still fussing over Osomatsu as soon as he sat up. Ichi, however, scrambled to his feet and ran to Jyushi's side, ignoring Akumatsu completely. The black sphere on Akumatsu's hand was like a small energy ball, and Akumatsu immediately felt the urge to kick Kamimatsu's face when the energy coursed through his veins.

An image flashed in his mind. He could see himself picking up the yellow-clad brother, Jyushimatsu, by the collar. The second-youngest only looked at him with fear, his smile quivering. Akumatsu could tell from the red sleeve of the top that he was wearing that he was experiencing one of Osomatsu's memories in which he acted shitty. But then again, when didn't the eldest Matsuno, leader of the shitty same-faced sextuplets, act shitty at all? And here he was, scaring the living daylights out of his little brother, just for making him drop his sushi.

 _"Jyushimatsu, you made me drop my sushi!"_

Osomatsu's voice was different. It was as if it was laced with some sort of negative feeling. And as an embodiment of negativity and shittiness, Akumatsu felt powerful. More energy was coming from the sphere too, and even though Akumatsu's current physical form was unstable thanks to Jyushi's energy, the ball was somehow providing an even stronger source of energy. Something that was stronger and much more powerful and heavy than Jyushi's.

 _"S-Sorry.."_

Jyushimatsu uttered out that apology with a small voice, his voice shaking.

 _"Stop it."_

And all of a sudden, he was suddenly facing Karamatsu, who threw a punch at him. Akumatsu stumbled a bit, but according to Osomatsu's memories, he crashed against the sliding door and broke it. He didn't really feel anything though, since he was just seeing everything through Osomatsu's eyes. Karamatsu approached him and grabbed him by the collar of his hoodie, dragging him out of the house with a rare, angered expression on his face.

 _"Let me go! Shittymatsu!"_

And now, Osomatsu sounded hysterical. Akumatsu blinked, and upon looking up, he realized Kamimatsu was now charging yet another attack. It seems as if the memory ended, and that the black sphere on his hand was now dripping, as if it had melted.

 _Ah. I see now. That feeling.. it was hatred._

"Die!" Kamimatsu pointed his sword at him again, sending the golden spheres toward his direction. "It's your end, Akumatsu!"

Something bubbled in Akumatsu's throat, before the black sphere suddenly melted into his hand. The black slime was then absorbed deep into his skin as if he was a sponge, and it wasn't long before he started cackling maniacally. He put his left arm up, the one with the shield, and put his spear behind him so he could make another red barrier. This time, the barrier was large enough to cover him, Jyushi, Ichi, Todo, and Osomatsu. Once he blocked all the golden spheres Kamimatsu had sent his way, the mask on his face fell off.

His back was turned to the other four, yet even Kamimatsu couldn't see his face that much, despite being a few inches away from him. Besides the wide grin that displayed a sharp row of teeth that were miraculously sharper than Ichimatsu's or Ichi's, Akumatsu's eyes were hooded by his messy hair. But that wasn't Kamimatsu's problem. How did Akumatsu form a stronger barrier? He couldn't have possibly used Jyushi's energy as a magic source, Jyushi was weak! "Tch! How did you..?!"

"Ahahaha.. so that's what happened that time..!" He suddenly felt more powerful, and unlike earlier, he wasn't going to melt into a disgusting puddle anytime soon. But he was amused- no, entertained, even. He had just witnessed one of the shittiest moments in Osomatsu's life, but if he was able to feel such power just by experiencing that memory alone, it could mean that the memory he just went through was Osomatsu's biggest regret; his shittiest memory, to be blunt. Not only that, but his presence alone caused Osomatsu's shittiness to come out of him and go directly to Akumatsu. "He truly is a shitty brother!"

He raised the spear above his head, still cackling. He was right when he said Osomatsu was the shittiest brother; this amount of energy coursing through his veins was proof of that. A red sphere formed on the tip of the spear, but then it suddenly shot towards the sky like a laser. When the laser had hit it's limit, a red disc formed around the sky, swallowing the entire area where the hospital was and engulfing it with darkness.

Ichi, who now had Jyushi close to his chest, could only look up in awe. "W-What is that?!"

"Bullshit, that's what! Lonely was right, the end is fucking here!" Todo hissed through gritted teeth, Osomatsu on his back. He jumped up and adjusted his hold on his sleeping brother. But he didn't notice Osomatsu's bag drop to the floor. "Ichi, let's make a run for it!" Though it would be useless to run to safety when the apocalypse was here, he was not dying without Kara by his side!

"Right!" Ichi tightened his hold on his brother. "Jyushi.. Niichi's gonna protect you." He whispered.

Akumatsu watched as Ichi and Todo ran off, carrying both Jyushi and Osomatsu and running towards the hospital. Not that it mattered to Akumatsu, because the red disc in the sky was now ripping a hole that showed nothing but utter darkness within. "Kamimatsu!" He roared. "I'm taking you to the void with me!"

"Foolish!" Kamimatsu's sword disappeared as he summoned more golden spheres. The sphere's flattened out and formed a cube surrounding Kamimatsu, similar to a barrier. "Akumatsu, you're not only going to erase both of us from existence, but the entirety of the universe as well..! Not just this dimension, but the dimension where our souls were created as well! You will create a world of nothingness!"

"If it's to get rid of you at long fucking last..!" His smile widened. Piles of snow were flying upwards now, as well as vehicles and lighter objects, hell, even trees! The end waws coming, and Akumatsu was pretty fucking glad he was the one causing it. "I don't give a shit!"

 _This is the power.. of Matsuno Osomatsu's evilness!_

As Akumatsu kept cackling and Kamimatsu was looking around to find a safe area, they both didn't notice the loud beeping sound coming from Osomatsu's bag. When the hole in the sky was finally big enough to swallow the hospital building, a thin, white laser emitted from the bag and through the wool material it was made from and shot upwards towards the sky.

And as thin as the laser was, it managed to pierce through the red barrier.

The hole immediately stopped expanding, and it was enveloped in a white light rather than the darkness from earlier. Even the objects that were floating upwards seemed to have paused. And Akumatsu swore he could still see four of his clones, but they weren't moving. Like everything else, it was paused.

 _Time had stopped._

Both Kamimatsu and Akumatsu looked up at the sky in disbelief. "What?!"

And then everything was enveloped in a white light. But Kamimatsu swore to whatever was holier than him up in the skies above that he heard something.

 _"Let the gods.. reset this day.. to end such madness.. and to prevent mistakes.. caused by.. the darkness.."_

Kamimatsu blacked out after that, with his only reassurance that Akumatsu had blacked out too.

This was a tie for now.


	118. Chapter 118: The Reset

Osomatsu snapped his eyes open as he sat up, sweating and panting. He put a hand over his own chest as he tried to regulate his breathing. He couldn't remember what just happened, but he remembered seeing Akumatsu at the hospital. Not only him, but an unconscious Jyushi as well, and Kamimatsu, who had been holding his sword as he floated above them. And then he remembered spitting out something disgusting and he blacked out, with the last thing he heard being Todo's voice. He was sure he heard screaming as well, something about Todo telling Ichi that they needed to run because something was happening-

 _Wait a minute. Why.. why am I.. in the hotel room?_

He looked over to the drawer and spotted his phone. When he looked around the room, he saw Kara sleeping, Todo curled into a ball under the sheets, Iyami about to fall off the bed, and Chibita sleeping with his mouth wide open as he snored. Not only that, but Osomatsu was wearing his blue pajamas. Osomatsu couldn't remember going home and taking a nap with the five of them, but then he realized that it was still rather dark outside, almost as if the sun still hadn't come up. It seemed to still be night, or if it wasn't, probably late in the morning.

Which made no sense whatsoever.

 _What time is it? Four in the morning? It's still dark as fuck.. darker than Ichimatsu's soul, so that's saying a lot._

Osomatsu could remember getting up and even talking with Todo, before Kara hastily told them to get dressed as soon as he got the groceries. Hell, they even went out to look for Lonely, who escaped the hospital. And Jyushi and Ichi too.. Jyushi lost his memories, and Ichi had been trying to get Jyushi to remember him, to which Jyushi only replied by crying and screaming, and even hiding behind Todo for protection. Then he and Ichi went to the storage room after borrowing the hospital files, only to get locked in by Lonely's nurse, Shiyou, who seemed to be an accomplice of Kamimatsu. Choromatsu then told him about the new program, so Osomatsu used it to blow the door away. And then he and Ichi met up with Todo and ran outside the hospital, as Todo said there was something going on.

 _Then why am I here? Aren't we supposed to be at the hospital?_

Hell, he even remembered something, or someone, rather, going against Kamimatsu, and it was probably a being that was equal to him. But that was it. Osomatsu blacked out afterwards, after he felt an oh-so familiar sensation in his chest and spat out something disgusting. Osomatsu didn't really like to think about that. It felt like he just vomited out the same sandwich Ichi had brought for him earlier, in the form of disgusting black slime that evaporated into black smoke. And he hadn't even eaten out the salad yet! Truly upsetting, Osomatsu thought. He wanted to eat that salad, since it looked good.

Osomatsu picked up his phone, noticing that there were unchecked messages. Strange.. he texted Choromatsu earlier, right? Choromatsu had no reason to worry, since Osomatsu texted him earlier about how he was doing.

When he unlocked the screen, he noticed that the texts were different from what Choromatsu usually sent to him. First of all, each of them were displayed in a different font. Second, instead of the letters being black, they were either red or green. And everything was in all caps. Normally, the texts he got from his brothers weren't like that, unless it was Ichimatsu threatening him.

But these texts were different. And interesting. It was as if it wasn't a messenger app. Rather, it seemed as if the phone had acted as a computer, and a computer had done all the work. Not even Choromatsu was tech-savvy enough to understand this.

 **"RESETTING PROGRAM START"**

 **"PLEASE ENTER PASS CODE"  
**

 **"PASS CODE CONFIRMED"**

 **"VOICE OWNER; MATSUNO OSOMATSU"  
**

 **"COMMAND; DAY RESET"**

 **"DAY RESET IN PROGRESS"**

 **"NOW LOADING.."**

 **"ATTEMPT 1 FAILED"**

 **"DAY RESET IN PROGRESS"**

 **"NOW LOADING.."**

 **"ATTEMPT 2 FAILED"**

 **"DAY RESET IN PROGRESS"**

 **"NOW LOADING.."**

 **"ATTEMPT 3 FAILED"**

 **"DAY RESET IN PROGRESS"**

 **"NOW LOADING.."**

 **"ATTEMPT 4 FAILED"**

 **"DAY RESET IN PROGRESS"**

 **"NOW LOADING.."**

 **"ATTEMPT 5 FAILED"**

 **"DAY RESET IN PROGRESS"**

 **"NOW LOADING.."**

 **"ATTEMPT 6 FAILED"**

 **"DAY RESET IN PROGRESS"**

 **"NOW LOADING.."**

 **"DAY RESET IN PROGRESS"**

 **"RESETTING PROGRAM FAILED"**

 **"WILL NOW REBOOT AUTOMATICALLY"**

 **"REBOOT IN PROGRESS.."**

 **"REBOOT COMPLETE"**

 **"DAY RESET IN PROGRESS"**

 **"NOW LOADING.."**

 **"ATTEMPT 1 FAILED"**

 **"DAY RESET IN PROGRESS"**

 **"NOW LOADING.."**

 **"ATTEMPT 2 FAILED"**

 **"DAY RESET IN PROGRESS"**

 **"NOW LOADING.."**

 **"DAY RESET PROGRESS- 100 PERCENT"**

 **"DAY RESET COMPLETE"**

 **"COMMENCING DAY RESET"**

 **"DAY RESET IN PROGRESS.."**

 **"DAY RESET PROGRESS- 100 PERCENT"**

 **"DAY RESET.. COMPLETE"**

 **"COMMAND; REWRITE"**

 **"REWRITING IN PROGRESS.."**

 **"REWRITING-"**

 **"REWRITE FAILED"**

 **"ERROR"**

 **"ERROR"**

 **"ERROR"**

 **"ERROR"**

 **"ERROR"**

 **"RESETTING PROGRAM WILL AUTOMATICALLY DELETE ITSELF UPON COMMAND BY THE PROGRAMMER"**

 **"NOW LOADING.."**

 **"UNINSTALLING.."**

 **"ERROR"**

 **"ERROR"**

 **"ER-"**

After those messages, he got a list of numbers that Osomatsu was too lazy to read. Either that, or they were just too complex for Osomatsu's not-so-bright mind. Still, the messages were strange enough, even without the wall of numbers of a text he just received. They were in a random order too, with ones after twos, and sevens before fours, and no way in hell was Osomatsu reading all of that. Still. He wondered what the messages meant by "Reset". Was it similar to a video game resetting? Where you erase all your progress, and replace it with new ones?

 _And what does it mean by "rewrite"? As in.. rewrite everything? Like you're typing something, only to change it?_

Why was Osomatsu's name in there as well? Osomatsu couldn't remember using his voice as some sort of password for some creepy app at all. Not only that, but it automatically deleted itself out of the phone as well? Why would it do such a thing? If Osomatsu remembered correctly, half the applications and programs Choromatsu sent him was tested multiple times. It would be useless to get rid of it, as Osomatsu could still use the application to his advantage if he wanted to.

"Creepy shit.." Osomatsu muttered, shaking his head. And here he thought Ichimatsu's "Ichimatsu-sama" act was creepy enough. Hell, the fact that Karamatsu's sparkly nature could physically hurt any of them was already scary enough. He didn't think anything could match how creepy those two were. It was best to text Choromatsu about this issue then. Choromatsu always knew what to do after all.

Suddenly, Todo sat up and reacted the same way as Osomatsu. He put both hands over his chest as he tried to breathe properly, and his hair was an absolute mess. Once Todo seemed to have calmed down a bit, he looked around the room frantically, spotting Kara and Osomatsu, as well as Chibita and Iyami. "W-What?! How did we get- weren't we just at the hospital not too long ago?! Why the fuck is it so hot- oh fucking hell, of fucking course, I have fucking blankets on." He then pushed the covers off his torso. "And why am I still in my pajamas?!"

"I'm more concerned on why you're having a mental breakdown at like three in the morning. And about your pajamas, no less." Osomatsu pointed out. "Plus, it's winter. It shouldn't be too hot, so you're just overreacting-"

"OSOMATSU?!" Todo's head snapped towards him, and it took awhile for Osomatsu's brain to register that Todo had now jumped from his bed to Osomatsu's. And it wasn't to hug him, oh no. It was to tackle him out of the bed. Like a wild animal, Todo pounced on Osomatsu, and he was strong enough to knock the eldest Matsuno down the floor, making him drop the phone as a result. "YOU PIECE OF SHIT! You fainted earlier and had me carry you! Do you know how heavy you are?! Lay off on whatever the fuck you're eating, asshole!" He barked.

"Rude! That's a quite accurate tackle, Todo! I forgot that your aim is deadly as fuck!" Osomatsu laughed. He immediately forgot his problems the moment Todo jumped on him. It seemed that Tater Tot was truly a tsundere. And to think this was the same pink-haired punk that refused all of Osomatsu's hugs and head-pats all those days ago.. but there was something else more important to focus on. "So I was right, then? The events from earlier did happen. It wasn't a dream."

"What are you talking about?" Todo sat up and helped Osomatsu scramble to his feet. "..You mean the fact that we were at the hospital? But.. we were, weren't we? There's no way we could have ended up here naturally though.."

"Yeah. 'Were', being our key word, Tater Tot." Osomatsu didn't notice Todo's sudden red face from the potato-based nickname, and he just casually picked up his phone from the floor and inspected the messages yet again. "But I have a feeling that.. well, this may sound like utter bullshit, but you're probably used to it by now." He waved his hand in a dismissive manner, ignoring Todo's deadpanned stare at him. "I have a feeling that we're back. As in, our day started all over again. That could explain these." He showed him his phone. "This is not Choromatsu. I don't know who this is, but it says something about a 'Day Reset'. Which means.." He flicked his hair dramatically, in a way that was too similar to Karamatsu's. "Something has 'reset' this day! And we're back in the start! But we remember what happened earlier."

 _If only Risingfappyski could see how smart onii-chan really is..!_

Todo didn't speak. Rather, he just stood up, picked his blankets from the floor, and headed to his bed. "I see." He murmured.

"E-Eh? T-Tater Tot-"

"I'm heading back to bed. It's just too fucking early for this, Osomatsu." Todo grunted, turning back at him to glare straight at his soul. "Save the bullshit for later, it's like three in the morning, stupid eldest brother."

Osomatsu looked at him as if Todo just betrayed the trust that they built for one week straight. "H-Hey! Todo! Don't treat onii-chan like that! Todo!"

"I don't give a shit. Explain the bullshit to both me and Kara later! We're heading to the hospital to check on Ichi and Jyushi too, as well as Lonely.." Todo clicked his tongue. "If this day was truly 'reset', then let's see if every single person in Akatsuka City can remember everything that happened today." With that, Todo collapsed on the bed and pulled the covers to hide the entirety of his body.

The noise that the duo caused earlier didn't even wake up Kara, Chibita, or Iyami. So Osomatsu just sighed and lied down on his bed, looking at his phone and scrolling upwards.

The day had to have a reason for resetting, right? And the one who programmed it, presumably Choromatsu or Dekapan (as they were the only intelligent people Osomatsu knew), was the one who activated it. Still, why was Osomatsu's name the owner of the voice?

 _Unless it's.._

Osomatsu's eyes widened.

 _..If.. if "he" can do all sorts of shit like turning things into weapons, snapping people out of Kamimatsu's control, and even making a cure for some unknown disease.. then who is to say that "he" can't do shit like this as well..?_

Osomatsu put an arm over his head, wanting to just scream to let his frustrations out.

 _...Oso.. who are you.. really?_


	119. Chapter 119: Talk With The Doppelganger

When the rest had woke up, Osomatsu had decided it would be best to explain the situation. Unlike earlier, Kara didn't leave to go to the grocery store, so there was a chance that things were seemingly different. Osomatsu was no genius, but he remembered eavesdropping on one of Choromatsu's and Jyushimatsu's chats. The yellow-clad brother was smarter than he seemed, and he was interested in asking odd questions that only Choromatsu could answer without freaking out too much. One of the things Osomatsu remembered hearing from them was the possibility of time travel.

Time travel was normally impossible, but Jyushimatsu was still interested in such a thing, as expected of the oddball of a second-youngest brother. At the suggestion that Jyushimatsu would swing his baseball bat at anyone who bullied him in the past, just for "shits and giggles", Choromatsu piped up with the fact that things would be different if Jyushimatsu did have the power to go back in the past. He also said something about a "time paradox" or something going on, in which if something from the past was change, the present and future would change as well, and it could either be a good thing or bad thing. Even if the smallest of details were to change, everything would be different, or at least, that's what Choromatsu said to keep Jyushimatsu quiet.

Osomatsu wasn't too interested in what those two talked about, but it was slightly similar to what he was experiencing right now. Was there a chance that whoever had "reset"the day had done so in order to prevent the events at the hospital from happening? If Osomatsu and Todo could remember such things, maybe the rest did too. So Osomatsu had decided to text Choromatsu regarding this matter, but much to his worry and frustration, the green-clad brother still hadn't replied. Normally, after every single text, it would only take a few seconds for any of his brothers to reply.

He was outside the hotel room, trying to call Choromatsu or anyone that could answer. And unfortunately, the only sound he could hear was the sound of the phone attempting to contact Choromatsu. "Fucking hell.." He murmured under his breath. Of all times for the phone to fail too.. "Shit. Pick up, pick up, pick up.. c'mon, Risingfappyski. Onii-san's not gonna stand for this if you don't reply. I'm gonna go and kick your ass if you don't pick this phone up right now and tell me what the hell's going on."

And still, Choromatsu didn't reply. Osomatsu really wanted to slap Chroomatsu from wherever he was.

 _You're gonna break your poor ol' nii-san's heart, you little shit._

How long had he been trying to get Choromatsu to pick up the phone? About forty minutes now. The other four remained inside, probably discussing what the hell just happened for them to end up inside the hotel room, so Osomatsu didn't have to waste his time explaining more bullshit to them. He sighed and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes as he thought about this week's events.

 _To think this all happened in only a week.._

He met every single alternate version of his family in only a week. His parents, Kara, Todo, Jyushi, Ichi, Lonely (also known as Choro), and his alternate self, Oso. Just when he thought he wouldn't be reunited with his brothers, he just met their alternate selves in only a week. And despite all the times he nearly died, it seemed worth it- no, Osomatsu knew it was worth it. He had already injected both Kara and Todo with the syringe, and he could inject Ichi and Lonely later, after he explained the situation to both of them. Jyushi, however, needed to recover his memories first. They didn't want Jyushi succumbing into an unneeded identity crisis.

And now, they just needed for Oso to get back, or for Oso to "fix his mistakes" as he put it. Only then could Osomatsu inject him with the syringe and hopefully get back to his own world and take a long nap to forget about everything that happened at this dimension, just like a really long bad dream that he needed to forget by downing a sleeping pill or two.

 _..Mistakes.. Oso said something about that.. but.. why do I feel like.. I heard something about mistakes earlier..?_

He could remember Kamimatsu saying something about mistakes. That they were meaningless. And that someone made four of them, four mistakes that were deemed as a sin by the living embodiment of salt known as Kamimatsu himself. But then again, why would anyone listen to Kamimatsu at this point? Especially since Kamimatsu was pretty much the villain now. Osomatsu initially thought that his other self would be evil as well, but.. Oso was just Oso. He was quiet, he was awkward, but Osomatsu could tell that Oso was definitely harmless.

 _But why did Oso help Kamimatsu in the first place? And what are these mistakes that Oso and Kamimatsu keep talking about? Four mistakes.. what are they even about? What did they do? How did whoever made those mistakes fucked up more than once? And why does Oso need to fix them?_

"Fuck.." Osomatsu put an arm over his head. He really wanted to kick back and relax, but with what was going on.. nothing made sense anymore. Things were only getting more and more complicated. "Nothing even makes sense anymore, holy fuck. And Choromatsu won't even answer.. I hope nothing bad happened to them.." Osomatsu didn't know how much more he could take.

Suddenly, the phone rang. And it was a different ringtone too. Osomatsu quickly unlocked the phone, and realized it was a video. But instead of seeing Choromatsu or Dekapan's face, there was nothing but darkness. Yet, Osomatsu could hear the jagged breathing. "Uh.. Choromatsu..? Karamatsu..? P-Professor Dekapan..?"

 **"..Osomatsu..?"**

Fucking hell, that voice was enough to send shivers up Osomatsu's spine. "Uh..? Who is this..?"

 **"..Oh..I see.."**

"Ahaha, no you fucking don't. It's dark as shit in there, I could tell. You can't see shit, I can't even see you." Osomatsu nervously chuckled, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. Shit, that voice was just so creepy and they spoke so slow too, it was almost like-

 _Wait. Slow.. and creepy..?_

There was only one person Osomatsu knew that spoke like that, and not even Ichimatsu could match that person's creepiness. Ichimatsu's face wasn't like this, Osomatsu could tell. "..Oso..? Is that you..?"

 **"..Hm.. maybe..?"**

Definitely Oso. That slow and raspy voice that was still trying to make snarky remarks sounded like Oso way too much. "You.. how did you get the phone?" It felt really stupid, looking at a black screen, but Osomatsu thought that if he squinted hard enough, maybe he could see Oso. Even just a little bit. "Did you.. take it from Choromatsu and Professor Dekapan?"

 **"..I'm.. I'm not.. that bad.."**

Oso sounded offended as he said that. Now Osomatsu felt bad. Oso was already enough of an oddball who probably had a decent amount of self-loathing, and Osomatsu just made it worse by implying that Oso forcefully took the phone away from Choromatsu. Or stole it while the latter wasn't looking. "H-Hey! I wasn't implying that you stole it!"

 **"..Yes you were.."**

"I wasn't! Honest!" Osomatsu could feel judging eyes, even though Oso wasn't visible to him. Where the fuck was he, the attic of the Matsuno Household?! It was the only place that Osomatsu knew that was this dark! "Uh.. how did you.. does that mean.. you can travel between dimensions?"

 **"..Not really.."**

"Then how did you get the phone?"

 **"..This is mine.."**

"No it isn't."

 **"..Your brothers' phone.. is still with them.. though.. there's a bit.. of a problem.. don't worry.. they're fine.. just making.. modifications.. to the phone.. they're using.. so.. I made myself.. a duplicate.."**

Osomatsu had to take ten seconds to comprehend what Oso just said. "..Excuse me?"

 **"Huh..?"**

"You.. made yourself a duplicate of the phone? The applications and all that?"

 **"Mhm.. except.. the only applications.. are.. the video caller application.. and.. the messenger application.. but.. aside from that.. nothing else.."**

That wasn't Osomatsu's point though. He was aware that each application on the phone took several tests just to ensure it would work, so maybe modifying the phone took just as long. Still, that wasn't Osomatsu's point. What Osomatsu was trying to say was that Professor Dekapan, one of Japan's many geniuses, modified a phone that could text through dimensions. If Oso was exactly like Osomatsu, then that'd mean that the owl-eyed Matsuno was just as big of an idiot as Osomatsu was. Yet, Oso must have been a genius of some sort.

He made a duplicate of a phone that can text through dimensions, for god's sake! "How long did it take for you to duplicate that phone and the two programs then?" Osomatsu decided to ask.

 **"..Three hours.. and a thirty-minute.. snack break.. Choromatsu-kun.. makes great snacks.."**

 _Oh fuck my life. Is Oso a GENIUS?! WHO CAN DO THAT IN THREE FUCKING HOURS?!_

Osomatsu couldn't stop that grin from making it's way on his face. "You did that in the span of three hours?! Wow, you must be smart as hell, other me!" Never mind the fact that Oso somehow got in the other dimension and even got Choromatsu to make a snack for him, his other self was a genius! Like a proud older brother, he had to wipe away a non-existent tear. "You're making your nii-san proud, Oso! Hahaha!"

He could hear Oso stammer our something incomprehensible, and it wouldn't be odd to assume that Oso seemed flattered at the praise. But if that were the case, he probably composed himself, before letting out a few awkward coughs.

 **"..It wasn't.. too hard.. I just.. had to copy.. what the professor did.. to Todomatsu-kun's phone.. and do the same.. to any model.. of smartphone.."**

Someone was being modest, Osomatsu noted. "Well, that's pretty darn impressive and all.. but if you interacted with Choromatsu, that certainly means you went to my dimension right?"

 **"..As I said.. not necessarily.."**

"What is that even supposed to mean?" He could only hope that Oso could see his pout.

 **"..We.. talked.. sure.. but.. I can't.. tell you what happened.. until.. I see you again.. in person.. Osomatsu.."**

That immediately got Osomatsu's hopes up. "Really?! We're gonna see each other soon?!" Hopefully, Osomatsu can learn more about Oso. Sure, he wanted to learn more about Lonely as well, but considering they already got Lonely in their clutches, they could learn more about him any time they wanted. "Can you come over in an earlier time? I mean, we only got to talk at that gloomy mansion, hahaha! Oh, what if we go to a café? D'you like sweets? I like croissants, actually!"

He could hear Oso try to sputter out something again. So the other him was really awkward, huh?

 **"S-Stupid.. don't get.. your hopes up.. I still have.. things I need.. to finish.. I just decided.. to tell you.. that your brothers.. and the professor.. are fixing the phone.. because.. you might worry.. that they're not replying.. so.. in the meantime.. I'll be the one.. instructing you.."**

"Well, that's nice too." Osomatsu grinned. "And show your face, okay? Where even are you?"

 **"..None of your business.."**

"A snarky one, eh?" Osomatsu chuckled. "Alright, other me. I guess you're hanging up now? I still need to talk to the other four, plus, check out on Jyushi, Ichi, and Lonely at the hospital later. I trust you'll explain about this 'reset' as well when we meet?"

 **"...Mhm.. and.."**

Osomatsu raised an eyebrow. "Something else?"

 **"..I look forward.. to eating croissants.. with you.."**

With that, Oso hung up.

 _He really is just another me.._


	120. Chapter 120: The Link Between Brothers

"So you guys.. don't really know what we're talking about? Only Kara, Osomatsu, and I know about this 'reset' thing?" Todo asked for what seemed to be the thousandth time, making sure he was hearing this right. Kara was beside him, sitting on his bed as well, and so far, only Osomatsu and Kara seemed to remember what Todo remembered. The other two? Not so much, much to Todo's frustration. The pink-haired punk was obviously the opposite of patient. In fact, he was anything but patient. "Not a single thing? Not even the fact you guys woke up more than once today? Anything at all?"

Chibita and Iyami looked at one another, before nodding in unison. "Well, if we knew what you idjits were talkin' about.." Chibita scowled. "We wouldn't have lost our shit like that earlier, eh?" Ah, yes. Because Todo could definitely forget that ear-piercing shriek Chibita made when Todo mentioned something that was even remotely close to the words "time", "travel", "bullshit", and "reset". "I don't remember us goin' to the hospital and meetin' up with Hana and the rest.. an' I certainly don't remember leavin' ya idjits alone at the hospital, damn it. Sounds nice though, goin' with Hana and her friend, Homura, for a lil' break from this bullshit."

Todo's frown deepened. His cheeks were going to hurt for weeks if he kept frowning like this.

 _Fucking hell. Does this mean only me, Osomatsu, and Kara can remember? That doesn't make sense.. why us? Does it have something to do with the fact that.. we're Osomatsu's brothers from another dimension? Does this mean.. that Ichi, Jyushi, and Lonely remember the events too? This has to be some sort of connection.. somehow. Fucking magical bullshit and whatnot, why do I have to get involved? And Kara too.. these things are dangerous. I can clearly remember that Kamimatsu was able to slaughter Tougou with just.. a snap of his fingers.. but why didn't he just end us as well? Or.. is he playing with us like we're fucking toys? And Oso too.. where is he?_

He felt his best friend's hand squeeze his. As usual, it was a gesture to soothe and comfort the distressed Tater Tot, who was now overthinking. And as usual, his friend's presence was more than enough for Todo to remember that he actually needed oxygen to live. "Todo." He said, accompanied with a tired sigh. "My dear friend, I know you are stressed. I am, too. And confused as well. I do hope to find out why we are the only ones that remember those events while our other friends cannot. There is a slight chance that there's something about us that differentiates us from Chibita-san and Iyami-san."

 _That's the only thing that makes senses 'round here._

"Took the words outta my mouth.." Todo muttered. "I'm starting to think that there's just.. something about our existence. Y'know? Like the moment Osomatsu came in, I nearly got fucking shot. That is not a coincidence. Hell, wasn't it kinda odd that Ichi was outta Japan when we visited Jyushi? And we only encountered Lonely- no, Choro, when we got too involved with Jyushi's life? And Oso too, Osomatsu's other self. We only encountered him once all of us were at the exact fucking place, all just ready to die. There's something about us."

"..Maybe in a way, we're connected to Osomatsu." Karamatsu looked at the door, waiting for the eldest Matsuno to come in the room once again so they'll be able to set their next plan. "And his brothers too. Don't you think? There's a lot of things going on around in Akatsuka City lately.. we cannot blame Osomatsu for that, but you said that Kamimatsu was able to cause the destruction of the world.. if not for whatever force stopped it.. right?"

"Yeah."

"Kamimatsu definitely has something to do with this then." Kara sighed yet again. Todo honestly felt bad for this guy. Days ago, he was just his usual, painful self, trying to be cool and mask his inner "mother hen" nature and whatnot to avoid appearing weak and gullible, but he had to break out of that fake character ever since he and Todo accompanied Osomatsu. He had to be the "parent" of the team, because who else was going to keep this train wreck together? Ichi? Dear god, the purple-eyed megalomaniac would only make it worse.

 _This guy needs a fucking break, fucking hell._

"Atsushi's ambush on you, Ichi leaving for France, Jyushi getting kidnapped while Ichi wasn't around, Choro deciding to kidnap Jyushi.. and even Oso appearing in the manor, when Chibita-san and Iyami-san stated that he had been missing the moment Osomatsu arrived in this world." Kara counted. "Surely.. one way or another.. these events are connected."

Iyami crossed his legs, putting his chin on his hand in thought. "Me still can't believe it. Osomatsu.. our Osomatsu, that is.. came back. After disappearing for two weeks! And drunk too, no less!"

"Wherever the hell that idjit went.." Chibita grumbled, crossing his arms. While he clearly wouldn't admit it out loud, he truly did worry for Oso. It was a shame he hadn't been able to see him, but he swore he felt his presence there, despite being possessed by Tougou and all. "Still doesn't explain the fact that his ma and pa said that Osomatsu, our idjit, came home the same time Osomatsu, the other idjit, suddenly appeared. There's no way they could have done the ol' switcheroo, especially since Osomatsu was unconscious."

"And for a whole month too.." Todo remembered Choromatsu's story two days ago, at the limo and at the night of Ichi and Lonely's duel at the hotel rooftop. "He's been unconscious for a whole month, but only got in this world a week ago.. how on earth is he still healthy and all that shit? I swear to god, magical bullshit never ceases to amaze me.." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "We're pulling theories out of our asses here. We need to know more about Kamimatsu instead of dwelling on other shit. Maybe then we can find answers."

"..There are only seven people who knew Kamimatsu before we did." Kara raised a finger to make his point. "Osomatsu, his five little twin brothers, and of course, the other Osomatsu, Oso himself. But I'm pretty sure every single one of them is against Kamimatsu, one way or another."

 _True. Because Oso apparently 'helped' Kamimatsu in bringing Osomatsu here.. only to end up helping us. But why did he bring him here, only to help us last night then?_

"This is giving me a headache." Todo grumbled. "I'm gonna be sick, Kara."

"We should stop overthinking then." Kara stood from the bed, heading to the mini fridge that was spotted just underneath the wide-screen TV. Five-star hotels were no joke, apparently. And they were pretty damn lucky that Flag Corporation payed for everything just because they were friends with Jyushi. "As Oso told Osomatsu last night, we should just relax for the time being. If I remember correctly, Jyushi lost his memories and Choro went on an onion-diet for two years straight at some point in his life. Those are the only things we have to worry about." He took out a can of beer, surprisingly, and tossed it over to Todo. "And as much as I hate that vile thing, if it helps you loosen up for at least five minutes, go ahead and drink it."

Well. That was amusing, at least. Was that Kara's attempt in cheering him up? Well, the pink-haired punk certainly appreciated the can of cold beer at like.. five in the morning. What a great way to die. Todo smirked. "You're gonna drink this someday, buddy. Don't worry, I'm not gonna watch you make a fool out of yourself."

"That's.. not what I'm worried about, though." Kara deadpanned. He was pretty damn sure that he'd pass out the moment he took a sip of alcohol, unlike his childhood friend. Well, it was better to pass out on the cold floor than perform something so embarrassing on top of some table. "Just hurry up and drink that. I hate the smell.."

"Whatever ya say, buddy." Todo chuckled, opening the can. "I'm just followin' orders, mom."

"Please refrain from calling me that."

The door creaked open, and four pairs of eyes immediately turned to Osomatsu. The latter had stuffed his phone in his pocket, and was now walking towards his bed. Probably to dress up or something. "Well. Time paradoxes aside, let's head to the hospital before Yuki gets here. I doubt Fuyu and Yuki, as well as those twin girls, Homura, and Hana are there at this time. Let's get there before Jyushi wakes up and they realize that Jyushi got memory loss and shit, and would probably scream at them to fuck off." Not in those words exactly, but Osomatsu didn't need to explain that. "Let's hustle, 'kay?"

"..Do you think that Jyushi can remember what happened as well?" Todo looked up from his opened can of beer. "I mean.. he forgot a lot, didn't he?"

Yet another understatement, thought Osomatsu. He bit his lip, not wanting to lose his cool. He was still a bit stressed after hearing that Choromatsu wouldn't be able to text with him for the time being, which only made his big-brother senses go haywire. "We can only hope, I guess. Anyway, since we all remember, I'm pretty sure it's not gonna be too much of a hassle!" He chirped, clapping his hands together. Jyushi obviously couldn't be the optimistic one in the team, so for now, the idiotic older brother act would have to do.

"Chibita and Iyami don't remember shit though." Todo pointed out. "Kara and I do, however. So it's only three of us."

Osomatsu, still smiling, took a sharp breath. Keep calm, he told himself. Even if his eye was twitching from how stressed he was, he had to keep his cool. "..That's.. that's fine- no, actually, you know what? It's not." He took a deep breath.

 _No use for pretending to be fine now._

"HOW?!"

Kara, who seemed to have expected Osomatsu's breakdown, placed a hand on the other's shoulder. Everyone had to give Kara credit for managing to stay sane enough to be the "mother" in their team. "We.. don't have answers to that, Osomatsu-niisan. We only got headaches." He timidly stated. "Although, we talked about a theory regarding this 'reset' and why we're the only ones that remember."

"Kara thinks that it's because we have some sort of 'connection' to you or something." Todo added. "It does make sense, doesn't it?"

Osomatsu blinked, trying to process what two of his brothers just said. Well, they did have a point. "..It does.. doesn't it?"

 _I mean, this 'reset' happened because Kamimatsu and.. whoever the fuck he was fighting against, were about to start the fucking apocalypse. But this 'reset' happened.. because we need to prevent that from happening, right? And I'm sure whoever did this has some connection to us.. and Kamimatsu as well._

"We'll.. cross that bridge when we get there." Osomatsu sighed. "For now, let's try to prevent the shit that happened before. I remember Ichi and I getting locked up in the storage room."

"..We need to prevent Choro from escaping his room too." Kara added. "If he remembers, that is."

"If he does, then he probably won't do that again." Todo pointed out. "..That also means.."

 _Jyushi's.. "friend".._

"..Guess I won't be leaving this time." Todo murmured. "Not if I want to see Jyushi bleed his feet out, that is."

"Then it's settled." Chibita said. "Idjits, we're all headin' there to the hospital! We may not know what ya idjits are talkin' about, but as we said; we'll help no matter what, damn it! Right, Iyami?"

"..Me will start the van." Iyami sighed. Clearly, the limo was a more relaxing option. But this was pretty much the reason why Iyami was here in the first place.

 _Alright.. no more fuck ups. We need to avoid our mistakes from last time. God has given us a second chance. Might as well not fuck it up._


	121. Chapter 121: Regret Message

As Osomatsu entered the hospital room, he quickly noticed the difference. Besides the fact it was darker, probably because they arrived at the hospital earlier than last time, there were only two people in the room; and those two people were nothing more than the Suuji Brothers, Ichi and Jyushi. Sokomi, Rokomi, Fuyu, Yuki, Homura, Hana, Kaoru, and Ken-san weren't around at all. But there was Ichi, who didn't seem to notice the presence of Osomatsu and the other four. Instead, he kept his eyes focused on the sleeping Jyushi, holding one of his little brother's hands with his own, putting it close to his lips and breathing on it as if to warm it up.

Ichi wasn't wearing his clothes from earlier. Instead, he was wearing the clothes he wore to the party, minus the blazer. Did that mean he didn't change his clothes until later on? Osomatsu swore he could still smell the smoke, and it was quite sickening. But Ichi had a calm expression on his face. His eyes were close as he gently ran his fingers on Jyushi's hand. Jyushi seemed to be sleeping well too, as his expression wasn't pained. And that was enough for Osomatsu to calm down even a bit. At least Jyushi wasn't in pain anymore. Or for now.

"Jyushi.." Ichi muttered softly against Jyushi's hand. Though he was saying it with such a soft voice, everyone could hear it with how quiet the room was. Plus, none of them dared to say anything. "I'm sorry.. I wasn't.. able to protect you back in the past.. maybe if I had done better, you wouldn't be like this. Paralyzed.. scared.. doubtful.." Osomatsu swore that Ichi's voice was cracking as he spoke. "I couldn't protect you from that monster.. and I don't know anything about your problems.. you're so doubtful of yourself.. how could I not have noticed..? I'm sorry.. I truly am a bad brother.. and I was supposed to protect you too.." His eyes slowly opened. There was a tinge of sadness in his normally sharp purple eyes. "Forgive me for everything, Jyushi.."

 _..Ichi cares for Jyushi more than I thought._

Sure, Osomatsu saw how much Ichi cared for Jyushi. When they first met, Ichi had immediately demanded answers to Jyushi's whereabouts in a hysterical manner, obviously meaning he had been worried sick. And when they finally got reunited before Lonely began the Masquerade of Solitude (Osomatsu felt like vomiting just by thinking of those words), Ichi had ran out of the limo and carried Jyushi, swinging him around and acting completely out of character while expressing his happiness. Ichi honestly cared for Jyushi more than anything in this world, and it was almost similar to the friendship of Kara and Todo. Osomatsu was glad that Ichi kept Ichimatsu's kind nature towards the sunny brother. It would have been terrifying to think of a version of Ichimatsu that would treat Jyushimatsu badly. Osomatsu was glad that the alternate dimension didn't alter the bonds between Ichi and Jyushi and Kara and Todo.

 _If the alternate dimension fucked up their bonds with one another just as it fucked up their personalities.. I wouldn't even wanna think about it._

After noticing that Ichi wasn't going to follow up that statement with anything, Osomatsu decided to speak up. "Ichi?"

Ichi turned to them as soon as he heard Osomatsu's voice, breaking out of whatever trance he was earlier. His peaceful expression turned angry, as he let go of Jyushi's hand. "You." He hissed, clenching his fists. His glasses were hanging on the collar of his polo, and his necktie, which had been on his leg, had now fallen to the floor. "What the fuck happened? Weren't we just outside?" Slowly, he started walking towards the group of five. He heard Kara shuffle from behind him, and Todo telling him to back off or something. It probably meant that Todo was sensing the dangerous aura emitting from Ichi.

Ah. Ichi was probably talking about the "reset". That meant he remembered! Osomatsu was quite happy about that.. but he wasn't happy with how murderous Ichi was glaring at him. "O-Oh. You remember too?" Well, that meant Kara's theory was somewhat correct? Did that also mean Jyushi and Lonely remembered? Well, as Osomatsu said earlier, they'd cross that bridge once they got there. Or burned, whichever came first.

Suddenly, Ichi lost his cool. "TELL ME, MATSUNO!"

"You fucker-!" Chibita and Iyami had to restrain Todo before he punched the life out of Ichimatsu.

Within a second, Ichi was already holding Osomatsu up by his collar. "I-Ichi!" Osomatsu stammered out. His rainbow-scarf fell down to the floor, but that was honestly the least of Osomatsu's concerns. "P-Put me down-!"

"I'M NOT PUTTING YOU DOWN UNTIL YOU EXPLAIN THIS!" He shrieked.

"Dude! How the fuck am I supposed to explain it to you if you're holding me up like this?!" Osomatsu kicked his legs, trying to force Ichi to drop him.

And he did. He dropped Osomatsu to the floor, causing the eldest Matsuno to yelp from falling on his butt. Kara was immediately at his side, helping him up. "Are you okay, Osomatsu-niisan? Actually, don't answer that. Your bottom must sting a lot." He murmured, picking up Osomatsu's scarf and gently wrapping it around Osomatsu's neck. "Plus, we shouldn't fight in a hospital, much less in Jyushi's room-"

"What is wrong with you?!" Todo stomped over to Ichimatsu, and like what the purple-eyed male did to Osomatsu, Todo grabbed him by his collar, except the pink-haired punk used both of his hands. Ichi's glasses now fell to the floor the same fashion as Osomatsu's scarf, but thankfully, it didn't break. Osomatsu knew Ichi didn't want to have another pair of glasses made. He pretty much lost three (or was it four?) in only a week. "Every single fucking time you don't get what you want in like five seconds, you try to kill us!"

"Unhand me, Katsuna." Ichi growled, baring his fangs.

"Like hell I'd do that!" Todo barked, a vein appearing on his forehead. "Don't expect that what you do to us won't happen to you too, you pompous prick! You've been getting on my nerves since the day we fucking met, and if it weren't for Osomatsu, Kara, and especially Jyushi, I would have torn you apart with my bare hands!" He snarled. "You're nothing more than a pompous piece of shit! If Jyushi didn't need you, I probably would have killed you already!"

"Todo, that is enough! Put Ichi down!" Kara scolded, putting a hand over one of Todo's arm. With reluctance, Todo gently lowered his arms to put Ichi back on the ground. "I understand you two don't get along, but can you please settle this somewhere else?!"

Ichi stood up, putting his glasses on his face as he glared daggers at Todo. "What the fuck did you say about my brother?" He hissed. "What do you know about my brother, Katsuna?!"

"I know for a fact that you suck at being an older brother!" Todo spat. "You're dangerous as fuck, you know that?! Your brother needs someone to keep him safe! And by keeping him safe, it doesn't mean you have to kill every fucking obstacle on your way!"

"Todo, stop! Don't-"

Osomatsu was cut off by Ichi suddenly colliding his fist against Todo, causing the pink-eyed male to stumble back and crash on the floor. "Don't you speak about Jyushi as if you know him personally!"

Todo sat up, rubbing his mouth with the sleeve of his hoodie. "He talks about you so fondly.. and this is how you react?!"

"You don't know Jyushi!" Ichi clenched his fists. "You don't know how much I sacrificed for him! He is what is most important to me, and I would do anything for him to grow happily! Don't you dare say anything about me being shitty, because you clearly don't know how much I sacrificed just for him to keep on living in this shitty world! If my brother didn't think of you as his brother, I would have ended you earlier! What do you know about sacrifice, Katsuna?! Absolutely nothing! You don't deserve to be his brother, much less his friend-!"

"STOP IT!" Before Ichi can snap at whoever dared to interrupt him, he suddenly realized whose voice it belonged to. Turning around, he saw Jyushi, sitting up, with tears on his yellow eyes. Around his arms was a white pillow, something he was cuddling close to his chest. Jyushi looked absolutely scared, but besides that, he looked tired too. There were bags under his eyes, not as noticeable as Ichi's or Oso's but they were still there, and his cowlick was drooping, as if even that single strand of hair was upset and tired. " Please.. don't fight.."

 _How long has he been awake..?!_

"Jyushi.." Ichi murmured.

"Nii-san.." Jyushi whimpered, trying to rub away the tears with his sleeve-clad hands. Fear was laced in his voice, and it was shaky too. "Please don't hurt my nii-san.."

Osomatsu glanced at Ichi, who seemed to have such an unreadable expression on his face. He wondered what was wrong with the megalomaniac president until he noticed that Ichi was the only one to have thrown a punch. Todo, who was now looking at Jyushi with shock, didn't have a chance to retaliate. Todo placed a hand on his cheek as Kara knelt down to assist him, but Chibita and Iyami were looking at each other in shock.

Osomatsu then remembered that Jyushi had cuddled close to Todo earlier, before the day was cut short and had to be restarted.

 _He's talking about Todo. Not Ichi._

After that realization, Ichi took a deep breath and walked towards the door, making sure to slam the door as hard as he could, which caused one of the framed pictures on the wall to fall and shatter. Jyushi cried even more and started crying out for his "Nii-san", and Osomatsu felt his heart break just by hearing the sad cries of one of his little brothers. Ichi must have felt so devastated.

 _Poor Ichi. Not only is he seeing Jyushi, his beloved little brother, suffer.. but Jyushi doesn't even consider him his brother.. Jyushi can't remember anything.._

After standing up, Kara gave Todo a nod, lightly pushing him to the crying Jyushi, who was now burying his face on the pillow he was clutching close to his chest earlier. With awkwardness, Todo approached Jyushi's bed and sat beside him, before reaching out and patting his hair softly. "I'm fine." He lied. It was stinging and Todo was sure that punch just knocked over one of his teeth, but he had to lie to make Jyushi stop crying. "Really, I'm fine. Ichi.. Ichi didn't punch so hard." Yet another bullshit lie made right on the spot. "D-Don't cry. I swear, I'm fine-"

"S-Scary.." Jyushi hiccuped, looking up at Todo. He suddenly hugged him and continued to cry against his hoodie, burying his face against the pink fabric. "H-He's.. really scary.. he looks.. and acts.. just like my papa.."

 _Oh no._

Kara looked at Osomatsu with a frown. "..I'm pretty sure we need to fix this before we fix anything else?"

"We do." Osomatsu sighed. He really wanted to go out and chase Ichi himself, but he had to stay by Jyushi's side, just in case his "friend" were to appear. "I really didn't want it to come to this, but since you're the only peacekeeper in this little group.." He rubbed his temples, before looking at Kara seriously. "..Kara, as your big brother, I order you to go out and confront Ichi." He stated, pointing a finger at the blue-eyed cavalier. "If there's anyone Ichi probably doesn't hate, it's you. Ironic, considering that Ichimatsu hates Karamatsu more than anything in this planet.. but since you're different from Karamatsu, your dynamic with Ichi is probably different as well."

Todo and Kara then looked at him with such dumbfounded expressions, while Chibita and Iyami merely blinked. "Wait, what-"

Kara was suddenly pushed outside the room by Osomatsu, with Chibita pushing Iyami out as well. "Take Iyami with you. Have him use his overbite as a shield if Ichi tries to punch you." Osomatsu and Chibita said in unison. With that, they slammed the door right on their faces.

"..Wait, what?!"


	122. Chapter 122: Cavalier and Megalomaniac

"Geez.. why me of all people? Osomatsu-niisan.." Kara groaned to himself. He usually wasn't one to complain so much, especially since he was often a pushover and listened to the orders of others. But then again, that was his weak point. He listened to others easily, and Todo often told him to fight for himself, especially if he didn't like the task he was assigned to do. But he couldn't even muster out the courage to knock on the door of Jyushi's room yet again, even after he heard Todo scream at Osomatsu for pushing him outside the room. But hey. At least he had Iyami with him, even if the older male was grumbling about Osomatsu as well. Ah, if only Kara wasn't such a nice person. Maybe he'd do the same.

"Where even is that guy?" Iyami grumbled. "What a baby. Who leaves just like that?"

Kara had to internally disagree with whatever Iyami was saying though, but he wouldn't, just for the sake of letting the older male vent out his frustrations. If one doesn't have anything nice to say, it's best to not say anything at all. At least, those were the words Kara lives with. He didn't know what kind of pain Ichi was feeling right now, but he was certain about one thing; right now, as he's thinking these words, Ichi now has a deep hatred for Todo. And it wasn't only because Kara's dear childhood friend had said such hurtful words doubted that Ichi was the kind of person to get hurt by words anyway. Rather, he now had this deep hatred for Todo, because Jyushi considered the other as his actual brother.

In a way, it probably made Ichi feel replaced. But Kara couldn't pin the blame on Jyushi. The yellow-eyed male was scared, and probably saw something about Todo that made him feel like the pink-haired punk was his brother. Kara was proud that his friend could do something that didn't involve breaking tables or doors, and Jyushi could pretty much turn Todo into a softy, which he secretly was. Maybe it was the pink, fluffy hair. So, it was no one's fault, in Kara's point of view. Jyushi couldn't remember anything, Ichi couldn't help but feel that way, and Kara had no control over Todo's appearance or how he decided to handle Jyushi for the time being.

 _Just as long as he doesn't punch him, of course. But I doubt Todo would do that. As short-tempered and as reckless as he is, and especially violent, he is not one to harm a child._

"Iyami-san." Kara turned to his companion, who had been grumbling more stuff about Ichi that Kara was sure he would disagree with if he had the guts to argue. Which he unfortunately didn't. "Can you go ask anyone in the hospital if they saw where Ichi went? I'm gonna go get a drink for him. He needs to cool off, and I think a cool drink would help with that. Let's meet up at the lobby.. that is, if you want to help me with this, of course. I mean, Osomatsu did assign this task to me and me alone.." He quickly added.

Iyami either noticed his anxiety or was just being nice, because he just nodded and didn't question things further. Maybe it was the former. As mean as it sounded, Kara doubted that Iyami was just "being nice". Those words and the name "Iyami" did not go well together in a singular sentence. "Fine. Me will go ask people. But hurry up! Me isn't as patient as Chibita." He walked away without another word.

 _..Chibita isn't really the most patient person around._

Kara sighed, walking over to the nearby vending machine and taking out his coin purse. It was in the shape of a burger, and though it was rather silly, yet still adorable nonetheless, it was a gift from Todo. And it was already rare enough for the pink-haired punk to be nice to people, but considering they were as close as brothers, Todo frequently got Kara something he knew he'd like. A burger-shaped coin purse was one of them, and to be honest.. well, as childish as it looked, Kara appreciated it. Todo got it for him with good intentions in mind, so of course he loved it.

He took out a few coins from the coin purse, and pushed them right in the slot, before pressing the button. After a few seconds and clanks, his drink came out of the slot, and Kara bent over to pick it up. An iced coffee, the black, and therefore bitter, kind of coffee. If Todo was here, he'd remark on how it would be as dark, as bitter, and as cold as Ichi himself. But, as Kara said earlier, he wouldn't think badly of Ichi. Plus, that drink was for Kara. He'd get Ichi something else, something he'd probably like. Even though Ichi was pompous, attacked Osomatsu and Todo several times with that scarily-sharp katana of his, and threw him against the marble floor, Kara wanted to be nice-

He froze.

 _"Tch. What a pest. Kyabarie Kara, was it? Such a weakling, compared to you. And yet, you waste your strength on protecting someone like him. Such a waste, really."_

He took a deep breath.

 _It's alright, Kara. That was a few days ago. You feel better now, don't you? The bruises you got from both the yakuza group.. and that single bruise you got from Ichi.. it doesn't hurt anymore. They don't hurt anymore. You're fine._

He knew he was lying to himself, but what was the point in clinging to your past fears? Absolutely nothing, he thought. Well.. he'd take the black coffee for himself. It was a good drink whenever he needed to calm his nerves. He took more coins out of his silly-lookinh coin purse and fit them through the slot again. This time, he pressed a different button. He was sure Ichi wouldn't appreciate the coffee anyway, not like it was meant for him in the first place. Kara didn't even have time to drink coffee today. After picking up his drink yet again, he read the name of the different drink he got for Ichi; Dr. Pepper.

Stuffing the hamburger-shaped coin purse inside the pocket of his blue hoodie that adorned his face with sunglasses on, he let out a tired sigh and glanced at the can of iced coffee yet again. He.. didn't really know what Ichi would like. He just assumed that the latter liked Dr. Pepper, seeing as he used it to down all the chicken wings he ate a few days ago. Even though he thought the drink was disgusting (in his opinion, at least), he could tell whether people liked certain things or not. Maybe it was part of his "motherly" nature to be gifted with the ability to be able to tell what people like or dislike, who knows.

 _Alright.. now, I just have to look for Iyami._

Carrying one drink with one hand, he started walking towards the lobby. He was too much of a goody-two-shoes to do what he saw Osomatsu, Todo, and Lonely do to Ichi last night, back at the manor. It was when they found out Kara had left Jyushi all alone at the lobby, and they slapped some senses into Ichi in order to not only make him grow the fuck up, but also to distract his from possibly punching Kara. And if that were to happen, he was sure Todo would have reacted violently, as he always did whenever Kara got hurt. It had always been the way after all.

Maybe Osomatsu was right in giving this task of calming down Ichi to Kara. No way in hell was Todo able to do so. Besides his hands being full with handling the scared Jyushi and all, Todo and Ichi obviously would probably never get along, and a murder might happen at the hospital. Chibita could kill Osomatsu if he didn't want to do it, and Iyami was.. well, here was Iyami, aiding him and all. And obviously, the eldest brother had to stay behind to make sure that Jyushi would be okay, especially with what happened "earlier", with the course of nature going haywire and all, and probably would have lead to what seemed to be the apocalypse.

 _But that doesn't matter. What matters is finding Ichi and dragging him back to Jyushi.. and patching things up between them._

* * *

The front of the hospital had a fountain, so Ichi decided it would be the best place to cool off for the time being. Not too much of a smart move, since he didn't have anything to disguise himself with. Thankfully, he didn't wear something too flashy (which he doubted his usual clothes were), and he probably looked like a stressed salary man if he tried hard enough. He even had the naturally messy hair and tired eyes. The coldness of the winter breeze didn't bother him one bit, even though it clearly did when Lonely had decided to escape earlier. Maybe it was because of how hot-headed he was feeling right now, and he was slightly cooling off.

Ichi scowled. He just made a pun and he hated it.

He.. he tried his best to hold in all his anger from earlier. He really did. But maybe he let it out just a bit by punching a nearby tree, and maybe that was why the guards outside the hospital were looking at him suspiciously, especially since he managed to actually leave something akin to a dent on the poor plant that did nothing wrong to face Ichi's wrath. But he could pass on as some poor, stressed-out sap that probably lost a loved one and needed to take it out on something. While that wasn't exactly the case, seeing Jyushi so terrified of him was basically like seeing Jyushi dead. Overstatement, much? To Ichi, it wasn't.

Just by seeing Jyushi so scared like that.. it felt as if Ichi was watching Jyushi deal with something that could actually take away his life.

Jyushi mattered most to him, especially since Ichi had nothing left in this world. Not his kind mother, not his monster of a father, and hell, even his childhood friend and right-hand man had died last night. It was hard to act unaffected all the time, which was something he had to do for Jyushi. He had to carry all the emotional burdens. Never would he let his precious little brother's smile falter yet again. Ichi would do anything to keep Jyushi's smile on his face, and yet..

 _"Nii-san.. please don't hurt my nii-san.."_

Ichi looked at the ring on his finger, before closing his eyes and sighing. "I didn't.." He murmured. "I didn't.. I didn't hurt him.."

 _But you did._

Ichi's eyes snapped open upon hearing that voice. He stood up from the fountain and looked on every direction, wondering where the voice had come from. It was so familiar to Ichi.. yet, he couldn't point his finger at it. Whose voice did it belong to?

 _Remember last night? You rewrote your own memories. You fooled yourself into thinking you were your father's puppet. You hurt your brother. The real you.. heh, who is to say that it is really you inhabiting that body of your's?_

"If this is some post-possession bullshit effect, I swear to god.." He growled. He left his katana at Jyushi's room.. but he was sure whoever had spoken could be punched until their very souls left their body. "If you don't show your fucking face, I swear to god-"

"Ichi?"

Now that was a different voice. Less hostile and a bit more meek. When he turned around, he saw Kara walking towards him, two drinks in hand. Out of all the people that Ichi has met this week, the blue-eyed cavalier honestly seemed to be the one that was the least hostile and dangerous. In all actuality, the man looked like a pushover. And he was, according to his file. "..Kyabarie." He scoffed, acknowledging the other's existence, despite not wanting to. At least this one was quiet and nice, unlike his certain friend that happened to have pink hair and a foul mouth.

"A-Ah.. hi there." Kara extended an arm towards him, handing out a cold drink. Ichi's nose scrunched in disgust, but Kara continued to talk. "Osomatsu sent me out here to help you cool off-"

"Don't need it."

As much as Kara wanted to refrain from thinking such a thing, Ichi was talking absolute bullshit. At least, in Todo's crass words that infected Kara's mind, he was. "No, you very much need it." He retorted, much like a mother to their stubborn child. Ichi glared daggers at him, but motherly instinct was stronger than that. No way in hell was he going to let this pass. "Look, you can sulk out here in the cold as much as you want, I don't really care just as long as you don't die from hypothermia or by turning into an actual popsicle. But at least wear a scarf and vent your frustrations out in a healthy way."

"What-"

"That poor tree didn't deserve such punches." Kara told him sternly. "I have a plant at home, and I refuse to inflict my dear Rosa with such violent outbursts, even if they are Todo's! I'd rather he break yet another couch, just as long as he doesn't lay a finger on my Rosa."

 _Wasn't Rosa the plant-_

Kara shoved the can against Ichi's chest, causing the latter to feel something cold against his already cold skin. When he looked at the canned drink, he realized it was Dr. Pepper.

 _Ah._

He.. he liked this drink, in all honesty. "T-This is.."

"Look." Kara raised a hand. "I just.. want to talk to you. About your anger, about Jyushi. And most certainly about Todo. Trust me, he isn't always like that."

Ichi scoffed, refusing to believe such a thing. Even if Kara did get him a can of Dr. Pepper, he still wasn't going to let Todo off the hook so easily.

"It's obvious that you care for Jyushi. So much."

Ichi looked up at him.

Kara had this smile on his face, somewhat timid, yet sincere. He and Jyushi shared the same face, as did Todo, Ichi, Osomatsu, and Lonely himself, so in a way.. that smile almost resembled one of Jyushi's relaxed smiles, when he wasn't smiling with his mouth agape. "And I want to help. I know I'm not as strong as you, Choro, or Todo.. or as brave and leader-like as Osomatsu.. but, like Jyushi.. I know for a fact that violence isn't really the answer to anything. So please. Let me help."

The purple-eyed megalomaniac only responded by blinking twice like an idiot.

 _..Kyabarie Kara.. true.. he is a weakling.. but his true strength.. it definitely lies somewhere else._


	123. Chapter 123: The Reason For Living

Both Ichi and Kara sat on the fountain in awkward silence, despite the noise around them. Children were playing by pelting snowballs at one another, blissfully unaware of the suffering the adults must have been going through. Most teenagers who accompanied their parents were just scrolling through their phones, probably wanting to just go home. And the adults themselves were either very stressed, upset, or just plain tired, yet, finding the strength to scream on their phones. Ichi couldn't really grasp the idea of screaming into one's phone to express their anger and frustration to the person in the other line. He doubt he himself had done it before, seeing as how he only shows his rage in person.

"So, uh.." Kara tried to think of any topic that won't get on Ichi's nerves. So much for trying to talk to him. But still.. he wouldn't give up so easily. Ichi just drank half of his can of Dr. Pepper, so hopefully, Kara would be able to think of something to talk about. "Ah! I doubt we ever get to talk much about you these past few days and all. It's.. it's always been about us, or about work.. or even your relationship with Jyushi. Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing, of course. I think it's sweet that you love and dote on your brother so much." Kara said, raising a finger to make his point. "But maybe.. maybe we can get along better if we know more about each other! Don't you think?"

"No."

And that was Ichi's answer, short, simple, and most of all, blunt. Kara's eye twitched. Unlike Todo, Ichi wouldn't sugar-coat his words, especially since he didn't know Kara so well. And even if he did, he'd still be blunt as ever. "..Anyway.." Kara decided to ignore Ichi's first response to his question. "I know you like chess, playing the piano, chicken wings, and Dr. Pepper. Jyushi told us you taught him how to play the piano, and that you're quite good at it." He saw Ichi perk up at that statement. Good. He got Ichi's attention. "..And while I know this doesn't seem to be a good example.. he does display skills of his own, hm? Besides his amazing memory and artistic ability, he's quite good at playing the piano too, right?"

Ichi immediately remembered the events from last night. Jyushi had been playing the piano, which was used to lure them to the room where they all fought. If any normal person walked in that room, they'd probably question why that room looked different compared to the other rooms in the manor; it only had stained-glass windows and a large piano in the center. That was the very room where his mother taught him how to play the piano to express himself, and sad to say, Jyushi never got to use it. He only got to use the piano back at Ichi's office at Flag Corporation's one hundred and thirteenth floor. "..He is."

"He seems fond of talking about you too." Kara timidly chuckled. "He.. looks up to you. And says you're a great person."

"..He's still naive." Ichi murmured. "I killed.. yet, he acts like my sin doesn't exist, and that I never murdered my dad in the first place. He acts like someone else did it. I'm the reason why Akatsuka is like this. Yet.. he believes I'm doing good." He scoffed. His brother was truly innocent. It would kill Ichi to get rid of that innocence, especially since he promised his mother that he would do anything to protect Jyushi. And that included his happiness, naturally. "I mean, I know I got told by everyone that I should let him help me out more, I should let him learn from his mistakes.. but he's still a kid. He didn't have a proper childhood, so I try to let him live his days acting like one, living a childhood he can never have."

"Neither did you." Kara said with a frown on his face. When Ichi looked at him questioningly, he chuckled. "I meant to say that you didn't have a proper childhood either. You.. you were forced to grow up, weren't you? I mean, I'm not saying Jyushi's birth caused you to be like that. But it's more or less.. well, you had to raise Jyushi at the age of thirteen, right? And manage your school works and company while you were at it."

"..True." Ichi looked at his lap. As odd as it felt to share his problems with anyone besides Dekapan or Hatabou, Kara wasn't too bad to talk to. "But.. I had to do it. Jyushi.. Jyushi needed to have someone he could rely on. He was scared, weak.. he still is, unfortunately. I just.. I just want him to smile and feel safe. But in a world like this?" He clicked his tongue in annoyance. He brought the can of Dr. Pepper to his mouth and took a few sips. Thank god that Kara gave him this drink to calm his nerves. If he had given him coffee, or worse, any alcoholic beverage (particularly wine), he'd have the power to punch an entire tree down."Low chance. I can't even play games with him half the time, and while Jyushi acts like it's okay.."

"Deep down, you know it's not." Kara finished for him, fiddling with the empty can of coffee.

"Exactly. Jyushi's really lonely. He.. he doesn't have any friends outside of Flag Corporation. I know he's pretending to be okay, and it hurts to see him like that. He needs companionship."

Jyushi must really like to play pretend, Kara thought. "Even if he's lonely, he happens to be very skilled with people. He's just.. so nice and honest about how he feels towards them, most of the time. He's polite too, and even if he just met a person for a day, he really treasures them." He remembered the day they practically broke in Flag Corporation's building by hacking the systems. And Jyushi had stopped their possible deaths just by entering the room. He turned back to Ichi, who had an unreadable expresison on his face. But, if one was like Kara, who could read people's' emotions with ease.. he could say with confidence that Ichi's eyes had a tinge of sadness in them."..I know you must feel so heartbroken upon seeing your own little brother scared of you."

"..I do." He gritted his teeth, crushing the can of Dr. Pepper on his hand. "But as if I'd make that obvious. Especially in front of Katsuna."

 _He must really hate Todo._

Kara sighed. "I can't force you to like Todo. But I will tell you that Todo isn't a bad person. He's.. troubled. A lot. And I try to take care of him and stop him from doing things that could harm him even more. When you get to know him.. he's really soft. We've been friends for so long, and I'm thankful for his friendship." He calmly smiled at Ichi. "..Todo is to me what you are to Jyushi. I'm not saying I hate you, and I'm not trying to make you feel guilty.. but what would you feel if it were Todo who had thrown Jyushi against the floor?"

"..What?"

"On the day you met us, you fought against Todo. I got involved, and.." He chuckled nervously. "It.. still hurts.. actually."

Ichi blinked. "...Ah."

"..If Todo had done that to Jyushi, what do you think you could have done to him?"

"Murder him, naturally." That answer came in scarily quick, but Kara didn't know what to expect from the same person who pointed a katana at his older brother on the day they met just for talking.

Still, Kara shrugged it off. "Would Jyushi let you do that? Especially since he thinks of Todo as a friend?"

"..No."

Kara clapped his hands together, finally smiling. "See? Think of it this way. Everyone is either an 'Ichi' or a 'Jyushi'. We have someone willing to protect the ones they love, and someone who is the very cause of their living. I guess it won't be to narcissistic to say that I am the 'Jyushi', whereas my dear childhood friend is the 'Ichi'. People want to protect the ones they love, and seeing them hurt.. well, it's natural they would get angry. Likewise, there are ones who are.. meek, or not as physically strong as their loved ones. Shamefully, I am an example of that. But what else can I do? Why, provide moral support to my dear friend." Knowing that Ichi wouldn't be able to strike him after such a topic, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure Jyushi does the same. To you.. his happiness, his smile.. it's everything to you."

"..It is.."

 _I promised her.. no matter what.. that I'd protect him.._

"I'm sure Jyushi wouldn't want to see you get in a fight as well. Judging by how he reacted when you hit Todo, I'm sure that'd be the same reaction if Todo had punched you. For now, he thinks Todo is his brother. And I know you might, in a way, feel replaced." Immediately, Ichi looked up at him, his face red. "Don't even try to deny it. I can see right through you. But until Jyushi gets his memories back.. just continue being you. Be nice to him, as you usually are. Maybe he'll stop being scared of you, and maybe that'll make him remember who you are again. And.. as odd as this sounds.." He chuckled again. "If Todo does something to provoke you.. either ignore him or just tell me. Todo is such a child at times, but he listens to me most of the time, so no worries. Understand?"

Ichi blinked, looking at his crushed can of Dr. Pepper, before looking back at Ichi. He.. actually felt lighter, compared to earlier. Never mind that weird voice from earlier, talking to Kara felt as if he took a weight out of his chest. And it felt nice. "..I understand clearly, Kyabarie."

"Good! We should head back now. I'll have you and Todo make up as well! I can't handle the atmosphere when two people are in opposite corners of the room glaring at one another. Maybe do a handshake."

 _..He's too much like a mother, oh my god._

"Shall we head back?"

Ichi snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, uh, sure. You.. go on. I'll catch up to you, Kyabarie."

Kara nodded. "Very well."

As Kara stood up and walked away from the fountain, Ichi turned back to look around the area. No one had been watching them as they chatted, and there was certainly limited places to hide besides behind the trees. Even so, Ichi would have seen such a thing, as he was observant and cautious. "Strange.." He murmured with a scowl. He certainly hoped he wasn't having delusions yet again. Or if this was a side effect from Kamimatsu's and Tougou's influence, he'd slap Osomatsu for answers. "That voice from earlier.. sounded familiar.. who on earth was it? ..No matter." He tossed the crushed can over his shoulder, before walking away and following Kara.

The can fell to the floor as Ichi tossed it away. However, as soon as he did that, something bubbled from the ground and enveloped the can in black slime. As it did that, the can melted, and the slime once again disappeared into the ground.


	124. Chapter 124: Family Gathering

When Kara and Ichi came back, they saw Jyushi sleeping one again, except he was sleeping on his left side, where Todo was sitting. Osomatsu was sitting between Iyami and Chibita, and upon seeing them, he stood up from his seat, lazily making a grin. "So? How'd it go? Kara, are you sure that Ichi won't murder any of us in the room anytime soon?" Judging by that glare Ichi sent him, it wasn't really matter to be used as a joke. Osomatsu gulped, before nervously laughing and swaying his hand to prove he didn't mean to offend the purple-eyed megalomaniac. "Uh, that's just a joke."

"Just as it should be." Ichi scoffed, crossing his arms. "Now then, Matsuno. I believe we have enough time before Dekapan and the others get here. And seeing as how things here were handled differently from last time.." He adjusted his glasses. "I guess it would be best to keep the ignorant informed about this situation. Because, even as I don't want to get involved with your stupidity and shenanigans, this leaves me no other choice. It seems whatever is after you is now a threat to this world we live in, and I don't want to let Jyushi be exposed to such things. It's best to be prepared, and defending yourself from the enemy is important.. so it's best to learn more about the enemy before striking."

Osomatsu blinked. Ichi was certainly more talkative than Ichimatsu, but Osomatsu didn't think he was that talkative. Especially since Ichi refused to speak to him without murmuring insults and whatnot. "Uh.. what?"

The pink-haired punk would have smacked Osomatsu on the head if he wasn't so busy watching over Jyushi. "He means that you should inform him about your situation, idiot." Todo pointed out. Osomatsu glared at him, but Todo only shrugged in reply. "I mean, you haven't fully explained the reason why you're around this dimension, right? Might as well do so, since Ichi's definitely not going to help us out if he doesn't know what's really going on. I mean, sure, Kamimatsu wants your ass and all.. but you explained all this bullshit to Kara and Jyushi, and Kara explained it to me, so what better time to explain it than now?"

"It also saves us a lot of time. We have nothing to do but wait after all, so maybe filling him in about your situation is a better way to pass the time. Plus, with us around, ou may be able to explain things you have a hard time explaining normally when you're alone." Kara added. "We can explain this to Choro once he's better, and Jyushi already knows, so we don't have to worry about that. We only have to worry about getting him his memories back."

"Oh, I see what you mean." Osomatsu looked at Ichi. True, he still hadn't explained everything to Ichi, but that was mainly because Ichi wouldn't even try to believe him if he shared the entire story. But now, Ichi seemed willing to learn more about it. It won't be too bad, right? Plus, he needed their consent after all if he wanted to inject them with the syringe and give them some of the memories of his brothers. "Well, it's kinda a long story. But I'm pretty sure you know the basics, right?"

"You came from another dimension in which you have me, Jyushi, Katsuna, Kyabarie.. and that masked magician as your younger twin brothers, yes?" Ichi raised an eyebrow. "Normally, such a thing would sound unbelievable and nothing more than a mockery of actual good stories.. but with everything we just went through in a few days, it seems likely."

"A phone wouldn't normally blow a door away, eh?" Osomatsu grinned sheepishly. "That's not normal."

"And neither would my brother stab someone with a sword and kill them mercilessly. But alas, it happened, despite such a thing normally not being able to happen. I see it won't be too careless of me to finally believe whatever story you have. If Kyabarie and Katsuna believe you, I might as well do the same." Ichi murmured. "But really.. your brother, Choromatsu, said that you ended up here because the Matsuno of this dimension teamed up with that white-clad individual? The same one who tricked Tougou into helping him and the same one that tried to start the end of the world?"

"Yeah. That asshole." Todo rested his cheek against his palm.

"Why though?"

"That's a mystery." Osomatsu shrugged. "But it won't be too far off to say that Kamimatsu must have tricked Oso into helping him. I mean, he tricked our good ol' psychopathic neighbor Tougou, and even went as far as to give him powers so he can mess with us. He got Totoko-chan and Nyaa-chan involved too." If Choromatsu was in Osomatsu's place, he knew his Risingfappyski of a brother would have lost his shit last night.

"But Osomatsu.. our Osomatsu, can always see through the lies of people." Iyami chimed in. "He isn't one that gets tricked easily. He may look stoic, but me knows he doesn't believe lies!"

"Iyami's got a point there." Now it was Chibita speaking. "He's a weird one, but the fact that he never listened to anyone's lies is kinda amazing."

 _Then how did Oso listen to Kamimatsu then..?_

"There's no way Oso went with Kamimatsu's plan willingly. He must have been tricked." Osomatsu persisted. "I know he's a good person. He's just.. quite odd. Maybe creepily quiet, but he seems to be a good guy in all actuality."

"So, the Matsuno Oso of this world is like that..?" Ichi scowled. "His file doesn't state that he has such.. powers. The ones he displayed last night. He was able to let us hear both your's and Katsuna's thoughts, as well as sense Jyushi's presence and even go to his mind as well."

"Wait, you went to his mind?!"

"You were passed out, Osomatsu-niisan." Kara pointed out.

"Awww, no fair!" Osomatsu whined. "It must have been cool-"

"We literally could have died in there." Kara interrupted. "I mean, yes, it was quite nice that we could float, but-"

"You guys floated in there?!" Osomatsu pouted. "Lucky.."

"Osomatsu." Todo snapped at him. "I didn't wake at four in the morning for this. Focus."

"Ah, yeah. Sorry, got a bit envious there! Next time Oso brings you in someone's head, make sure I'm with ya guys, 'kay? I only floated once, and that was in outer space, after I plated a game of baseball against aliens." He grinned, ignoring Ichi's confused look. "Anyway, here's the thing. I got sucked in here by some black hole, y'know that already. I wake up at my house and realize that it's not my room, but Oso's. Mom and dad send me off a week later, after I got a package from Choromatsu that had the phone and other items, such as this scarf here and the notepad."

"Any reason that scarf of your's reeks of perfume?" Ichi scrunched his nose in disgust.

"None at all. Karamatsu's just an overdramatic idiot. The smell will go away in a few days, hopefully. It's been here for like a week." Osomatsu shrugged. "Anyway, I got Chibita and Iyami to bring me to the city, and on the same day, I met Kara after I heard about him from Todo's old working place. The next day, I met Todo, and man, lemme tell you something! Having a plate thrown at your face isn't really the best feeling in the world, especially if it doesn't hit you and hits Iyami instead!" He felt Iyami step on his foot in irritation. "Ow! Fucker. Anyways, he even had his foot near my face. Nice shoes, by the way!"

"Tch." Todo rolled his eyes. "Idiot."

"And that was the same day Jyushi met Todo! They ran into one another, and Jyushi gave Ichi a business card. But that's for how we all formally met and shit."

"I see.." Ichi nodded. "Though, I have heard that Katsuna and Kyabarie here possess the memories of your brothers? I wonder how they are able to do so?"

"Ah. They do have my brothers' memories! Oh! Wait here, I'm gonna get ya something.." Osomatsu fished for something in his bag, before taking out the syringe. For some reason, Ichi paled at the sight of it. But maybe it was because of how weird the liquid looked? It was just a small syringe after all. "Here it is! This is how they get the memories of Todomatsu and Karamatsu! I haven't injected Jyushi yet, don't worry! He's such a responsible little brother, wanting to ask for your permission first. Naturally, we have to fill in Lonely as well, and I don't think injecting Jyushi with the syringe while he has no recollection of what the fuck happened is a good idea." He grinned at Ichi. "So..~"

"Are you going to inject me with that?!" Ichi sounded so offended. "That thing?! Are you even qualified to do so?!"

Kara looked at him with a confused expression. "Of course you have to be injected with the syringe. You need to get injected for Osomatsu to get home."

"..Or are you scared of needles?" Todo smirked. "What a baby."

"Todo, please don't start a fight.."

"I am most certainly not!" Ichi huffed, crossing his arms as his face flushed red. It was obvious, everyone in the room thought; Suuji Ichi, Flag Corporation's supposedly fearless president, was afraid of needles. "Anyway, now that I know of this situation.. it would be best to tell such things to Kodoku as well. Since he's involved with us, there's no doubt about it that he has to learn more about this as well. He probably remembers about this as well."

"I very much do!" A voice chirped. Everyone's head snapped to the open window. Suddenly, someone climbed in from out of nowhere and climbed in the room, casually dusting his hospital gown as he stepped in. They could clearly see how skinny and lanky he was, as the sleeves of the hospital gown were simply hanging off his arms. "So, this is what everything's about? I knew it! Magic is real!"

 _..What?_

"C-Choro.." Kara stuttered, fully realizing that Lonely had somehow got out of his hospital room and found Jyushi's. "H-How did you-"

"I was quite confused on why I suddenly feel better, without a sprained ankle and all!" The green-eyed magician smiled. "And then I realized that my window wasn't covered in wooden planks. And when I looked at my clock.. dear me, imagine the shock when I found out that we were back at the start! I was so confused, but I remember escaping the hospital and meeting two bumbling gentlemen.. and I woke up at the hospital again! So I decided not to escape this time, but rather, look for Sweets! Problem is.." He frowned. "My nurse wouldn't let me, and-"

"Hold the fuck up!" Todo and Osomatsu shouted in unison. "You escaped your room through the window?!"

"Of course!" Lonely tilted his head. "Hmmmm? Is that considered odd in the city-?"

"IT IS!"

Lonely blinked. "Oh. I see." He clapped his hands together. "Well, definitely not as weird as our dear Pine here being some sort of alien from another world. I could sense the truth laced in his words." He smirked at Osomatsu. "I knew there was something special in you, Pine.~ But I didn't expect that you were that special-"

"Okay, hold up." Osomatsu raised a hand. "You.. seriously managed to get from your hospital room to Jyushi's? By swinging from window to window?"

Lonely didn't like getting interrupted, but he was so interested in Osomatsu that he didn't even mind. "As I said, yes."

"..Dude." Osomatsu rubbed his temples. "You're fucked up."


	125. Chapter 125: The Show Goes On

_I always knew that Pine was something special. But this is an anomaly that is yet to be investigated. To come from another dimension, he says? Truly impressive.._

"So.. there seems to be something very, very odd about you, Pine. Odd, yet definitely interesting and mostly, special.~ You're not as ordinary as you seem to be, Pine.~" Lonely grinned. Out of all the people Osomatsu told his situation to, Lonely was the only one who didn't seem shocked in the slightest. Maybe it was because Lonely was an oddball himself, but still, he was being creepy with how casual he was acting about this entire situation. Not only that, but even though he seemed to be injured from last night's events, he certainly was chipper. "Well, this little play certainly got more interesting. I thought we would all part ways after the party was over and Sweets is safe and sound.. but I hadn't expected to get involved in something so interesting. Ohhhh.~ Does that mean I get to stay with you lot for now?" He chuckled. "Certainly interesting.~ I never heard of such a thing that piques my interest as much as this."

"Unfortunately, you have to stay with us if we want Osomatsu to get back." Todo clicked his tongue in annoyance. In all honesty, the way Lonely talked sent a somewhat indescribable painful feeling up Todo's spine, and he honestly hated it. Was this the "painful" thing Osomatsu was talking about a few days ago? Lonely's behavior? If so, this must be the ultimate hell Osomatsu had been talking about. Painfulness, also known as cringe.

Lonely smirked. Not at Todo's somewhat sick look at his odd behavior, but at the pink-haired punk's response. "Ahhh! I do want to find out why we have the same face! Certainly, that isn't just because Pine here seems to be our dear elder brother in another dimension, no?"

"It is." Osomatsu deadpanned. "There's no other reason for why we look alike, besides the fact we're twins in my dimension."

That smile of his quickly melted into a frown. Choro was casually pacing around the room, and Osomatsu realized it seemed to be a habit of his. "Ah, boo. I thought it was deeper than that. Oh well." He giggled. "Still! Considering we are 'brothers' in a way.. does that mean we're family? I never had siblings before! Ooh! Do I have little brothers? Older brothers? I hope I'm the eldest! I'd love to have kid siblings to dote on after all! Now then!" Dramatically twirling, he extended an arm towards Osomatsu, who just backed off a bit. "I do believe Captain Katana said something about being injected by a syringe? In that case, I'm ready! Needles do not frighten me!"

"..What the fuck?" Just like that? Lonely was willing to go along with whatever Osomatsu said? God, at least Kara sat through and listened, Todo had to think about it for an entire day, Jyushi waited (and he still was waiting) for Ichi's approval, and it took Ichi days to fully trust Osomatsu. But Lonely? Was he being serious, or just utterly reckless? Osomatsu didn't work so hard to gain their trust just for the supposedly and normally "logical" brother to simply agree to whatever he was about to do. Well.. that certainly made his job easier.. but he felt like he was taking advantage of Lonely's naivety. "Uh, Lonely-"

"Oh! How awfully rude of me." Lonely pulled his arm backwards, before twirling it and bowing, placing his hand on his chest before looking up. "Pardon my excitement, but I just couldn't help it! But since it seems to be we will be in each other's presence for awhile, I might as well introduce myself formally." He stood upright, clapping his hands together. "My true name is Kodoku Choro! But I think you all know it by know? I am flattered and concerned that you know who I am, but I do very much prefer being called Lonely."

"Oh, uh, Choro.." Osomatsu quickly corrected himself.

Lonely frowned, but it was more of a pout. It was weird seeing it from someone that looked like Choromatsu, and who cares if they all shared the same face? He had the same small pupils and angular mouth, so of course he looked more like Choromatsu! "I told you to refer to me as Lonely." He crossed his arms in what seemed to be an annoyed manner. God, Osomatsu could practically feel the sass emitting from him, and boy, it did not feel good.

"Then why the heck didja introduce yourself with your real name in the first place if ya didn't want us to use it, ya idjit?!" Chibita screeched at him.

"Because it was rude not to do so! I was thought better than that! It would upset my parents up in heaven to see their son acting like such a rude individual, have you not think of that? My mother didn't carry me in her womb for nine months only for me to be such a disrespectful bafoon." Lonely retaliated, puffing his cheeks in a childish manner. "Honestly, it would be quite rude to refer to one with their nickname if you don't know them by their real name. Anyways, what is with the hesitation, Pine? I gave my full consent for you to stab me with a needle."

"Please don't think of it as that, it makes me sound like some sort of psycho, which I'm not. Geez, I'm not Ichimatsu, for fuck's sake.." Osomatsu told him, glancing at the syringe on hand. Sure, he could stab-inject, he meant inject. Anyway, he could inject Lonely with the syringe now, as he technically got his permission.. but honestly, this seemed like a risky move. "Oh, uh, Lonely.. I get that you're already aware of what my situation is, but I can't inject you right now."

"Oh? Why is that?" The green-eyed male tilted his head in curiosity. It would have been cute if he didn't look like Choromatsu, who was infamous for his.. amazing faces, especially during a fit of rage. "I don't fear needles in the slightest! Unlike Captain Katana-"

"I do not fear needles, mind you! They just make me uncomfortable, at the very sight of them!" Ichi snapped.

Kara sighed. "I think that what it means, Ichi.."

"Ah, no! I just think that.. uh, I need to know you better. Since..well, you probably might kill me if you get Choromatsu's memories."

"Why is that?"

 _Maybe it's because I ruined his chance to talk to his idol? Maybe it's because I called him Fappymatsu? Maybe it's because I made his name longer, Risingfappyski? Maybe it's because I made fun of him countless times by calling him a virgin, even though we're all virgins? Maybe it's because I let Jyushimatsu send him out during a cold winter night to get some Kerosene for the heater?_

Osomatsu shrugged, sweat dripping off his forehead. He saw Lonely's skills with the rapier. He wouldn't want to get stabbed by it. "Haha, you might not find his levels of anxiety pleasant. He has a mental breakdown like eighty-percent of the time, and the other twenty-percent goes to his fanboying over cute girls and idols."

"Oh! Is that it? Why, thank you for the concern, Pine! But that's fine. I'm quite used to it. The anxiety, I mean!" Lonely told him.

"Wait, wha-" However, when Osomatsu was about to question it, he opened Jyushi's window again.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Everyone in the room shrieked as he started climbing up with such ease. But since this was the same man who used a hang-glider to get around the city, as well as consumed onions for two years for god know's why, climbing up a window was probably the most normal thing he's ever done.

Lonely looked back at them, almost confused. He already had one of his feet on the windowsill, with both of his hands holding onto the sides. "Oh? I'm going back to my room, before my nurse finds out I am gone. Or else, it will end like last time." He frowned. "I don't want wooden planks covering my window again after all, even though she might not remember the fact I escaped from the hospital."

"Then use the door like a normal person!" Iyami and Todo screamed at him in unison.

"Hmm, but Pine did say something about us look-a-likes being the only ones that are able to remember about it, yes?" He ignored Todo and Iyami, who were both scolding him simultaneously. He looked back at Osomatsu. "Because of a connection of ours? Oh.. I do hope that you can explain more about yourself, Pine. You seem to be an intriguing one, and there are still some questions I have waiting for you.~" He smirked in a way that was supposed to be cool, but Osomatsu felt like he wanted to gag. "Well, I'm off now, probably to take another tour to dreamland-"

Suddenly, Jyushi's hospital door was opened, as a nurse stepped in. Osomatsu and Ichi immediately recognized those lifeless golden eyes as soon as she walked in, and stood defensively in front of the others. Todo stood up from his seat, and out of curiosity, Lonely stopped his climbing and looked at the door, wondering what got everyone so worked up. Hell, even Iyami and Chibita stood up from their seats, and Chibita even pulled a ladle out of nowhere.

"Ningyou Shiyou." Ichi hissed that name through his teeth.

Shiyou looked at the group, uninterested. "Oh. So there's where my patient went." She said in a monotone voice, eyeing Lonely. "Well, Kodoku-san, I believe it's time for a checkup. And sneaking out of your room through the window isn't such a good idea for a patient such as yourself."

"Oh! I am terribly sorry about that!" Lonely chuckled nervously, almost as if he was embarrassed. "Well, I guess I'll use the door-"

"Don't." Todo stood in front of Lonely defensively. "She's not as friendly as she seems."

Lonely raised an eyebrow. "Come again? She seems pretty hospitable to me. Pretty fitting, considering we are in a hospital!" Todo groaned at Lonely's attempt at a pun, while Lonely himself giggled to it.

"She's a puppet of Kamimatsu." Osomatsu said, taking out his phone. Sure, it couldn't do much, but since it had a few defense mechanisms that were enough to protect him, might as well give it a shot, right? "Ichi, back me up."

"Naturally." Ichi took his katana from seemingly out of nowhere, but maybe Kara had grabbed it from Ichi's bag and slid it over to him.

"Ohhh? What's gotten everyone so tense?" Shiyou spoke, purposely dragging her syllables in a mocking manner. Her stoic face suddenly turned maniacal, with a twisted grin making it's way on her face. "Oh! Is it about earlier? Darn, I didn't get to 'him' as fast as I thought I would. And there was yet another pest to handle too.." Her eyes darted over to Jyushi's sleeping body. "And it's in there."

"Jyushi..?" Ichi glanced over at his little brother, before turning back to Shiyou. "Tch! What do you want with my brother?!"

"Can't you see?" She pointed a finger at him. "He's a host to something deadly, something vile.. poisonous, even. Why, the demon within him is that little imaginary friend of his!" She internally laughed at everyone's shocked faces, minus Lonely, who had no idea what she was talking about. "What day. Kamimatsu-san has gotten so troubled dealing with his little rival that he had to take a break from the fight and regain his physical form. That means that brat is one step ahead."

 _"Brat"..? Is.. is she talking about-_

Suddenly, there were golden spheres surrounding her. Her fingers were in a gun position, and she was pointing it at Jyushi's bed. Immediately, Todo stood in front of Jyushi's bed protectively while Kara and Lonely took both of his sides. "And the pest must be rid of. But first, let me get rid of his host. It'll make things easier for me and for Kamimatsu-san."

With that, she tilted her hand sideways.

"NO! DON'T-!"

Ichi felt Osomatsu suddenly grab him and drop his phone to the floor, almost as if he was hugging him protectively. Ichi's glasses fell off his face as Shiyou flicked the spheres at them.

"Game over."


	126. Chapter 126: Host of The Devil

When Ichi opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that Chibita and Iyami seemed to be frozen in place. The taller male was stuck in a pose in which he was covering his face, or his overbite to be exact, with both of his arms in a crossed-position. Then there was Chibita, with his ladle that he pulled out from nowhere, in a fighting stance and with one of his hands curled into a fist. He looked angry, Ichi noted. But another thing he noticed was that both of them were gray from top to bottom; it was as if they were just stone statues. Not only that, but everything else around Ichi seemed gray, except for Ichi himself. He looked at his own palms and his own clothes, realizing that his purple and black attire still maintained their respective colors.

And Ichi certainly wasn't frozen in place. He saw his own fingers move, and the fact he was able to turn his head to the side was enough proof.

When he looked at what was in front of him, his eyes widened. At the door was Shiyou, gray from head to toe, similar to Chibita and Iyami. Not only that, but she was frozen in place as well. Her hair was supposedly fluttering, but it was stuck in the air. One of her arms were outstretched to Ichi's direction, and her face was maniacal. However, as Ichi was thankful for, Shiyou was frozen in place, similar to a stone statue that Ichi usually saw in museums, particularly ones from Greece. The fact that she was frozen meant she couldn't harm him or anyone else in the room. Ichi slowly backed away until he felt his back press against Jyushi's bed.

"Oh my god." He heard the eldest Matsuno's voice.

When he looked around, he saw Osomatsu beside him, eyes trembling in fear, maybe because he was so confused on what happened. Osomatsu also had color, and just by seeing the movement of both his eyes and his chest, Ichi could say with confidence that Osomatsu was in a same state as him. But Osomatsu wasn't focused on what was in front of them, he was looking at something from behind them.

And when he looked behind him, Ichi noticed three things.

The first thing he noticed was that Todo was now a few inches away from Jyushi's bed, and had knocked down the chair he had been sitting on earlier. Jyushi's bed, the chair, and every other single piece of furniture and trinket was also gray, indicating that it may or may have not turned into stone. Well, Ichi certainly couldn't tell if it was stone or not, but they were all a dull gray color. Even the vase that had been sitting peacefully at Jyushi's shelf had been knocked over. But instead of seeing the flowers on the ground, Ichi noticed that the vase, like Chibita and Iyami, was stuck in place. It was in the middle of falling when time had apparently paused.

The second thing he noticed was the other three clones that shared the same face as he possessed, as well as Jyushi and both of the Osomatsus that Ichi had met this week. Kara had pulled Lonely close to him in what seemed to be a protective hug, and Todo was standing in front of them with his arms spread out, probably intent on protecting them. But Kara was trembling, Lonely seemed confused and was patting Kara's arm as a gesture for him to let go, and Todo was breathing harshly. Besides their movement, like Ichi and Osomatsu, they still had the color on their clothes, on their skin, and on their eyes.

And third, he noticed that while the sleeping Jyushi wasn't in color, there were yellow strings attached to both of his gray-colored wrists. The strings seemed to be attached to the giant purple mist that was surrounding the top of Jyushi's bed, accompanied by red eyes and a wide smile with a row of sharp teeth-

"What the fuck?!" Ichi pointed his katana at the purple cloud floating on top of his brother. "Who are you?! What the fuck do you think you're doing to my bro-"

"Akumatsu." That name was murmured out by Osomatsu, who was shaking in place. He recognized what form Akumatsu took that day, back when Kamimatsu had first appeared. Summoning him was already a pain with the fact that they pracitcally let him borrow their souls, but Osomatsu hadn't noticed how terrifying Akumatsu actually looked up close. He was glad that he seemed smaller this time, though it may be because of the absence of the other Matsuno brothers. Osomatsu honestly didn't know, but it just seemed like the most logical thing at the moment. "You.. you're definitely Akumatsu, right?"

"Akumatsu..?" He was yet another one of Osomatsu's brothers? Or was he like Kamimatsu? He certainly wasn't normal, and even with the argument that none of the Matsunos were normal in the slightest, Osomatsu probably would have mentioned having a brother made entirely out of purple mist. "How..?" Osomatsu backed away from Jyushi's bed, but not far enough to actually make contact with the frozen Shiyou. "How?!" He suddenly shrieked. "How are you here?!"

And the purple mist chuckled, and his laugh was indeed horrifying enough to be put in one of those horror films that Hana sometimes watches during her break in max volume. That disturbing chuckle only signalled Todo to become even more wary of whatever the fuck that thing floating on top of Jyushi's bed was, and Kara clutched Lonely tighter out of instinct. "It is definitely an honor to be meeting with you again, Matsuno Osomatsu. I really thought you wouldn't need something like me around after I got rid of Kamimatsu. I guess I was wrong." He cackled.

Ichi could see the normally brave Todo flinch in fear of the other's voice. Akumatsu's already maniacal grin became even wider, which only scared Kara even further to the point he was practically suffocating Lonely in his arms. "W-Who are you?!" Kara cried, trying to not choke on his own words. "No, what are you?! What do you want with us?! What do you want with Osomatsu-niisan or Jyushi?!"

Even as Kara panicked, Lonely seemed to have bigger concerns rather than seeing some purple mist with red eyes and shark-like teeth that could probably bite their heads off. "Karat Cake, you are choking me!"

Akumatsu looked at the group with a wide grin, examining everyone almost as if he was going to eat them all, one by one. "Interesting. It seems like everyone, besides the other Matsuno Osomatsu, is here. We have Kyabarie Kara, the one guy that helps everyone when they get drunk at parties." Kara raised an eyebrow at that statement, but didn't loosen his grip on Lonely. "Then we have Katsuna Todo. He can kick everyone's ass and his own, eh?"Todo glared at him, but naturally, that did nothing to faze the being made entirely out of evil. "We also have Suuji Jyushi, but as you know, he's my good-two-shoes of a host." He looked down at Jyushi for a moment, before glancing back at Osomatsu and Ichi. "Suuji Ichi, Akatsuka City's most pompous brat and asshole." He would have burst out laughing at Ichi's pissed expression. "And even Kodoku Choro, the guy with divine protection." He chuckled again.

Lonely finally managed to pull away from Kara's suffocating hug. "Divine protection?" He thought aloud. "Whatever do you mean, demon?"

"Are you seriously calm about this?!" Todo turned to him, sputtering in disbelief.

Osomatsu shook his head, finally accepting the fact that Akumatsu was here, and he could do nothing to get him to fuck off. Unless he wanted to stay alive and to avoid being stepped on as if he were a cockroach, he had to keep his mouth shut from the truth. Instead, he decided to go on with the questions. "Never mind. Why are you here, Akumatsu? I don't.. I don't remember summoning you. And don't you need me and all of my brothers to actually be summoned?"

Ichi looked at him, dead in the eye. "What."

"Interesting. It seems the whole family's together." Akumatsu ignored Osomatsu's question in favor of looking around the room. "Eh, but I think you'd prefer talking to someone your own size, hmm? Haha. No worries, no worries. Hold on, lemme get outta this form."

The purple mist then circled above Jyushi's bed, before it suddenly went inside the asleep Jyushi's mouth, slipping past his lips with ease.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Todo was immediately at Jyushi's side, shaking the sleeping male frantically. He couldn't do much but the latter at the moment, because he couldn't bring himself to strike his hand against Jyushi. Still. He had to get Akumatsu out. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! GET OUT OF THERE!"

"Katsuna!" Ichi ran over to Todo. "Unhand my brother this instant!"

Jyushi's eyes then snapped open. And Todo immediately regretted grabbing Jyushi. Instead of those bright yellow eyes filled with naivety, Jyushi's eyes were red. And not like Oso's, the part that was supposed to be white was red in color. And his pupils were similar to a snake's, as they were nothing more than black slits. Jyushi's blank look was then overtaken by a maniacal grin, with a row of sharp teeth that rivaled Ichi's. "Much better." Jyushi giggled, bringing a sleeve-clad hand over his mouth and stifling his giggles with it.

Not only did Jyushi look absolutely demonic for god knows why, but Jyushi's voice was different. While it still sounded as childish and high-pitched as it was normally, there seemed to be another voice speaking alongside his own voice. Except the other voice was deeper, and it made Jyushi's voice much more distorted.

As Ichi told him, Todo let go of Jyushi's shoulders. For the first time since Atsushi nearly shot him, Todo felt actual fear. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" He shrieked, and as Lonely was out of Kara's grip, he immediately rushed over to Kara and clung onto him like a scared child.

Such an action caused Kara to be shocked as well. Todo never acted like this, and he was certain that it was normal to be scared of suddenly hearing Jyushi speak in such a demonic voice. But he didn't expect that even Todo would be so scared of such a thing. But if his childhood friend needed comfort, he'd give it to him without hesitation. "Todo, it's okay." He hushed, rubbing his back soothingly, slowly backing off Jyushi's bed. It was best to not go near whatever was possessing Jyushi right now, because it's appearance was scaring Todo. Which meant it was probably terrifying.

"Rude." Jyushi huffed, pouting. He pushed the covers off of him, exposing his bruised legs. He jumped off the bed and stepped on the cold floor, yet, it didn't bother him. The way he moved was still Jyushi's way of moving; walking with slight difficulty because of his fragile legs, and his over sized sleeves swinging at his side. He trotted over to Ichi in such a childish manner, but it was difficult to find it cute with how demonic Jyushi's eyes seemed to be. "Something wrong? Niichi.~" He giggled maniacally, and the "Niichi" part honestly sounded so mocking.

Ichi shook in place. "W-What the hell?!"

Osomatsu was immediately at his side. "C-Calm down! I know Jyushi seems rather.. creepy at the moment, but it's probably just Akumatsu possessing him as we speak-"

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN WITH THAT KNOWLEDGE?!" Ichi snapped at him, grabbing him by the collar of his hoodie. "What is the meaning of this, Matsuno?!"

"What is 'divine intervention' supposed to mean?" Lonely joined in, but instead of helping Osomatsu get down from the floor, he was just standing there, chattering on and on as Osomatsu started to foam by how Ichi was shaking him. "Answer my questions, Pine!"

"Uh, I think.. you two should let Osomatsu-niisan breathe." Kara suggested as he continued to soothe Todo.

Ichi only stopped shaking when he felt Jyushi's hand grab his arm. He stopped and dared to make eye contact with the demon possessing his little brother, and Jyushi only grinned in reply. Except it wasn't the normally bright and sunny smile that Ichi practically lived for. It was a row of sharp teeth that made Ichi feel so terrified.

"Put Matsuno Osomatsu down and I'll explain everything you need to know." Jyushi giggled, his voice overlapping with the voice of Akumatsu. He then used his left hand to lift his pinky, before sticking out his tongue in a childish manner. "Pinky promise me you won't hurt Osomatsu-niisan? Niichi..~"

That voice.. honestly, it made Ichi so sick.


	127. Chapter 127: Dragging The Darkness

Everyone calmed down and decided to sit on the floor, in a circle, as all the chairs seemed to be stuck on the floor as a result from Akumatsu deciding to freeze time. Jyushi was at the middle, with his ever so bright smile and his row of sharp teeth he got from Akumatsu present. Beside him was Osomatsu who had removed his scarf and set it on his lap, as the tension was somehow thick enough to not only be cut with a knife, but also provide heat, evidenced by the amount of sweat dripping from Osomatsu's forehead, though that may be because he was just plain nervous that Akumatsu was somehow here. Sitting beside Osomatsu was Kara, who was close to Todo. The latter was still a bit shaken from earlier, and as a result, he refused to go near Jyushi until Akumatsu got out of his body. At least he was calmer now. Beside Todo was Lonely, sitting cross-legged and looking at everyone with wonder, as if he was seeing something odd, yet interesting, for the first time. Finally, to complete their little circle, there was Ichi between Lonely and Jyushi, glancing at his possessed little brother.

Osomatsu wasn't afraid of Akumatsu in any way. Akumatsu was just a being that was made entirely out of the evil of the Matsuno brothers, and he couldn't hurt Osomatsu in any way, as his existence relied on each and every single one of the Matsunos. It was just disturbing to see an evil being like him possessing a normally sunny person like Jyushi, and the fact that he was using his voice wasn't making this any better. He sounded so demonic, with the way his voice and Jyushi's were mixing and trying to power over the other.

"Alright, so is everyone ready for the real deal, then? No more lies, no more secrets, just the good ol' truth to hopefully bring an end to our problems sooner or later? I mean, it's best to ask me whatever questions have been bothering you lot for the past week. Kamimatsu'll recover soon, and I'm the only one who knows the answers to each question you may have.~ It's best to end this soon, don't 'cha think? This is only going to get worse after all.~" Jyushi grinned, waving a sleeve-clad hand in his usual childish manner. Maybe he was attempting to be cute in order to get the others to loosen up, but with those demonic eyes and equally demonic voice, he couldn't be trusted at the moment.

Ichi sighed, crossing his arms. He was honestly so creeped out by the demon possessing his little brother's body, but then again, who on earth wasn't? "Indeed. If we don't put an end to this foolishness, it could only end up terrible for everyone involved."

"Plus, Kamimatsu's a prick." Todo scoffed. "Who'd want him around, honestly.."

"I have the same feelings for that salty bastard. I think we've put up with Kamimatsu's bullshit long enough now. And I think it'll be way easier to deal with things your feeble human brains could comprehend, eh? And I doubt even Jyushi is generous enough to let me inhabit this body of his for more than a few hours." He chuckled, covering his mouth with his sleeve. "Alright. Then why don't we ask our good leader, Osomatsu, where to start first?"

"O-Oh. Me?" Osomatsu pointed a finger at himself, unsure if Akumatsu (or was it Jyushi?) was honestly talking to him casually using such a demonic voice. Kara and Lonely nodded at him, while Ichi's scowl became even more angry-looking. He was obviously getting impatient. "Oh, uh, right. So, uh, Akumatsu." Jyushi turned to him, smiling. And that smile wasn't cute in the slightest, it was just plain unsettling. "Well.. for starters, how and why are you even here in this dimension, Akumatsu?"

"Ahaha. Straight to the point, I see. That's what I liked about you, Osomatsu-niisan. Always up to the important stuff, despite how big of an idiot you are." Jyushi giggled yet again, a higher pitch of his voice overlapping with Akumatsu's demonic voice at the "niisan" part. Again, he was attempting to be cute. "Alright, so plain and simple, I got dragged in here when Kamimatsu, that salty bastard, threw you in here a month ago." He frowned at the thought. "I was dragged in here, yup, so it meant I got here against my own will. I would have stayed behind, but nope, fate didn't want me to. I've been wandering in the city for awhile, 'til I finally found you last night at the manor." He clapped his hands together. "We good?"

"..No, that doesn't make any sense at all! In fact, it's even more confusing!" Kara cried, clenching his fists. "Wasn't Osomatsu-niisan the only one tossed in here?! I doubt his brother, Choromatsu, mentioned anything about an 'Akumatsu' being dragged with him! And even then, I'm sure Osomatsu-niisan would"

"And what even are you?!" Todo joined in. "Who the hell just appears out of nowhere just before a psychotic nurse can kill us all?!" To prove his point, Todo pointed at the frozen Shiyou at the doorway. "Honestly! She could have killed us right here! And earlier too.. but now is the moment you decide to stop us?!" He clenched his fists. "You're an asshole!"

"Perhaps he's a demon then? Red eyes and sharp teeth do mean you are a demon, yes? And demons are rather pranksters at times. Hmm.. but you lack the horns, the bat-like wings, and the tail! Surely you aren't? But then again.. what are you, then? Certainly not an alien, they are green and have big, black eyes that shine similar to the stars at the night sky every night!" Lonely tilted his head to the side, resting his face on his palm in thought. Then, his eyes lit up. "Perhaps.. a different version of a vampire?! I don't remember summoning one though! Wait, a vampire cannot even go in a house unless they are invited, so maybe you are one of the guests at my masquerade party last night-"

"Kodoku, please shut it with your chatter about things that do not exist." Ichi hissed through gritted teeth. "You are such an idiot."

Lonely looked at him, face scrunched in disgust. "How dare you say such a thing! I'll have you know that I read every single book your manor had to offer, and not just once, oh no! I read every single book fifty times-"

"Can we not fight?!" Kara cried again. "T-This isn't the problem at hand!"

"Ooh, I guess I didn't explain myself too well to the alternate versions of your brothers. Well.. we can't have that now, can we? Guess I was lucky to have this as the first question, then." Jyushi snickered, resisting the urge to burst out laughing right there on the spot. "Hilarious, isn't it? Well, let me tell you a little something 'bout me. But first.. Osomatsu-niisan." Osomatsu turned to him and Jyushi outstretched his arms towards him, like a child expecting to be picked up from the floor. "Up."

"Oh, uh, sure." Osomatsu helped Jyushi stand up on his feet just by pulling his arms up.

"Much better. Thank you so much, nii-san.~" He chirped. Again, the "nii-san" part was a bit mocking. "Now, as you can see here, I am within Jyushi's body. I don't necessarily have a physical body of my own, but.." He smirked at Todo. "Well, I did have one earlier, albeit unstable. Though when the reset happened, a lot of my energy had been taken away. Same with Kamimatsu, hence why he's not around even though he clearly was earlier. But, the thing is.." He outstretched his palm. "As I said, I have no physical body. And the entirety of my being, as you know-"

"I don't!"

Jyushi glanced at Lonely with a scowl, annoyed that the green-eyed magician interrupted him for such a trivial matter. "..As I was saying.. as you all, but Kodoku Choro know.. I am a being made entirely out of the evil within the Matsuno Brothers. Every single one of them, my existence relies on. There is a small part of me within each brother, and the shittier they are, the bigger the part is." He grinned, gesturing at Osomatsu. "And guess how big this fuckface's is?"

"Huh?" Lonely frowned. "That makes no sense. We all share the same face-"

Kara reached out and patted Lonely's shoulder. If he left him alone, Ichi would probably snap at him again. "That.. that is obvious, Choro. That was just an expression."

"Oh!" He perked up. "I see."

"Idiot." Todo muttered under his breath.

"..Anyways, it's obvious, ain't it?" His grin became wider. "Matsuno Osomatsu is a really shitty person. As the eldest brother, he has the biggest piece of shittiness. I applaud him for being shitty enough to actually have half of myself within him." He smirked at Osomatsu. "That's right. Osomatsu is so shitty that half of my existence practically depends on him." He giggled. "Ain't that flattering?"

 _..Oh._

"Why do you act like that's a big secret?" Osomatsu put his arms behind his back. "I'm already aware I'm the shittiest outta my brothers. Heh. Quite the title, eh?"

"It's.. nothing to be proud of.." Kara murmured, looking away.

"Well, we know he's shit. That's a given." Ichi put his hands on his hips as he ignored the sudden glare Osomatsu sent his way. "But that doesn't explain how you got here."

"Well, this is how I work, since I'm literally one of a kind. Plus, it's definitely your first time seeing someone like me, eh? Here's a thing." He raised a finger. "Ya see, I'm not human. As I said, I'm the embodiment of all evil that the Matsunos have, but since Osomatsu-shithead-niisan here is the biggest asshole in the entirety of Akatsuka City, a half of me is with him, yes? Well, who said those halves were equal?" His grin became wider, and much to his amusement, Todo scooted closer to Kara, and even Lonely seemed to have gotten crept out. "I reside within the hearts of the Matsuno Brothers whenever I'm not summoned to clean their bullshit. I wasn't around when Osomatsu got thrown in here. Haaaaah.~ I think you lot are smart enough to figure things out.~"

 _..Oh my god._

"That means.." Todo turned to Osomatsu, and then to Akumatsu. "You-"

"I've been dragged here against my own will because a bigger part of myself had been flung into some other dimension where his shitty brothers don't exist, and instead, a bunch of softies take their places and they're not even related, save for the biggest crybaby I've ever seen and the guy whose ego is enough to fuel the entirety of his company?" Jyushi giggled. "Yes. The other part is that when I was sucked into that wretched black hole, the shittyness of the other brothers were also sucked outta them and immediately into me. The problem is, that shittyness.." He then frowned, glaring at everyone in the room, besides Osomatsu. "Is within all of you, the alternate versions of the Matsunos. And man, you guys can't even use it for shit!"

"..Within us..?" Kara looked at his own palm. "I.. this doesn't make sense-!"

"Shitty? Does this mean I have to bathe myself?!" Lonely cried.

"Didn't know what I'd expect." Todo clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Is this why we've been a bit different lately? All moody and troubled an' shit?"

Jyushi's frown quickly turned into an amused smile. "Hmmmm.. I guess? Though that shittyness hasn't done anything at all since it went within you.. so think of it as a disease that is yet to kill you when you least expect it; it's dormant."

"Thanks for bringing that up." Ichi grumbled.

"Heehee.~ No problem. Now." He clapped his sleeves together. "Anymore questions? Osomatsu-niisan?~"

 _Who knew my shittyness magnet was that strong that I actually managed to bring a demon with me? Fucking hell-_

"Osomatsu." Jyushi said again, but the higher pitch of his voice was overlapped by Akumatsu's voice. "I shouldn't waste time and neither should you. The longer you take to come up with a question that actually makes sense, the less time I have within this weak body of Jyushi's, and you know that's a fact." He hissed.

 _Oh.. well, that's actually kinda scary._

"Um.. if.. if you know anything about Oso or Shiyou-"

"Ooooooh!" Jyushi laughed, cutting Osomatsu off. "Why didn't you say so? This is the interesting part! Thing is, that nurse on the doorway?" He grinned. "Well, guess what? She has a huuuuuge part in Oso's story!"

"What?!" Ichi was immediately up his feet, standing in front of Jyushi. "Tell me!"

"Now, now.~" Jyushi waved a finger playfully. "Settle down. Take a seat and I'll explain everything.~"

"Everything?" Kara raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Even though I am an asshole, as the embodiment of shittyness should be.." He looked at Osomatsu. "I wouldn't lie in the presence of someone who is practically the reason I exist. Cheesy, but yeah, that's real.~ Now, take your damn seats, and lemme explain this fairy tale which involves the Matsuno Osomatsu of this world, that psycho of a nurse, and finally, our favorite salty bastard, Kamimatsu."


	128. Chapter 128: A Slip-Up

He fucked up. Again. Oh my god, he fucked up again.

 _Shit. I didn't expect the explosion to be that bad.. I still need to get used to handling these abilities. They're harder to handle than they look. Fucking Kamimatsu, making them look easy._

This was more of a fuck-up than the other mistakes he did. And he didn't just get a bruise or a scratch, or even a sprained ankle or a broke an arm of his. No, he had a really nasty burn on his left hand, and he was thankful he was the only one at the bridge at this time of the day. He dipped his left hand into the cool water, hissing at the stinging sensation. Thank god no one was around to see that nasty burn. Akatsuka Ward was a fairly small place, and people in the small town knew him like the back of their own hand. He didn't want his parents knowing about this either, oh god. They didn't deserve to know. They didn't deserve to see their stupid, only son had gotten himself into. They didn't deserve to see the monster he had become.

His red eyes focused on the burn at his left hand. Shit. He wouldn't be able to hide something like this easily. Sure, the cuts and bruises on both of his arms were easier to hide due to the fact he rarely wore anything that exposed his arms, but his hand? Absolutely bullshit. Especially since he ate with his parents, they were bound to notice the nasty red color, as well as the blood dripping from it. Dipping it in the lake was a way to soothe it, but it wasn't really doing much. Plus, he couldn't spend the entire day under the bridge. If someone saw him, they might tell his parents.

If he was a normal person, he might have reacted a bit more besides flinching and deciding to hastily dump his own left arm on the water. But he wasn't. So here he was, sitting under the bridge with his left arm on the flowing water, and he did his best to not grab the fish that were making contact with his arm. If he didn't know how to control his temper, he probably would have grabbed the fish and immediately cook them in an open fire he could make with the snap of his fingers. But seeing as how the abilities were hard to control, as well as unpredictable if he didn't know how to use them properly, he probably wouldn't do anything for now. He didn't want his entire arm coming off.

And even though he actually blew up the bridge, the abilities he had enabled him to reverse time, even for just a few seconds. That was enough for him to reverse his fuck-up and fix the bridge and any other damages he could have done, but he ended up underneath the bridge and on his butt, and with a burned left palm. Sure, it was painful as hell, but it was better to have such a thing on his weak body rather than possibly having any other innocent bystanders involved, even if he was the only one at the bridge.

 _Today just isn't my day, I guess._

"Are you okay?! Are you hurt?!"

He snapped his head to the source of the voice.

 _Crap! Does this mean someone did see the explosion?! Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit-!_

As the bottom of the bridge was dark, he couldn't see a thing, even with the sun shining against the water. Quickly, he pulled his left arm out of the water and grabbed his black hoodie from the ground, shaking it with his free hand to dust off the snow and dirt from it. "Tch.." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. He wasn't in the mood to act right now, but he needed to save his ass right now. Mustering all the strength that he could, he forced himself to look pained and even went to the trouble to slightly raise the volume of his voice to sound as if he was in distress. "A-Ah.. I'm fine, miss..! J-Just had.. a little accident.. lighting a fire.. that's all.."

This was, in fact, one of the most disgraceful things he could do to himself, and his own dignity as a human being. He found it shameful that he had to go through all the trouble to pretend he was the slightest bit normal to the people of Akatsuka Ward, and that included his own family and childhood friends, if he didn't want them to worry about him or even bring him to some doctor to check if his mental state was okay. He didn't need people in fancy coats to tell him there was something wrong, he knew for a fact that he, a person who hadn't gotten a decent sleep in ten years, was completely normal and sane, and the eye bags underneath his eyes and his obsession for owls and tendency to hoot at something whenever he finds it adorable was just plain normal.

Thankfully, he was good at many things, except feeling actual human emotions, and acting was one of the things he was good at.

Still, even with that obviously professional acting of his, the feminine voice only huffed, obviously not believing the lie he made right on the spot. The sound of her feet shuffled against the snow, and the sound of her footsteps meant she was only getting closer. Too fucking bad he couldn't see a thing."I don't believe that for a second, young man. I know I liar when I hear 'em, and there's a sound of pain laced in your voice." Well, maybe he was too convincing with his act then. That gave his ego a small boost, thankfully. "Hold on, let me get my phone, it has a flashlight."

Well, he spoke too soon, didn't he? So much for not seeing a damn thing. "No, don't-!"

A light was then flashed at his direction, presumably from the lady's phone. He stumbled backwards, and due to some slip-up, he accidentally fell to the ice-cold water rather than just landing on his butt. "Gwah!"

"Whoa, hey!" He could hear the sound of her tossing her bag to the floor. "Grab my hand-!"

And he did. He grabbed both of her hands in a moment of panic, ignoring the stinging pain on his left hand. For god's sake, while he was good at a variety of things, swimming just wasn't one of them. And once he did manage to grab both of her hands, she had pulled him out with ease. The cool air against his already cold and soaked skin didn't help, and he wished he hadn't been stupid enough to get startled by a flashlight, of all things. "C-Cold.." He shivered, rubbing his hands on his arms. Even his black hoodie, the one he removed earlier, was now soaked. This day was absolute shit. Not only did he manage to repair a bridge that exploded due to his own stupidity, but he also burned his left hand and managed to nearly drown himself.

 _Could this day get any worse?_

Suddenly, he felt something soft against his cheek. A thin, cotton fabric, was rubbing against his cheek, probably an effort to wipe away the water. "I apologize for startling you." The woman said, bringing her bag close to her side. It looked like one of those medical bags that doctors always brought around on the go, and he could see some items inside it, including bottles of medicine and other ointments. Was she a saleslady for some skin product then? She then placed the handkerchief back in her bag. "But I know when someone is in pain! I'm not a nurse for no reason, you know."

 _..A nurse?_

Would this be an inappropriate time to say that he had a fetish for hot nurses? Well, he couldn't see her face, but as a NEET who clearly had nothing better to do than laze around in his parents' house, he gained a fetish not only for nurses, but also the voice of a woman, her legs, especially her chest, because any sane man would clearly give a shit about a woman's bre-

"Sir? Are you okay?"

"H-Huh?"

Her phone was lying on the floor and providing a little bit of light, so he could clearly see the nasty burn on his left hand, but not her face or anything else about her body that he was so eager to see despite the pain and cold he was in. Ah. He didn't even notice that she took out what seemed to be cream and started applying it on his hand carefully. "You.. as a nurse, burns hurt a lot, that's what I know and that's basic knowledge. Even the burliest men would cry whenever I apply lotion to their burns. But you didn't even flinch as I applied it, let alone grab your wrist." She hummed in wonder. "How curious."

 _Shit._

"A-Ah.." He tried to come up with an excuse, but to no avail. Shit, he was usually so good at lying too. Why couldn't he come up with a good one? "I-It's-"

"Hold on. Roll the sleeves of your turtleneck, we need to see how bad these burns are."

Oh no. There was a reason he preferred hiding his arms with both his turtleneck and hoodie, but he didn't expect someone to just order him to roll his sleeves just to show what was underneath. "U-Um-"

"Sir, please do it with haste! Burns must be treated immediately before they bleed! Or worse!" She suddenly snapped. "And accidents occurring in winter are such bad luck! Winter is already a gloomy season, and it hurts us medics whenever we see young ones like you getting injured! Or worse, dead!"

And as emotionless as he was, he was a bit of a pushover at times, and he;d be lying when he said that he wasn't intimidated by bossy women such as this nurse and Totoko-chan. But even though Totoko had a tendency to boss him around, she was still a bit nice to him, and sometimes gave him fish snacks to feed to the neighborhood cats. But this strange woman, who was probably older than him or Totoko judging by the way she spoke, as well as had authority? Well.. usually such things would turn him on as he was a pervert, but it wouldn't be an understatement to say he was a little bit scared.

He still managed to say something though, and he was a bit glad that he had to drop the "normal and helpless" act. "..Okay." And when he immediately pulled his sleeves up without any regard for what was underneath, he heard the nurse gasp. "..What?"

Besides a nasty burn on his left palm that was up to his wrist, there were cuts and bruises on both of his arms.

 _This.. this is normal.. right?_

"Sir, I need your name right now. Oh, and phone number, or house number if you don't have a phone. You may be an adult, but when you lie about a burn like that and don't even tend to your injuries, I really need to contact your parents as if you were a child" The nurse said, before cursing to herself and picking up her phone. "Gosh, those cuts look so fresh.. and is that dried blood? We need to get you to the hospital now sir, you might be in need of blood."

 _..Well, fuck._

"Sir." The nurse seemed to have calmed down once she noticed his slight nervousness. "Are.. are you perhaps nervous?"

And like a child, he nodded, not looking at her even though he couldn't even see her face. He heard her sigh.

"Well, if it helps, I'll tell you my name so you'll feel at ease. How about that?" She suggested. Finally, her voice didn't seem as irritated or as panicked as it was earlier, and instead, it was calm now. "My name is Shiyou. Ningyou Shiyou. I'm a nurse from the city who usually spends my winter vacations here at Akatsuka Ward. And I've been a nurse for twelve years, so I have experience. Nothing to worry about, sir."

Ningyou Shiyou? Hm, maybe he should look her profile up on any social media-

"Sir, your name."

 _Oh. Right._

"My name.. is Matsuno Osomatsu."


	129. Chapter 129: The Unity of Six

"Those two certainly met under.. interesting circumstances. And under a bridge too! Really fun, eh? And aftwards, Shiyou, the psychopathic nurse, actually brought the other Osomatsu-niisan to the hospital! Man, the looks on his parents' faces when they saw the cuts!" Jyushi giggled, obviously amused by everyone's reactions. Despite Akumatsu possessing him, he still had a bit of his consciousness, and that was his childish nature that was present. Akumatsu felt how happy Jyushi was to tell a story and have so many people listening to him at once, but he also felt how upset he was at the fact that he just told a story in such a mocking tone, as well as how happy he was with the way he told such sad details with a bright smile on his face. "For a little while, Shiyou was actually human. Not some vessel."

"So Shiyou was at Akatsuka Ward when Oso met her, and that was after Oso accidentally blew up and fixed a bridge due to Kamimatsu's bullshit abilities that he somehow took. Then what happened to her?" Asked Osomatsu, crossing his arms. He was irked that Oso, the other him, would even do such a thing as hurting himself and hiding those cuts underneath his clothes, but Osomatsu couldn't truly judge Oso. The Matsunos in this dimension were different from the ones from Osomatsu's, he had to remember that. This dimension was causing stress to each of them, so it was only natural that Oso ended up different compared to Osomatsu. "Tougou said that the people who have been possessed by Kamimatsu willingly accepted his power after he threatened them. I doubt Tougou said anything about encountering Shiyou and possessing her, so did Kamimatsu do it himself? Is she just possessed?"

Jyushi shook his head, the bright smile still on his face. "Nah. I'd say she's pretty much dead."

Suddenly, the room got cold. "E-Excuse me?" Ichi choked out, fear laced on his voice. He wasn't so fazed by such things, but hearing Jyushi say such a thing sent chills up his spine and scared him more than he would like to admit.

"That's bullshit." Now it was Todo, who was obviously still afraid of the Akumatsu-possessed-Jyushi. "You're just kidding around, right?"

"Maybe? Who knows? Heehee. I am an embodiment of shittyness, ne?~ Who knows if I'm lying or not.~" Jyushi covered his mouth with his sleeve-clad-hand, trying to stifle his giggles. This was honestly so fun, Jyushi thought. For a moment, Osomatsu nearly forgot he was talking to Akumatsu and not Jyushi. "But yeah! She's dead. As in, she literally died. Not dead inside. Actually dead. Something's just holding her body altogether and stopping it from decaying. A corpse usually looks gross and stuff, yeah? Well, her's looks fine and dandy, as if nothing's wrong with it." He removed his hand from his mouth, his bright smile turning into a sadistic grin. Again, those sharp teeth of his sent shivers up Osomatsu's spine due to how they looked. They could probably pierce through his skin if Jyushi were to bite him. "Pretty neat what magic can do, eh? To stop a corpse from going all rotten.. magic really is interesting.~"

The room got even colder than it already was as soon as Jyushi said that without hesitation, and that sadistic grin of his just didn't ease their worries that they were now in the same room as a dead person, who happened to be standing at the doorway, frozen. Suddenly, Lonely stood up from his spot, looking rather offended and disgusted. "D-Do not jest about such a matter! Death is not a topic to be laughed about! I have seen many people die, and it is not as hilarious as you think it is, demon! It is traumatizing! And the nurse is very much alive! She is here with us!" He said, gesturing to her. "Why, how else could she have been doing all of this?! The fact that she is here with us in this very room is proof that she's still alive-"

"Kodoku-san." Jyushi's voice lowered, and his voice was overlapped by an annoyed Akumatsu. "With all due respect, Kodoku-san, you weren't listening closely and have jumped into a conclusion, which makes you an even bigger idiot than this boy I'm possessing as we speak. I'm not kidding about her being dead either, she actually is dead, and maybe if you weren't so impatient, I could have explained the mechanics of how Kamimatsu's magic worked. Now." He glared at him. Akumatsu's eyes were honestly intimidating, and if it were Jyushi's, none of them would have just sat there and let him lecture Lonely right on the spot. "You either sit down, or I'm going to lift you up with this boy's sleeves rolled and toss you out the window. And trust me, this hospital may not be as tall as Flag Corporation's building, but you will surely die without your hang glider and in the condition you are in."

"Did you just threaten me?" Lonely retorted, annoyance visible on his features. "I will not back down easily just because you threatened me, demon. I have sustained countless injuries, and these hideous scars on my face are proof of that! If you have nothing better to do than jest about the supposed death of this poor woman, then it's better if you release Sweets instead and we settle this like gentlemen-"

"Stop this nonsense." Kara cut in, his eyebrows furrowing in anger. "Look, Akumatsu's possessing Jyushi for a reason, and that's to answer all of our questions, mainly Osomatsu's. Plus, Kamimatsu is an actual threat to us, and Akumatsu is the only one that is able to match him, as he is the other supernatural being that is associated with Osomatsu-niisan and his brothers. And he's willing to help us too. The least you could do is sit down."

"But-!"

"Akumatsu." Changing the topic would be a better choice, Osomatsu thought. Sure, he was still curious about Shiyou's origins and the rest of Kamimatsu's abilities, but seeing Lonely so angry at the topic of death made Osomatsu worried. Lonely was Kodoku Choro, and Kodoku Choro was Choromatsu, and Choromatsu was the brother closest to Osomatsu. He didn't play favorites unlike Todomatsu, but of course it hurt him to see someone with Choromatsu's appearance look so distressed and uncomfortable. Plus, Lonely had been trying to protect loads of people from Tougou before. It was only natural that death would be such a touchy topic for him. "Let's continue about Shiyou later. Would that be better?"

Like a child, Jyushi frowned. "Hmm.. I suppose. It would have been fun explaining to you how Kamimatsu's bullshit abilities worked and how your other self got 'em. I mean, if that green-haired idiot keeps interrupting us, it'd be a waste of time, eh?" He said, jabbing a thumb at Lonely's direction. The green-eyed magician settled down on the floor, but he still looked agitated. Kara, thankfully, was patting his shoulder to calm him down. "But we have all the time in the world as long as the barrier I set up doesn't break down and resume time back to normal."

"Well, that's good." Osomatsu murmured. "We're pushing off Shiyou and Oso's issue 'til later. There's something else I'm curious about."

"Which is?"

The eldest Matsuno sighed. Well, Akumatsu did say he'd answer anything, right? It was now or never. "Kamimatsu's intentions. That's what I wanna know." Osomatsu said in a serious voice. This had been bugging him since the night that Choromatsu reminded him of the reason he ended up in here in the first place. What was Kamimatsu intending to do with him? Surely he wasn't going to help out Oso by having them switch places. He knew Oso was lonely, sure, but he wasn't going to believe that Kamimatsu, the same person that killed Tougou right in front of them, was going to help out Oso. According to Akumatsu's story, Oso hated Kamimatsu with a passion and made it obvious by somehow "taking" his powers, so there was no way they would be helping out one another.

 _Unless.. there's something going on between them. A falling out, probably. They could have gotten along at some point.. right?_

"Oh." Jyushi's lips curled into a frown. "This.. this isn't as fun as the nurse's story, but.. whatever you say, Osomatsu-niisan." He closed his eyes, trying to recall any small, insignificant details he'd add on to his answer just for shits and giggles. But still. Such a question caused a reaction out of him, and for a moment, Osomatsu was worried. Jyushi opened his eyes again, and Osomatsu swore he could see Jyushi's real eyes pass through Akumatsu's demonic ones. "Kamimatsu's intentions were to rid of the Matsuno Sextuplets."

"Called it." Ichi huffed, crossing his arms.

Such a statement caused Jyushi to snort. "You really are a smart cookie, Ichi-niisan. But let's be fair, that much was obvious, that even the biggest idiots in the world could see through it. I mean, who wouldn't want get rid of them?"

"Considering you guys did kill him through the sheer power of being the shitty NEETS you are.." Todo glanced at him, before shrugging. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Eh?!" Osomatsu cried in disbelief. "You're serious?! He's salty about the fact we got rid of him?!"

"Uh, Osomatsu-niisan.. you didn't just get rid of him.." Kara meekly raised a finger. "But you, uh, how do I put this.."

"Summoned an actual fucking demon out of shittyness to step on him?" Todo added in for Kara, knowing his best friend wouldn't be able to say such a thing.

With a bit of shame, Kara nodded. "Y-Yes. That."

"Well then." Lonely clapped his hands together. He wasn't angry anymore, but he did have a deadpanned expression on his face. Even he didn't seem to be impressed with the answer. "It seems Pine dug his own grave. Certainly an idiot, he is. Oh well. His fate is inevitable. We can all rest in peace now."

"Is this harassment?! I feel like you guys are harassing me!"

"All joking aside, Kamimatsu did plan to get rid of you. At least, that was his initial plan." Jyushi's eyes darkened. "But.. well, let's say when I stepped on him, all the goodness that came from you guys went back to you. Surprise surprise, you guys aren't that shitty after all. But there was a small piece of that goodness that lived on.. and that goodness lived on as Kamimatsu's very soul. But it didn't remain in your world for too long, Osomatsu-niisan. Rather, to get it's physical body back, it needed to go elsewhere to get kindness from. And that 'elsewhere'.. is this one dimension where an Osomatsu didn't have brothers." He smirked. "What's the motto you brothers go by again?"

 _"Motto"? Which one? I mean, we had a lot of corny mottos back when we were at middle school.. wait a minute.._

"..I am him.. and he is me too.." Osomatsu murmured. "Yeah, I think that's it. Either that or it's Jyushimatsu's catchphrase."

Jyushi chuckled, and again, Akumatsu's voice was overlapping Jyushi's. "You brothers claim to share the same thoughts, the same mind, the same heart. And that includes your souls. Your souls possess both your shittyness and kindness, and since your bond as brothers is practically unbreakable, you happen to share that. The source of kindness comes from one heart, and that's the heart you six losers share. Sappy, but true. But since Oso, your other self, doesn't have brothers to share that heart with.."

"Ah!" Lonely jolted up from his spot again. "Does that mean that Owl has the kindness and foulness of Pine and his brothers combined?!"

And for the first time since Akumatsu possessed Jyushi, Lonely actually said something good. "Ayyyyyy. You get a gold star, buddy. But yeah. Oso had no brothers, hence, all the shittyness and kindness the six of you had was only owned by him. Not the other alternate versions, but Oso himself." His smirk disappeared. "..Yet, despite that.. all the alternate versions of the Matsunos have that certain shittyness within them. Which shouldn't even be possible. Through normal means, at least."

"Normal means?" Kara turned to everyone in the room, glancing at them to make sure they were okay. "D-Does this mean.."

"Nothin's been normal since Osomatsu came to the city." Todo pointed out. "So, Akumatsu.. if we're not supposed to have this shittyness, then why's it with us?"

"Oh.~ That wasn't the original question. But I'll get to that later, Todo-niisan.~" Jyushi giggled. "But there are two things you need to know! Firstly, Kamimatsu intended to kill Osomatsu, but his plan changed halfway when he encountered Oso. He planned on using Oso as an actual replacement for Osomatsu, and wanted Osomatsu to suffer in a world where he didn't have his brothers instead."

"Fucker." Osomatsu mouthed.

"But.. something backfired on him." Jyushi hummed. "But that's for another time."

"Then what's the other thing we need to know about?" Ichi asked.

"That you guys shouldn't even exist."

Silence filled the air as Jyushi said that. And no, it wasn't using Akumatsu's voice.

It was Jyushi's voice who said that.

"W-What..?" Osomatsu looked at Jyushi. "Uh, care to say that louder for the people at the back?"

"I said.." Jyushi glanced at him, his smile no longer present. "These guys shouldn't even exist." Kara moved closer to Todo as Todo stood up and made sure Kara was behind him, and Lonely scooted over to Kara out of fear. Ichi, however, remained seated on the ground, but his expression was unreadable. "If it weren't for a certain something, I would have certainly gotten rid of the alternates, except for the other Osomatsu, myself. But.." He gritted his teeth in frustration. "I can't. And now I have to be stuck possessing a brat from this dimension, whose entire existence is a mistake."

He saw Ichi's fist twitch.

 _Oh. Looks like I'm not the only one who someone wants dead then._


	130. Chapter 130: The Anomaly

"Would you care to elaborate more on why shouldn't we exist, demon?" Again, it was Lonely who spoke. He seemed to be chatty today, but Osomatsu justified his noisiness. Lonely was just catching up to the entire situation, so questions and guesses were to be expected. Luckily, he was less agitated and angry at Akumatsu, but that anger was seemingly replaced by fear, seeing as how he was hiding behind Todo alongside Kara. Even idiots felt fear it seems, thought Osomatsu. "Certainly.. you have your reasons for saying such a thing. May it be out of spite or just the fact that I seem to be a thorn on your side, but you certainly have all of us quaking in our boots with that statement alone. Surely, there's a deeper meaning to this than just hatred. There.. there is always something deeper than just hatred. I am sure Tougou is the same, and while it may not justify his actions.. it surely gives him a reason to do the things he does."

 _Tougou..? But.. Lonely doesn't know he's dead, right?_

Jyushi glanced at him, almost uninterested by his little speech. "Huh? There is."

"Are you serious?!" Todo took a few steps forward. "You're telling me that we actually shouldn't exist?! And there's more to that than just your fucking hatred for us?!"

"Heehee. Well, of course! There's always a reason for everything, ne?~" Jyushi giggled, his bright smile once again appearing on his face. "While I do hate you losers, it's not just because you all are incapable of surviving if Kamimatsu were to ambush ya. It's mainly because I absolutely hate anomalies. By hate, I mean I want them to die and cease to exist. And the five of you, this one I'm possessing included, are all literal mistakes that shouldn't even exist." He giggled at everyone's reactions towards one another. "Not your parents fault, but partially, the dad of a certain megalomaniac is to blame for poor ol' Jyushi's existence. Hehe. That makes Jyushi a double-mistake, correct? Jackpot! I haven't met someone who is thought of as two mistakes, and both for different reasons! We can pin the blame both on his asshole father and-"

"We get it. You hate us. And you hate my brother the most." Ichi growled. "You may think my little brother is a mistake, but he most certainly isn't. I suggest you shout your mouth before you regret it."

"Ohhhhh? Are you going to punch me then, Niichi?" Jyushi taunted, sleeve-clad-hands on his hips. Again, the nickname Jyushi called Ichi by came out in such a mocking tone, only making Ichi angrier. "I'm still possessing your dear, fragile, baby brother, you know. See?" He flapped his sleeve. "Punch me, and he'll feel your fist colliding his face. Who knows, you might knock out a tooth or two. I doubt he likes the taste of blood as much as he likes the taste of sweets." He smirked at Ichi's face. He didn't think it was possible for the other's scowl to deepen even more. "You don't wanna see him cry, do you?"

"Akumatsu, that's enough. Stop taunting Ichi." Osomatsu scolded. "But.. I agree with Lonely. I'd like for you to explain more about what you meant when you said they shouldn't exist."

Jyushi turned away from Ichi. "You really are asking a lot, Osomatsu-niisan. And I have to explain more shit later. God, this job ain't easy, you know." He sighed. "Oh well. Big brother's orders, ne?~" He clapped his sleeves together. "But what I meant when I said that they shouldn't exist is, by this dimension's laws, they shouldn't really be here." Upon seeing everyone's confused looks, he scowled. "Idiots. Here's what I meant; this dimension exists for the sole purpose of having this world's Matsuno Osomatsu alone and an only child. There are millions of dimensions, and some of those dimensions have Matsuno Karamatsu as an only child, and vice versa. There are different dimensions with different possibilities, and dimensions where you losers were born without each other exists. Hence why this world is an anomaly; even if Matsuno Osomatsu, the one from this dimension, is an only child, that doesn't mean that the alternate versions of his brothers have to exist, even if their relationship as brothers is non-existent. They're not supposed to exist."

"So basically, there is always a dimension in which a certain brother is alone?" Lonely piped up again. "And whenever they're alone, the other brothers cease to exist and that's how it's supposed to be.?"

"My. You're smarter than I thought." Jyushi chuckled. "I thought it'd be confusing with how I explained it."

"..It isn't?" Lonely tilted his head. "It really isn't that complex to understand, demon. If you know how to put pieces of puzzles together, it really is rather simple."

"Huh! Looks like you're not an idiot after all, despite your naivety. Heh. I'm glad it's easy for you to follow, even if you're a bit of a chatty one. I'd hate to explain all of that again." He looked at the others. "How 'bout you guys? You all got everything I was trying to say? It's best to understand this shit before we move on to the next part of my story."

"Kinda confusing, but I get the point." Todo shrugged. "Anyone confused?"

"Not me." Ichi crossed his arms.

"Nah, I get what he's tryin' to say." Osomatsu assured him. "How about you, Kara?"

The blue-eyed cavalier fiddled with his fingers, adjusting his position on the floor. "..He actually lost me.. somewhere. I don't even know what I don't know." Kara admitted with a sigh. "I guess I'm too slow to understand things like this."

"Do not be so hard on yourself, Karat Cake! Everyone has strengths and weaknesses!" Lonely chirped, suddenly grabbing both of Kara's wrists and shaking them up and down. Kara didn't even notice that the green-eyed magician had scooted closer to him. His green eyes seemed to sparkly with happiness for some unknown reason. "I will explain to you in simpler terms later! Feel free to question me anytime you like, I would be more than happy to assist you! Would that be alright with you?"

Kara blinked, before chuckling. "Yes. That would be nice, thank you."

"Aight. Now we got that wrapped up, the reason those dimensions exist is because they're just there. Nothin' more to it. Ya see, there are countless dimensions, different from the one Osomatsu-niisan came from, and different from this one. There's a dimension where Osomatsu-niisan is a detective of some sort. There's a dimension where Todomatsu is a vampire. There's a dimension where Karamatsu is some sort of steampunk cowboy, Choromatsu's a river goddess, Jyushimatsu's a maid, or Ichimatsu's the lord of the underworld. And the list goes on and on with different versions of the brothers. Because, frankly, alternate dimensions exist for a reason. And your's isn't the only one. This dimension just happens to be an anomaly."

"An anomaly.." Ichi murmured under his breath, putting his fingers under his chin. "Something that deviates from the norm, from what is standard.. and what is expected."

"An oddity, basically." Todo shrugged. "Well, this world was always fucked up."

"There are more dimensions with different versions of us?" Osomatsu couldn't imagine meeting up with another version of himself besides Oso. Who knows, maybe there was a version of himself where he wasn't a virgin? "Hey, speaking of which-"

"No, every single version of you is a virgin, Osomatsu-niisan. Don't even ask." Jyushi said with a monotone voice, as if he expected the question. "And even if there were a dimension where you brothers are strippers or whatever, you'd still be virgins. Truly amazing."

Ichi and Todo snickered quietly, while Kara and Lonely looked at the eldest Matsuno with what seemed to be pity. Osomatsu groaned. "Seriously?"

"Yes. Heehee. You all are losers. On the bright side, you all are virgins altogether! Brothers, huh?~"

"This just makes Pine and his brothers even more tragic." Lonely sighed, pressing a palm to his cheek. "Truly upsetting to hear such tragic news. You have my deepest condolences, Matsuno Osomatsu."

"It's not funny, Choro-!"

Suddenly, the vase, which had been in one place on the air as far as Osomatsu could remember, fell to the floor. The same went for the chair, and it made a loud noise as it landed against the wooden floor, causing Lonely to flinch. Jyushi scowled, his nose scrunching in disgust. "The barrier's breaking already. Crap. And I still have so much stuff to explain.. hm, what to do, what to do.."

"Can't you just make the barrier even stronger?" Kara asked him worriedly, standing up and helping Lonely stand. "We.. we still have a lot to ask of you."

"As much as I'd love to stay and chat, it seems that Kamimatsu already has enough power to attempt and fight back. Making a time-stopping barrier is harder than making a regular barrier. That takes too much time and it's risky as hell. But I'll do you guys a solid and give Jyushi back, 'til the time comes that you need me again. Help me get to the bed though, this kid needs to sleep a lot in order to regain the energy I drained from borrowing his body. Oh, and whatever happens, don't kill Shiyou."

"But she was trying to kill us!" Todo barked.

Jyushi shrugged, letting Osomatsu and Lonely assist him in getting back to the bed. He then lay his head on the pillow, pulling the blanket close to him and closed his eyes. "I won't let her kill ya. Now that she knows I'm here, she wouldn't dare to lay a finger on her. But don't kill her either. That's just what Kamimatsu wants you to do."

"And why is that?" Ichi grumbled.

"Kamimatsu is using her as a storage for Jyushi's memories. The same goes with the other sacrifices that the others made last night in order to protect the ones they love from Tougou." Jyushi murmured. He immediately felt the look Osomatsu gave him. "Look, I'd answer your questions, but we literally have no time left. If you guys have any questions, go ask the guy behind Osomatsu-niisan's phone. He knows this better than I do, he's just being a prick and a coward."

 _..The guy behind my phone..?_

"..Oso..?"

"Yeah. Ask him. He talked to you earlier, didn't he? Just call him whenever ya need something. I'm tired of dealing with this all on my own anyway. Geez, if I hadn't been dragged into this.. ah well, what's done is done, as they say." Jyushi waved his hand dismissively. "Now, I suggest kicking back and just relaxing for the time being. The barrier'll break in a few minutes. Shiyou and your two friends'll start moving again and whatnot. But Shiyou won't kill you, I can guarantee that."

Todo scoffed. "Why on earth should we even believe you in that if you find Shiyou's 'death' hilarious?"

"I said so before, didn't I?" Jyushi said, before yawning. "I wouldn't lie in the presence of someone who is practically the reason I exist. Isn't that right, Osomatsu-niisan?"

As he spoke, Osomatsu noticed that his voice was slightly turning back to normal. It seemed as if Jyushi was regaining consciousness. "..Yeah. Sleep well, Jyushi."

"Fuck off."

 _Oh. It's still Akumatsu.._


	131. Chapter 131: A Humble Request

As soon as Shiyou was able to move, she took notice of her surroundings. Jyushi was sleeping on his bed and Todo was sitting next to him, with Kara seemingly knitting a scarf. She'd question where he got those knitting needles later, as he seemed to be having fun and didn't even notice that she was staring at him. Then there was the big idiot Osomatsu, leaning against the wall on the right side of Jyushi's bed, but was standing up as he looked through his phone with a supposedly serious expression that only came off as idiotic. Ichi was sitting on the other side of Jyushi's bed, just between Osomatsu and his little brother, and he was holding one of Jyushi's hands with his own. Finally, there was Lonely, sitting cross-legged on the floor as he did nothing but play with his toes.

The green-eyed male was the first to notice her. He looked up from his bare feet, and mouth formed into the shape of a triangle as he saw her arms finally move back to her sides. "Oh! The nurse happens to be moving now as well!"

With that statement, Todo immediately ran to the front of Jyushi's bed, spreading his arms out. Even though Akumatsu himself stated that Shiyou couldn't hurt them, it was better to be safe than sorry. For now, a few things in the room still happened to be gray, while a few things were in color. The broken flower vase on the floor, the chair Todo had been sitting on, and Shiyou were examples of this. However, everything else, including Jyushi, Iyami, and Chibita, were still in a dull gray color and frozen in place. The barrier was slowly breaking.

Still, that didn't mean Todo would let his guard down. "You can't kill us, you know. Akumatsu said so." Todo hissed through gritted teeth, baring his fangs in an effort to faze her.

She scoffed. She would have rid of those same-faced freaks herself if not for Akumatsu interfering. Not only would she have to see them still walk around in this world rather than ending their miserable lives by herself, but this would be a bother for Kamimatsu as well."Huh. The devil's grip on you all happens to be too tight. Nothing I can do for now.. tch, what a pest. His plan would have been successful.. if that damn embodiment of evil didn't turn up." She turned around, getting ready to leave, but not before stopping and murmuring words under her breath. "But. You lot aren't allowed to kill me either. If you want that pathetic brother of your's to regain his memories, you should stay out of my way."

"We happen to be aware of that fact." Lonely replied, but his voice didn't seem to be holding any contempt or hatred. Rather, it seemed as if he was a naive child answering to a rhetorical question. Shiyou knew if she were to turn around, the green-eyed magician would have such a stupid expression on his face. "Oh! Are you still going to be my nurse after trying to kill us?" He asked. Honestly, what an idiot. Even Todo and Ichi had the same deadpanned face as her, and even though she wasn't facing them, she was sure they were both itching to smack his head to have him regain his senses.

"Go find another nurse to watch over your dense ass. I have better things to do than handling trash like you." She hissed, before reaching out for the doorknob, twisting it open, and leaving the room, making sure to slam the door.

Lonely blinked, before pouting. "Surely my behind isn't dense as she thinks it is."

Ichi's eye twitched. "She meant you, you moron. You're the dense one."

"I most definitely am not. I will surely complain about her behavior and lack of hospitality later. Such mannerisms should not be displayed in a hospital. And to her own patient!" Lonely huffed, crossing his arms. "Truly disgusting how society degraded itself. Anyways, what now? Tall and Small haven't recovered yet.."

"Oh, give 'em a few minutes." Osomatsu told him. "Oso texted me. He said it's normal, since Akumatsu's barrier is cracking and all. It's a slow progress, basically, but you saw Shiyou moving, right? Every else'll move as well, and maybe everything in this room'll stop being so gray."

"Oso can text you now?" Todo raised an eyebrow, moving back to Kara's side. "I thought he was handling some other stuff we can't comprehend. Isn't that why he left us last night?"

"Long story. I'll tell ya guys later, but basically, Choromatsu and the others are unavailable at the moment." Osomatsu shrugged. "So, the other me'll be in charge of us for the time being. And since time has reset and whatnot, things'll go differently this time." He made a smile. "Which means Ichi and I won't get locked in the storage room anymore and Choro won't escape the hospital. I doubt Kamimatsu and Akumatsu are going to face one another too, now that we have Jyushi with us and we know Kamimatsu's intentions."

"If things are going different, then we should make sure not to repeat the mistakes from earlier." Kara said. "Oh! That means Futsumaru and Kusosuke didn't remember the events from earlier.."

"And neither did that waiter I bribed. That's actually kind of good, meaning I don't lose a small portion in my fortune. Every cent counts after all, and I don't need to waste it all on needless bribery for them to keep their mouths shut." Ichi huffed in irritation. He seemed to be getting even more stressed lately, but with the sudden situation he was dragged into, as well as the situation his little brother was trapped in, his irritation was justified. "Never mind that, there are bigger things to worry about. I have to repeat my orders for Dekapan later, then. Tch, if only Hijirisawa-san wasn't out of the country.. this would have been easier. And I have to coax Hana into staying at home with Homura as well."

 _.."Hijirisawa"?_

That name suddenly caught Osomatsu's attention. It was a ridiculously long name, sure, but a memorable one at that, especially since it was a person that he seemed to pass by every single day at Akatsuka City in any shape and form. And he wasn't lying. He swore that his sunny brother had caught a fish at a festival one day that heavily resmbled Hijirisawa Shonouske. "Hijirisawa? As in, Hijirisawa Shonouske?" Wasn't that Jyushimatsu's 'family heirloom' (so it was technically their heirloom, but everyone with the exception of Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu refused to believe such a thing), given to him by Choromatsu during their little skit, which involved Choromatsu in a goddess-like attire? That was also the same man who seemingly replaced him for a few hours, before Osomatsu punched him out of his house.

Ichi glanced at him. "Is there a version of him in your dimension, Matsuno?"

He nodded. "A family friend, I guess. He's always.. there, just like the Dayon in our dimension. He's a quiet guy, but.. Jyushimatsu seems fond of him. He's literally everywhere and has multiple relatives who look just like him. Kinda puts us sextuplets to shame, 'specially since we're well known in Akatsuka Ward for having the same face and all." Come to think of it, no one seems to acknowledge Hijirisawa Shonouske as much as Jyushimatsu does. Maybe it's because Jyushimatsu was always fond of the littlest things, such as acorns and small flowers.

"Isn't that the person in front of Flag Corporation? I remember seeing his name engraved the same pedestal he stood on. Quite an odd name, it is. But I remember it as clear as crystal!" Lonely piped up again. "A rather large person, I seem to recall!"

Kara blinked. "Oh! You mean the statue? I remember seeing a statue of Hijirisawa Shonouske when we first came in there!"

"How do you even pronounce a name that long..?" Todo murmured.

"Oh yeah. I remember that too." Osomatsu turned to Ichi. "Why's there a statue of that old coot? Someone special?"

Ichi scoffed, crossing his arms. "Mind you, that 'old coot' happens to be the previous president of Flag Corporation, before my father took the reigns. He also happens to be a very wealthy and noble man, as well as one of the world's richest people. Good grief, Matsuno. Pick up a book of this dimension before you say such crass words." He rubbed his temples in irritation. "Flag Corporation was originally inherited by the Shonouske Family, a family in which Hatabou and Hijirisawa-san were part of. But due to.. circumstances, Hijirisawa-san handed over the company to my father. And when that fuckface died, we planned to give the company to Hatabou."

"Oh! Did he refuse then?" Again, it was Lonely, piping up with his usual peppiness. He knew Hatabou, but at the same time, didn't know him. He knew he was Ichi's childhood friend and closest one at that, and he was also the same person who Jyushi had killed last night, under Tougou's influence. He truly didn't blame his dear friend Sweets, but he wished he could have learned more about Hatabou. The poor man died young, and his death must have hurt both brothers. Well, for now, it was only Ichi feeling that pain. Jyushi couldn't remember anything at all.

And maybe that was a good thing. If Jyushi couldn't remember what would cost him such great pain in the first place, he wouldn't feel the pain in his heart, and as a result, he wouldn't cry over such things. And Jyushi certainly needed less heartbreak in his life, with all he's been through.

 _Actually, all of us could use a break. And not a heartbreak, oh no._

Ichi sighed. "He did. And now, since Hatabou's dead, we might as well break the news to Hijirisawa-san and hope he comes back to Japan to help me handle this. He's been on France for awhile, and my little meeting with him was postponed after Jyushi's kidnapping." He glared at Lonely. "Isn't that right, Kodoku?"

"I don't get it-"

"You're the one who kidnapped him in the first place, you dense piece of spinach!" Todo snapped at him.

"Ohhhhh! That, I did, my dear Tater Tot."

"Why are you so calm about this?!"

"Um.. there really is no need to yell, my dear friend.." Kara, once again, attempted to make peace between Todo and someone else he was yelling at, albeit in a timid manner.

"If this barrier plans on fully breaking, it better do it quick. I have loads of work to do, and half of them are centered around my brother and how to prevent such a thing ever again. And by thing, I meant cases like Kodoku Choro's. I don't want my brother getting kidnapped again."

"..I.. I do suggest giving him a safer environment, if that seems to be the case." Kara suggested.

Ichi blinked. "Come again? Flag Corporation is always making sure he's protected."

"Yes, but.. that's the problem. Jyushi is in danger mainly because they're aware of who he is. He's the little brother of Flag Corporation's president, so naturally, there'd be people who want him hurt or dead, with how they seem to dislike your company and all." Kara pointed out. "But if Jyushi lived normally, as in, didn't have such a high profile or have his title literally standing next to him, no one could suspect him of anything evil. I mean, he looks like an innocent kid. And let's be honest.. no one would see Jyushi as a threat if they didn't know who he really was."

 _People saw Jyushi as a threat?_

Ichi had never heard of something so ridiculous. "Jyushi is still a child. Why would anyone suspect him of being evil?"

"Maybe it's because of your company. I mean, Flag Corporation doesn't exactly have the cleanest reputation in literally everyone's books. Well, maybe not everyone, but the entirety of Akatsuka City assumes it's being run by the actual devil himself." Osomatsu shrugged. "But let's be real, do Hana and Homura look evil? Or even Fuyu and Yuki? They don't. They look really innocent and the kind of people you'd see working in a bakery or some shit. But since they're in Flag Corporation, people assume they're evil and after their throats."

"So Jyushi needs to live a normal life, meaning he has to have less security around." Kara added. "It may seem risky, but logically speaking, that would make people less suspicious of him. And less suspicion means less people after him."

Ichi put his fingers to his chin in thought. "..Is that so.."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the case." Todo added in to the conversation, though it was obvious he had been busy bickering with Lonely earlier.

"Hmmm.. then I guess it's best if we have a change of plans, then." Ichi murmured, adjusting his glasses. "I originally planned to have Jyushi sent to France with Hijirisawa-san after we get Matsuno back to his dimension, just so Jyushi would be safe and protected.. but it seems like we only have one option in which I get to stay with my beloved little brother, as well as keep him safe." He looked at Kara. "Until I find a new residence for my brother and I.. Kyabarie, you seem to be the only one responsible enough for this task." He sighed, flicking his glasses again. "I'd like to put you in charge of taking care of my little brother. And maybe.. maybe take Kodoku Choro with you as well."

Kara blinked, trying to absorb what he just heard. "I'm sorry.. what..?"

"You have an apartment, do you not? We need Kodoku Choro for obvious reasons and Jyushi absolutely must be protected."

"Hold on a second! I live there too!" Todo cried. "Sure, the apartments at Akatsuka Apartment Complex may be big, but I doubt all four of us could live there at ease! Plus, there are only two bedrooms-"

"Well, it happened to be big enough to house Matsuno for an entire day, yes? Jyushi is rather small, and Kodoku appears to be as lanky as a twig." Ichi pointed out. "I don't think they'll be taking too much space, Kyabarie."

"..You seem to be forgetting the fact that I'm one person and I'm not equivalent to one Jyushi and one Choro." Osomatsu deadpanned.

"How dare you!" Lonely sounded absolutely offended. "I am not as skinny as you think, mind you! I am well-fed!"

"You ate nothing but onions for two whole years, idiot!" Todo snapped at him. "And you're skinny as hell, you look like a gust of wind can knock you down at any second now, you know!"

"I am stronger than I look! And onions are very healthy, mind you! They reduce the risk of developing gastric ulcers, as well as regulate blood sugars!"

"You don't need to eat onions for two whole years just to regulate something you probably killed off!"

"Anyways." Ichi clapped his hands together, trying to ignore the other two who were bickering loudly. "I believe this to be the best option until we can get Matsuno back to his own dimension. I can handle danger by myself, but my baby brother cannot. So, I entrust you with the task of taking care of my brother for the time being.. and handling Kodoku until we can dump him off somewhere."

Osomatsu grinned. He didn't expect the alternate version of Ichimatsu to seemingly like the alternate Karamatsu. At all. But if the alternate dimension could do things such as change their backgrounds and personalities, it would make sense for their relationships with one another to be different as well. "Well!~ Look who's being the busy bee now! You clearly are the only one suited out for somethin' like this, Kara!"

The blue-eyed cavalier seemingly blushed. In all honesty, while it seemed like a tempting offer (he wanted to cook as much food as Lonely probably needed), taking care of one disabled individual with amnesia and another individual who seemed to be insane and fond of magic tricks was too much for someone like him to handle. Of course, it didn't take much for him to blush at a compliment. Especially one from Osomatsu. "I am..?"

The eldest Matsuno nodded with that stupid grin on his face, patting the other's back. "Of course! You're the mom, eh? Go for it, buddy."

 _You can protect them better than I can. I know it._

"It will only be temporary until I find a new house. Jyushi won't move in with all his stuff." Ichi crossed his arms. "As you said, Jyushi should live a normal life to be safe, yes? Then we'd have to move from two of Flag Corporation's highest floors into a regular house. I'll plan this out some other time, but for now, my brother's safety and even Kodoku's happens to be a priority. We need Kodoku for reasons regarding Matsuno Osomatsu getting home safely, and hopefully putting an end to this hell ride." He extended his hand towards Kara.

Slowly, everything in the room was gaining it's color, and Osomatsu swore he saw Chibita's fingers twitch.

Kara took Ichi's hand, smiling as he shook it.

"Well.. it'd be like handling children, right? I can take care of it."


	132. Chapter 132: Mask of The Eldest Brother

The entire day went on as normal, with the only difference that Jyushi didn't cry the moment he woke up, unlike earlier when he started kicking and screaming. Rather, he woke up and instantly clung onto Todo out of fear and whimpered, but listening to Kara's words and advice, Ichi tried his best to not make his envy seem evident. It was only natural that he would feel that way, especially since he had been the one protecting his crybaby of a little brother since he was little, and to have the same brother forget him made his heart break. Nonetheless, he'd try his best to endure these feelings of jealousy all for Jyushi's sake. He didn't want to see his brother get so scared after all.

As soon as Chibita and Iyami started moving, they informed them of the situation. And as expected, everyone else, besides the brothers, didn't remember the events from earlier. Sokomi and Rokomi were trying to talk to Jyushi, who was hiding by burying his face on Todo's hoodie. Kara and Chibita were chatting with Homura and Hana, and the latter, despite being sick, was so peppy that everyone wondered how she'd be on her death bed if she were dying. Probably still jumping around, as she was too hyper to let a sudden cold affect her. Iyami and Kaoru were simply talking to one another in hushed voices that not even Ichi would hear, but it was probably Iyami talking about something he found distasteful. Dekapan was simply standing next to Ichi in complete silence. The couple, Fuyu and Yuki, were unable to make it.

It was quite interesting to see that despite the reset, it not only affected them, but the people around them. According to Dekapan, Fuyu and Yuki weren't coming mainly because Fuyu was feeling sick and Yuki had to stay behind to watch over her.

And Osomatsu?

The idiot clad in red had went outside, claiming that he was going to do something important. And despite his idiocy, Ichi knew that there was a little bit of intelligence within Osomatsu's supposedly empty head. After all, the eldest Matsuno brother demonstrated such intelligence last night during their little fight with Tougou. It took a lot of guts to forgive a criminal such as Tougou, and even offer to give him a second chance. It was honestly a shame that it was short-lived. If Kamimatsu hadn't appeared, then maybe Tougou would still be alive. He was a criminal mastermind, able to murder countless people without anyone knowing it was him, and was able to keep an innocent facade in Akatsuka City. He was like a modern day Jack The Ripper.

Still. A criminal was a criminal. He truly needed to atone for his sins, but as much as Ichi wanted him dead for hurting his brother and killing his childhood friend.. Kamimatsu killing him wasn't justified in any way. That unsettling smile he wore on his face last night was proof of that. Kamimatsu was no angel, nor was he an embodiment of kindness or goodness that fell from the Matsunos. Just by looking at Osomatsu, Ichi could tell there was something about the eldest son that the latter was just hiding. And intentionally too. He wasn't an idiot.

That was a facade, Ichi could tell. Even with his glasses removed, he could still see past Osomatsu's mask.

"Ichi." He snapped out of his thoughts once Dekapan interrupted him. Thanks to the reset, Jyushi didn't throw any episodes earlier when he woke up and saw the others, but he was still scared. The reset also affected everyone else besides the look-a-likes, so Dekapan and the rest wasn't aware of what happened earlier. Just to spare everyone from more confusion, Osomatsu had suggested not telling anyone else of the reset and just let them live their lives normally. "I must leave soon and inform Hijirisawa Shounouske about the death of Hatabou. Not only that, but we must also prepare a wake and funeral. The rest of the employees at Flag Corporation have agreed to assist me with this, but I do wonder if you plan on attending? I will not pressure you if you do not want to."

Why on earth would Ichi refuse to attend the wake of his own childhood friend? Surely, he wasn't that busy. "Hold the wake starting tomorrow, so it'd be best if you leave soon to tell Hijirisawa-san, so he could fly back to Japan as soon as possible. Give it three days before we bury Hatabou, I'm sure we all need the time to let his death sink in. And the sooner it sinks in.. the faster we accept it." He then raised his finger. "Oh, and about the place where we bury him.."

Dekapan moved closer, knowing that Ichi would prefer to keep such things as a surprise. "Hm?"

"I think it would be best for Hatabou to be buried at the same place as where my mother was buried." He chuckled bitterly. "You remember, yes? It seems appropriate, don't you think?"

The older man blinked, before putting a hand to his chin. "I suppose it does.. very well. I'll inform the other employees and Hijirisawa Shounouske. I suppose you'll take a break?"

"I'll be staying here until Jyushi gets better. In the meantime, dump my paperwork on my desk. Or set it on fire, if you wish. I'll get back to it once I get back to work." He waved his hand dismissively. "Oh.. and can you also pack some of Jyushi's stuff into boxes? Just a few clothes and toys he plays with, leave the other stuff alone."

"The large giraffe, Ichi?"

Oh. Despite not entering Jyushi's floor as much as Ichi or the Kyuujitsu couple, Dekapan could remember the large stuffed giraffe that lay on the floor. Dekapan didn't hate it, but it seemed to be a large nuisance, since it took up a lot of space on Jyushi's room. "Yeah, bring that too. I think he'd feel more at home if that thing were around." He brought the giraffe during Jyushi's eleventh birthday, and Jyushi absolutely adored it, but not in the same way as hew treasured Kiiro-kun. Still, it would be a nice decoration or a toy for Jyushi to play with.

"How about the rubber balls?"

"Only the yellow one. I don't want to cause a mess for Kyabarie by having Katsuna attempt to throw it at Matsuno if they get on each other's nerves."

That got Dekapan's attention instantly. Ichi showed nothing but distaste for his clones ever since he got back from France. Why was he suddenly saying one of their names so casually now? "Kyabarie?" He glanced at the blue-eyed cavalier in the room, who was smiling as he chatted with Homura. As their voices were hushed, only Ichi and Dekapan could only hear what each other was saying. And it should stay that way. "What about Kyabarie?"

"I asked him to take care of Jyushi once he comes out of the hospital." Ichi told him with a shrug. "He said something about it being safer for Jyushi to live in an environment in which he isn't heavily protected by our security. It sounded logical enough, so for now, I'm letting him stay with Kyabarie and Katsuna. Oh, and Kodoku as well." He waved his hand dismissively. "It's only temporary, naturally. Once we settle the problem with Matsuno getting back home, I'm getting a house for Jyushi and I. It seems easier to live normally rather than at the top-floors, supposedly."

"..It really is." Dekapan sighed. Ichi was normally smart, but this? As it was a better option for Jyushi, it was only natural that Ichi would immediately think long and hard about it. But letting Jyushi live with a total stranger- no, three strangers all at once, was just a dangerous move. Had Ichi forgotten this little game of chess he was playing? He was surrendering Jyushi, the most important piece in the board, and it was honestly worrying Dekapan. Any sane human being could tell this was a dangerous move.. was the black king in the chessboard planning something then? "But.. are you sure over this-"

"Crystal clear." The purple-eyed megalomaniac told him, his glasses obscuring his eyes. Eyes were windows to one's soul, Dekapan knew, but with his glasses shining like that, it only blocked those dark purple eyes he got from his father that he loathed so much. "I trust in them, Dekapan. By the way they looked at my brother and protected him last night.. it's obvious they care for him as much as I do."

Now those were words that surprised Dekapan.

Trust. Ichi never used that word. He never trusted anyone as much as he trusted his dear little brother. He never acknowledged people who cared for his little brother as much as he cared about Jyushi.

 _Ichi.. you truly are different from your father._

* * *

 **"I see.. so that's.. what happened.."**

Osomatsu sighed, leaning against the vending machine and fiddling with his half-empty can of iced coffee. Hospital vending machines had enough common sense to not have any beer, and while it upset Osomatsu greatly, he guessed it kind of made sense. Thankfully, as soon as he tried calling Oso, the other instantly replied. And as expected, it was going to take more than gentle coaxing to have the other him to finally show his face. Once again, it was nothing but utter darkness. His other self was either sensitive to sunlight or just camera shy.

 _Or both._

"I never knew that the problem was this big." Osomatsu said with a frown. "At first, I thought I just had to get home. And then there's the whole thing with Kamimatsu and Akumatsu, and Shiyou too, and everything is just.. man, I didn't know it was this bad. And to think it happened because I was a fucking asshole.. I really thought being a shitty person only gets you fucked up if you're in highschool. Heh. Guess I was wrong." As always, Osomatsu mentally added.

 **"Well.. if it.. helps you feel better.. Shiyou's death occurred.. long before.. you ended up.. at my house.."**

Not really reassuring, but he's trying, it seemed. That didn't change the fact that Shiyou was basically a corpse though. And to think that Osomatsu actually found her attractive.. was it necrophilia to be attracted to something he didn't even know was a corpse? Surely, it wasn't! "Still. She's dead, ain't she? And according to Akumatsu, there's something holding her corpse together from decaying. Ick. It gives me chills just by thinking about it."

 **"..Ah.. "**

Oso was obviously a quiet one, extremely different from Osomatsu, as different as the other alternate versions were to the Matsunos. It was natural that there was a big difference between them. But he was making an effort to at least say something comforting. Such a thing touched Osomatsu greatly. "I really hope to see you again soon, Oso. I want to hear you explain all this, Akumatsu's having too much fun holding the suspense for so long.. and it's killing me, god."He chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood like the comedian he naturally was. "Either that, or I'm just looking forward to eating croissants again."

"..Croissant.. croissant.. croissant.. croissant.."

Like a child, Oso repeated that word again and again, causing Osomatsu actually laugh. "Croissants are good! I rarely eat pompous stuff like those, and I often have my demon brother Totty get some for me! I guess you're hungry for some too, hm?"

 **"..Yes.."**

"That's only 'til we see again though. And you said it'd take awhile, right?"

 **"..Indeed."**

"Well, we have to wait then." Osomatsu chuckled. "And I really have to get back to the others. Would that be fine with you? Me hanging up and all?"

He heard the sounds of footsteps shuffling against the floor, before he heard Oso's mumbling.

 **"...Mmm."**

With that, the other hung up. Osomatsu sighed and stuffed his phone back in his bag. He may have appeared calm to the others and sounded chill to Oso, but there was no way he could handle this. He needed to let it out on something. "Fucking hell.." He ran his fingers through his own hair, accidentally dropping his can of iced coffee in the process. He didn't notice it though, as he had now walked away from the vending machine and was heading back to Jyushi's hospital room. "I can't believe this.. " Having to hide it from everyone was such a pain, but he didn't need to make them worry even more.

As he left the area, a woman in white stood in front of the vending machine, looking down at the small mess Osomatsu accidentally created. She then looked at the same path Osomatsu went, before sighing heavily.

"Kids these days.."

With that, she vanished.


	133. Chapter 133: Guardian Angel

Sokomi sighed, snapping her phone shut in a manner that reminded Ichi of the original events from earlier. This was the time where Sokomi and Rokomi would leave the hospital, if he remembered correctly. "As much as I'd like to stay longer for Jyushi-kun's sake.. we still have work to do, unfortunately. And we have electricity to pay for, especially with how often Rakomi and Dotty both use their hairdryers and whatnot. And those other four sisters of mine are utterly hopeless without me around. Will it be okay for Rokomi and I to excuse ourselves?"

Ichi was having a deja vu moment here.

Dekapan nodded, and as earlier, answered for his sake. "Please do so. You have work to do, and we appreciate you staying for the night. Please visit again if you have the time."

"We will." Rokomi bowed her head, a small smile on her face as she flicked her oval glasses. Again. Deja fucking vu. Ichi was sure it wasn't just him. "I just exchanged numbers with both Hana-chan and Homura-chan. We'll drop by this evening, once we're done with work. Sounds good?"

This was supposed to be the part where Fuyu claps her hands together and says something like "That would be rather more the merrier, right?" And says something about the twin girls inviting the other four sisters and ask about if they're going to work. But as Fuyu was absent, as well as Yuki, it was Homura who spoke. It was still interesting to see the change of events. Ichi didn't know why, it just fascinated him, somehow. "I guess that'd be good. T-The more the merrier, correct? A lot of people surrounding Jyushi-san might make him remember who we are. W-We should invite the people from work.." It was completely different from what Fuyu said, but still the same meaning regardless. "S-Speaking of work.. are we going to work today? N-Not that I'm complaining if we are, of course!"

Ichi once again didn't provide any answers, too busy being secretly amused by everything. It was as if he was re-watching an episode of a shitty sitcom, starring his employees and twin girls. Dekapan sighed, not noticing the small, amused smile on Ichi's face. "Yes. I'll be working as well, but Ichi will be resting for the day. However, you Ken-san still have work to do. Fuyu-kun and Yuki-kun will be resting for the day, as Fuyu-kun is not feeling well." The only part that changed was when he mentioned the winter couple. "I still have to talk with 'him' regarding Hatabou's death and all.." He turned to Iyami and Chibita. "You could all stay here if you'd like. Or go to the hotel for the time being. I'll be dealing with some other things.." And by some other things, he meant he was going to look further into multi-dimensional bullshit in hopes that he can send off Osomatsu in his little merry way.

Ichi knew that judging by Dekapan's face. Plus, he saw it twice. And after this, was the part where Hana whines and realizes that she wasn't mentioned. After that, Dekapan would tell her that she wasn't going to work, causing Hana to make an inhumane shrieking noise. He mentally prepared himself for it, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Todo and Kara prepare for her ear-piercing shriek as well.

"...You forgot me!"

 _Called it._

And as Ichi expected, Dekapan sighed yet again, putting a hand on his forehead. "It's because you're not going to work today, Hana-kun."

Here comes the shriek-

And she certainly shrieked, alright. Was it Ichi, or was her shriek somehow more ear-piercing than the one earlier? "What?! No! Why?! Did I get fired or something?! Huh?!"

While he was annoyed at her behavior earlier, justified, as he was stressed about Jyushi's condition, he chuckled as he tried to point out the reason Hana wasn't going to work. He remembered it clearly, like a line for a play. "Hana. You're sick. And no way am I letting you end up in this hospital as well. Go home and get some rest."

"As if! I'm not going home, especially if Homura-chan's busy at work!"

He wouldn't admit he found Hana's antics hilarious sometimes. "You're right. Change of plans, Dekapan."

Hana fist-bumped the air in victory, jumping off her seat with a bright smile. It was honestly like they were acting according to a script. "Alright-!"

"Homura, we're sending you home with Hana. Leave the paperwork to us."

And as earlier, without hesitation, Homura saluted. "Understood, sir."

"WHAT?!"

Yuki wasn't here to slap some sense into Hana, so thankfully, Kaoru joined in the conversation. "You're sick, Hana-chan.. a poor girl like you needs to rest! Especially after last night.. ooh, it sends shivers up my spine just to remember, Hana-chan! Be a dear and just go home 'til you're back to being healthier than usual, mhm? I'm sure someone in good ol' Flag Corporation'll deal with your's and Homura-chan's paperwork! Isn't that right, Ichi-kun?"

Despite not expecting such a thing, Ichi nodded. "..I guess. But everyone's right. You need to go and rest until your cold is gone."

"But resting is boring! No fun at all! Homura-chan gets fussy over me when I'm sick, and the only thing I'm allowed to do is watch TV or read books! We can't play a board game if there are two of us!"

And this is the moment where Kara speaks. It seemed even Kara himself remembered what he said earlier. "Well, if that's the case, why don't Iyami-san and Chibita-san come with you? At least his words weren't as nervous as they were earlier, as he seemed to be aware of the result. Still, that didn't mean he had cast aside his shame to ask Homura if it was fine with her. "I.. I do hope it's fine with you, Homura-san. Iyami-san and Chibita-san have been helping us for so long now. I noticed that he and Hana-san seem to get along just fine.."

"It's a great way to kick back and relax too." Todo added.

If Hana wasn't wearing that mask on her face that protected the world from her germs, she would have been flashing a bright smile that could rival Jyushi's. "Yeah! That sounds good!"

'Well, Tsuuyoi? Shiirudo? How much do I have to pay you to tolerate Hana for the entire day?" Ichi knew that regardless of what they would say, Chibita would accept. That tiny man was so smitten with Hana it was just worrying. Besides her peppy and determined nature, and as harsh as it sounded, Ichi couldn't really see any more redeeming factors about the small girl.

And, just in time, Chibita's face flushed red. "Y-You don't need to pay us, ya idjit!"

"A thousand yen won't be so bad though-"

"IYAMI!" Chibita snapped at the taller male, kicking his leg.

"Yowch! Me was just joking, Chibita!"

"It.. certainly is fine with me. It'd be nice to have company over! It's been awhile since Hana-chan and I invited some people over!" Homura giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. She then turned to Dekapan and Ichi, shifting her feet as she looked at them worriedly. "Are you sure it's fine with you, sir? I mean, I can take home my paperwork if it takes a load off your shoulders."

Dekapan waved his hand dismissively. "You go and rest, Homura-kun. I'm sure keeping an eye out for your feisty little friend tires you out. But with Iyami-kun and Chibita-kun around, I'm sure she won't bother you too much."

"You speak like I'm some sort of kid that needs adults to watch over me." Hana huffed, crossing her arms. That pout of her's was later replaced by a mischievous smile. "But then again, your point is on-point as always, Dekapan-san! Now let's go, Homura-chan!" She grabbed her best friend's arm and pulled her towards the door. "We're gonna play Monopoly with Iyami-san and Chibita-kun 'til the sun sets!"

"B-But I'm bad at Monopoly-!"

"Too bad!"

Hana slammed the door shut as she took hostage a reluctant Homura with her, and soon enough, Chibita and Iyami followed. Rokomi, who had been busy with her cellphone at that time, just shrugged. "It seems like they're going to have the Monopoly of a lifetime. Should we go as well, Sokomi-neesan?"

The older sister nodded, putting her phone back in her purse. "Alright. We'll visit later with our other sisters. Bye, Jyushi-kun. Stay safe, okay?"

The only reply she got from him was a squeak, and him diving onto the sheets.

"I'll be leaving as well soon. I have to do a lot of work.. and we have to figure out where to dump Hatabou's workload as well." Dekapan informed them with a sigh. "Ah, the hardships."

"I could help out every once in awhile." Kaoru chuckled. "It wouldn't be so bad, Dekapan. Just like old times!"

Dekapan glanced at him. "..Yeah. Just like old times."

* * *

Lonely puffed his cheeks as he stared at the wooden boards covering his window. He didn't escape the hospital, but escaping his room was enough for the doctors to realize he wasn't going to do such a thing only once. No, Lonely absolutely looked like a troublemaker, and the fact that he ate onions for two whole years was enough proof of that. And as doctors, they claimed they were going to make him feel better, and that started out with a tray of stale hospital food that included tasteless soup, a plate of sliced apples, ice cold water that was colder than Ichi's heart (probably), and supposedly custard pudding that tasted like a failed attempt at gelatin.

 _They all need a little spice in their lives! Both them, and the food! How boring._

He lied down on his bed again, crossing his legs. His green eyes darted towards every single object in the room, but such actions did not do anything to make him less bored. He was waiting for any of his brothers to come and visit him, maybe keep him company by talking about the beauty of mother nature or forest animals in general. Hell, out of boredom, he ate his food and stacked the bowl with the plates and glass and spoon, and even then, he was still bored. The doctors were so boring, and he was having a fun time hanging out with his newly-found brothers.

 _Brothers.._

He never had siblings before. And to say that he felt happy was an understatement. He was absolutely ecstatic. He had never thought that he, The Akatsuka Nightingale, would have brothers, and not just one, not just two, but five! Eleven if Osomatsu and his brothers count. A smile made it's way to Lonely's face. He had grown fond of Sweets- no, Jyushi, during their short time together. And the same went for the others. Ichi and Todo could loosen up a bit, but they both could keep him on the ground if he flies too far. Jyushi was sweet and was as childish as him, so they'd be able to play together, something Lonely hadn't been able to do much since the passing of his lovely parents. Kara seemed to be nice, and Lonely wanted to pull him out of whatever shell he had encased himself in.

And Owl- no, the other Osomatsu. Oso, was it? He remembered Oso's introduction to him, as clear as day. Oso had saved him before Jiguzou had completely decapitated him with his chainsaw, and Lonely would be lying if he were to say he wasn't relieved when he saw Oso standing at the end of the hallway. After seeing Jiguzou's eye pop out like that, Lonely didn't think he'd be able to look at a puppet of doll the same way ever again. And Oso had saved him by aiding him at the fight, and dealing the final blow. And afterwards, Oso had dragged him to where the others were, and he saved Todo from the controlled Nyaa-chan as well.

 _It is a true shame that he left in such haste.. I would have wanted to know more about him._

"How boring." Lonely sighed. "My days as the Akatsuka Nightingale are over, and I have no one to chat with! My rapier and hang-glider are nowhere in sight as well.. whatever could they have done to my deck of cards? Truly, that is concerning- oh?"

At the corner of his room was a woman, wearing a pristine white dress with matching white shoes that were as white as the lonely snow that surrounded the entirety of Akatsuka City. The woman had long black hair, long enough to reach her legs, but her bangs were covering her eyes. The woman's hands were clasped together and pressed onto her own chest, as if she was praying. She kept her head lowered though, and for a moment, Lonely thought that the woman was attempting to hide her shame.

A certain thing caught Lonely's attention though.

Despite how long and beautiful the woman's hair was, a single strand of hair was popping out on the top of her head, almost like an antenna. In a way, it reminded Lonely of Jyushi's cowlick.

"Excuse me." He called out to the woman. "How ever did you enter my room without me hearing you, my dear maiden?"

The woman on the corner of his room seemed to have flinched upon hearing Lonely speak to her.

 _Oh no! Did I speak too roughly? How disgraceful of me!_

"Did I intimidate you unintentionally, my dear maiden? Do forgive me!"

And then she looked up, staring at Lonely with eyes that looked all to familiar. But before Lonely could say anything, in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

 _That hair.. and those eyes.. she.._

There was no doubt about it. In Lonely's eyes, and he was sure in everyone else's, the woman looked a bit too much like Jyushi.


	134. Chapter 134: False Hope

"So they'll be able to leave soon?" Kara asked, hoping that the doctor was confident in his decision.

Thankfully, the man Kara was talking to nodded, giving a friendly smile. "As long as you promise to take good care of them, of course. One of them is experiencing trauma and the other is so thin that a gentle breeze can knock him off the ground. Be gentle with Jyushi-kun in order to prevent him from having episodes, and here's a list of what Choro-kun should and shouldn't eat." The doctor said as he handed Kara a paper with messy scribbles only fellow medics could understand. "Oh, and don't feed Choro-kun too much, or feed him food that is too heavy for the stomach, like steak. It might upset his stomach and result to vomiting, which only makes the issue even worse. Instead, give him small servings until he starts to get used to it."

"Oh. Of course." Small servings, huh? Kara did have a bad habit of making too much food whenever he cooked, even when he and Todo were the only ones eating at his apartment. It was even worse when Dayon visited, as Kara made too much food that were enough to break the table and leave them with leftovers for two weeks. But he was going to try and take it easy. He'd make something light like steamed fish and a platter of fruit, and maybe even a slice of spongecake.

The doctor ripped out a page of paper from his clipboard. "And if Jyushi-kun has troubles sleeping, try anything in this list. Warm milk is the best way to ensure someone goes to sleep in peace, but if he has troubles sleeping due to his trauma, I think it's best to have a sleeping pill. Not too much though, we know the horrible effects of overdose."

 _Of course we do.._

Kara folded the papers with a sigh and stuffed them into his pocket. Ichi had left Jyushi's room earlier in order to pick up something from work along with Dekapan, so it was obvious that he had to be the one that the doctor would call to inform about Jyushi and Lonely's situation. Todo did say he had that natural "aura" about him that made him seem as if he was the most responsible person in the entire room, so maybe that was the reason the doctor immediately called for him when he found out Ichi was out somewhere. Kara wasn't having any of it at first, but Kaoru, who had stayed behind, assured him that he'd make sure Jyushi and Todo would be okay in his care, and with a shove that nearly made Kara trip and fall flat on his face, Kara hesitantly agreed to talk with the doctor in private.

His fear was justified. Who knows if the doctor he was talking to was similar to Shiyou, dead and all that? Thankfully, Kara and the doctor were just outside Jyushi's room, so Kara could focus more on what the doctor was saying and Todo could hear anything that was going on just in case the doctor was an actual threat. At least he seemed normal enough, compared to a certain psychopathic nurse.

"Thank you so much, doctor. I promise I'll do my best."

"I know you will. You seem to be the kind of person that takes care of people just fine, Kara-san. Thank you for your cooperation and support. I'm sure those patients need such a level-headed person like you around." The doctor chuckled, adjusting his glasses. "I'll have Ningyou-san, Choro-kun's nurse, prepare a wheelchair for Jyushi-kun then, since he has difficulty walking. I'll go inform Choro-kun then, he seems excited to get out of the hospital if he went to visit Jyushi-kun's room through the window. Do you want me to call in a cab?"

The mention of Shiyou's name sent shivers up Kara's spine, but he tried his best not to look nervous or tell the doctor that Shiyou was literally a zombie, or the fact that she nearly murdered them earlier. Instead, he timidly waved his hand around, accompanied with a nervous chuckle. "O-Oh! Sure! I'll just call Ichi and tell him that we're heading home then, so he doesn't have to visit. I'll have my dear friend Todo go with you to see Choro, and I'll clean up any mess in Jyushi's room and dress him up real quick. I'm sure he wants to get out of those hospital clothes as fast as possible." And it was rather chilly too. Hospital clothes couldn't keep them warm.

"Oh, and about that."

Kara raised an eyebrow. Surely, the doctor wasn't going to take back what he just said and filled him with false hope.

"Er, it seems that.. Jyushi-kun and Choro-kun doesn't have any other clothes besides the one that Ichi-san and company had brought them in. And those clothes, no offense, reek of smoke. And something copper-like, almost like blood."

 _..Oh my god. I absolutely forgot about the fact that we were at a burning manor last night and nearly got killed.. more than once.. how on earth did we manage to survive that?_

"Well, I guess I'll have to go back to the hotel and get 'im some clothes, eh?"

The doctor felt someone pat his shoulder. When he glanced behind him, he saw Osomatsu, grinning cheekily. Kara felt relief upon seeing the eldest Matsuno, and while he was sure that the doctor was genuine and fully alive, he was still a bit paranoid. Again, his fear was justified! Akumatsu was scary, and the way he told such tales without batting an eye is just as scary! "Oh! You're one of Kara-san's cousins, correct? As well as Choro-kun's and Jyushi-kun's?"

"Huh? Cousins?" He saw the look on Kara's face, and he instantly knew Kara made a lie on the spot. Maybe the doctor had questioned him about the similarity in their facial features despite not having family relations? Whatever, Osomatsu thought. That look on Kara's face was hilarious anyway. And he was thankful that Kara actually had it in him to lie, and to a doctor, no less! Osomatsu knew Kara was a goody-two-shoes, but oh well. A white lie doesn't hurt anyone, that was it's purpose after all. "Yup! I'm one of their cousins! My name's Matsuno Osomatsu! Nice to meet 'cha, doc!" He grinned.

"Oh! It is very nice to meet you as well, Osomatsu-san. I am glad to inform you that your two cousins can be released from the hospital today. Just give me a few minutes and everything will be settled." The doctor bowed. "Well, I'll be on my way now. I have business to attend to. You said you'll be getting clothes for Choro-kun and Jyushi-kun, correct? Well, I'll best be off now to finish the remaining paperwork regarding those two. I'll make sure Choro-kun is aware of the situation and drinks his medicine before he leaves." He made a small smile.

 _Already?_

Osomatsu may be grinning, but inwardly, he was confused and frowning. He couldn't understand why the doctor was just letting his brothers go. He was sure such a thing didn't happen earlier, before the reset occurred, and this was around the time where.. Osomatsu and Ichi were at Jyushi's room, after Todo had left after being creeped out. He was sure that normally, doctors wouldn't let their patients go, especially if one of them was experiencing such trauma while the other was discovered to have eaten onions for two years straight. Not even Dekapan would let any passerby go if he saw how lanky they were, and if they were as lanky as Lonely, Dekapan would have had Dayon prepare them a full-course meal before sending them on their little merry way.

Despite that train of thought, Osomatsu shrugged it off. If the reset prevented Fuyu and Yuki from coming, then maybe the reset made this kind-hearted doctor consider about letting both Jyushi and Lonely out of the hospital immediately. So he just smiled at him. "Got it. Thanks again, doc!"

The doctor bowed again before leaving, and Osomatsu couldn't help but keep his shit-eating smirk on his face. "Hey there. Cousins, eh? Did you make it up on the spot or what?"

"Shut up, it was the only thing that seemed logical.." Kara buried his face on his hands out of embarrassment.

"Haha! Silly Kara. I never knew you had it in ya to lie like that! But I'm flattered you did, for good ol' onii-chan's sake! We don't want anyone else pestering me about how I ended up here, huh? It's getting old after all, and it's kinda embarrassing to explain how much I was an ass to end up over here." Osomatsu rubbed his nose with his finger, as he always did whenever he was feeling mischievous. After a few seconds, that shit-eating smirk of his faded into an actual genuine smile, one that he made back when Jyushimatsu was feeling depressed after a breakup and when Karamatsu was questioning his own painfulness.

 _What kind of big brother would I be if I can't even reassure my brothers that everything's all fine and dandy?_

"Sorry for leaving the room just like that. I had a call with Oso." He said.

That caught Kara's attention, and he looked away from the papers that the doctor had given him. "Oso?"

"Yup! He's quiet and shy as usual, and he's craving for some croissants right now! Same here, actually." He chuckled. "Welp, it seems things are going well on his part. I really hope he can back soon so we can finally figure out what's going on. I'm pretty curious about what happened between him and Kamimatsu, seeing as how those two teamed up to throw me in here in the first place."

Kara really doubted that Oso was a bad person. He seemed quiet and meek, in a way that reminded Kara of himself. Of course, he wasn't saying Osomatsu was a liar, but he could tell by the tone of Osomatsu's voice that he thought the same. Oso wasn't evil, he was probably just lost. Similar to Todo, Kara thought.

"Anyways, I better live up to my word and go grab something for Lonely and Jyushi to wear. Problem is, Lonely doesn't even have actual clothes and Jyushi's are at Ichi's big-ass building that the citizens of Akatsuka City would just love to blow up. And none of us have his number, right? We can't even call him to bring in something. Not even a roll of toilet paper."

"..None of us have actual cellphones to begin with." Kara pointed out. "W-Well, Todo had a phone once. He broke it though, remember?"

Osomatsu clicked his tongue. "Man. Walking there is such a pain to deal with, ya know? Like, it's gonna take me like thirty minutes to reach that place. Don't even get me started on the walk back here!" He groaned. Man, why couldn't he be the Matsu who possessed the running ability and endless amount of energy? "Well, I guess I should head there myself-"

"Osomatsu-san!" The same doctor from earlier came back to the corridor, with something in his arms as he ran towards the duo. The poor doctor didn't seem like an athletic fellow, judging as how he stopped to catch his breath. "Sorry for interrupting.. but a nurse just brought this in. It's for your hospitalized cousins, it seems."

 _A package?_

Osomatsu doubted that Choromatsu could send in a package at a hospital from another dimension, but he took the package off of the doctor's hands anyway. It was sloppily wrapped and some areas of the package had tears in them. But it was thick and soft, and Osomatsu doubted it was something that could be used to hurt people. "Oh. Who sent it in?"

"We don't know, unfortunately. But the nurse said that a man in a black hoodie dropped by and requested that we deliver it to your cousins." Again, the doctor adjusted his glasses. "Apologies, but I must be off now. Farewell."

And with that, the doctor left the scene. And in a rush as well.

Kara frowned. "He seems awfully busy, even for a doctor. Aren't there other people in charge of stuff like this?"

Osomatsu was more concerned about the fact that someone in a black hoodie had just dropped a package in a way that reminded Osomatsu of those crappy mysterious guys from the bad anime that Choromatsu used to watch back at high school. But at the mention of such an article of clothing, one thing went into Osomatsu's mind. He was sure that it was a certain owl fanatic who didn't even bother to change clothes at last night's masquerade party. "Who knows. We got a cool thing out of it, might as well check it out, huh?" Osomatsu shrugged, before ripping open a part of the package. His eyes widened once he saw what it was. "Oh my fuck."

"What is it?" Kara asked, concern laced in his voice.

And then he saw what the package had held. Neatly-folded clothes, one that looked like a green sweater with lighter green stripes, black pants, a yellow turtleneck with sleeves that Osomatsu was sure were way too long for someone's own good, and black shorts.

They were clothes. And judging by their colors, they were clothes for Lonely and Jyushi.

Kara swore he saw Osomatsu's eyes welling with tears.

 _Oso, I know for a fact that this is you, and I fuckin' love you for preventing me from wasting thirty minutes on going back to that stupid fucking hotel._

* * *

Once the doctor was sure he was alone, he sighed and leaned against the wall. The storage room was always the best place to hide whenever he needed to be alone. Across him was Shiyou, face annoyed and arms crossed. He removed his classes and used his coat to wipe them, though he was doing a rather sloppy job at it. "T-There.. those two, Choro-kun and Jyushi-kun.. aren't really well yet. Choro-kun needs to eat more and I fear that he may be hallucinating, as he told me he saw a woman at the corner of his room earlier. And Jyushi-kun needs loads of therapy.. and maybe prosthetics for those weak legs of his. A-All in all, both shouldn't be released too early, but-"

"Do you think I care?" Shiyou spoke, voice low and obviously angry.

"N-No, of course not.." The doctor timidly replied. "But I did as you asked, so I guess this means.. I'm off the hook then?"

She glanced at him icily with her dull, golden eyes, devoid of all life and emotion. Then she scoffed. "I guess I won't have to make you suffer a slow and painful death then." She shrugged.

"Oh. Thank god-"

And then something went through his chest. A thick, black vine from the ground. With trembling eyes, he managed to look at Shiyou, who had her arm outstretched to his direction.

"I didn't say you wouldn't die though."

His body then dropped to the floor, and Shiyou scrunched her nose in disgust upon seeing the puddle of blood underneath the corpse grow bigger and bigger.

"Humans are truly disgusting."


	135. Chapter 135: Black Heart

"Oh my goodness! How soft! Is this really mine?! I express my sincerest gratitude, Pine, Tater Tot! I shall cherish this sweater for as long as I live!" The green-eyed magician chuckled, wrapping his arms around his chest to feel more of the soft sweater. Despite that, he was only wearing a sweater and black boxers, and Todo, unfortunately, had to be the one to help him dress up. Osomatsu was just sitting on his bed, laughing alongside Lonely, who was incredibly happy about his new sweater. And he loved it so much, that he practically tore it off from Osomatsu's hands as soon as the eldest Matsuno had shown it to him. "It smells like vanilla too! Such a sweet scent it carries! It reminds me of a delicious slice of cake! What a wonderful piece of clothing!"

"Hold still, you idiot!"

Lonely had obviously been ecstatic to hear about the news, and it was obvious that he had been getting bored in his hospital room without any source of entertainment, not counting the TV he didn't know how to turn on. But when Osomatsu and Todo had told him that he would be going outside soon, he immediately smiled and started bouncing up and down, prompting Todo to pin him down and yell at him to settle down so he can dress him up for the cold. Lonely wasn't having any of it though. He was too excited, and couldn't contain it inside, so he had shoved Todo away and started jumping around the room. Mainly the bed.

"You're like a little kid at Christmas morning." Osomatsu pointed out with a snort. His energetic and excitable nature reminded Osomatsu of Jyushimatsu. It was a shame that the latter was sick, but hopefully, he'll be able to send the flower that Oso gave him to his brothers. He was honestly worried about Jyushimatsu. But he was snapped out of his thoughts as Todo barked at the bouncing Lonely, who had such a bright smile on his face. A smile so bright, it just felt wrong to see it on someone who shared the same characteristics as normally stuck-up and serious Choromatsu. "Haha. You really are like a kid. So excited."

"I will finally share a roof with someone! And not just one, but three people! Truly exciting!" He punched the air with his fists, and it reminded Osomatsu of those happy-go-lucky characters from shounen anime. "And this sweater is so warm and cozy! I truly love it!"

"It's only temporary though." Osomatsu pointed out. "Your stay with Kara and Todo, I mean."

The pink-eyed punk's eye twitched in annoyance. He still didn't know what the hell possessed him to agree to Ichi's suggestion of letting Lonely stay at their shared apartment. Jyushi, he could understand, but Lonely? Absolutely not. "If you love wearing that thing so much, just wear the damn pants already! You'll freeze if you go out in your stupid boxers, and we don't need you to get sick!" Todo looked exasperated, and glared at Osomatsu. He stretched the black jogging pants that came along with Lonely's green sweater. God, he wondered why Kara would even tell him to handle Lonely when Kara himself seemed to be the only person that Lonely was fond of, besides Jyushi. Well, he seemed to be getting along with Osomatsu, but if there was one thing that Todo knew, Lonely didn't like him or Ichi at all. "Don't encourage him, geez. It's already a hassle trying to get him on these pants-"

"Tater Tot, hold still!" Without a warning, Lonely jumped from the bed and went straight for the pants that Todo was busy stretching. As a result, only one leg managed to get into the hole, and the other one was left to hang on the garter of the pants. Lonely's head smacked against the frame of the bed, and Todo accidentally dropped the pants and fell to the floor due to how heavy Lonely was, despite being underweight. "Ow! Tater Tot, you betrayed my trust-!"

"GET OFF ME!" Todo hissed through gritted teeth, pounding on the floor with his fists repeatedly. "If we weren't at a hospital, I would have killed you already, you prick!"

Well, their dynamic was somewhat like Karamatsu and Ichimatsu's, but only if Karamatsu was stupid and bold enough to pull a stunt similar to what Lonely did. Even Karamatsu would be smart enough to know that such a thing would piss Ichimatsu off. "Alright, alright. Hold still, you two." He sighed. Onii-chan always had to handle these types of situations. Gently grabbing Lonely's arms, he pulled him up as if he were a rag doll and gently put him down the floor to make him stand. "Alright, you know how to wear pants so fix yourself. Got it?"

"Of course, Pine!" Lonely beamed, clapping his hands together before adjusting his free leg.

Now for Todo, who was now kissing the floor and thumping on the same floor like a child throwing a tantrum, his screams muffled. He used his hand to help Todo sit up, so one of his hands were now behind Todo's back, lightly patting him for tolerating Lonely's shenanigans. "I think you're growing on him, Tater Tot.~" He teased.

"Shut the fuck up, Osomatsu-niisan." Todo swatted his hand away with a growl, but Osomatsu honestly didn't mind. Todo was just being the edgy person he truly was, plus, he got called "nii-san" which fueled his ego a bit. "Oi, Choro! Put your fucking pants on if you want to get out of here immediately!"

Lonely frowned as he pulled his pants up, and then he crossed his arms. "I think my letter from earlier told you not to call me that, Katsuna Todo." He scoffed, dropping the silly nickname as if to imply he was being serious. "Kodoku Choro.. such a beautiful name that is. But that is no longer me. Nor am I Lonely."

"Well, what do you want us to refer to you as then?" Osomatsu asked with a chuckle. Lonely was being rather silly, even if he did try his best to look as if he was pouting.

Lonely tapped his own cheek with his finger as a sign that he was deep in thought. Just as Osomatsu suspected. While Lonely was certainly being dramatic about not wanting to be called by his actual name or the nickname he bestowed upon himself, he certainly didn't think this through and got himself another stupid name they could call themselves by. Osomatsu had already thought of nicknames to call the painful green-eyed magician. "Hm.. I'll think about it. But please, do not refer to me as 'Choro'! It is.. a disgrace to my parents. They don't deserve to have someone such as I as their son. For I am a disgrace, a failure, a-"

Suddenly, his door was opened, without even so much as a knock to warn them. Kaoru peeked inside. "Boys? Are you done yet? Kara-chan and Jyushi-chan are waiting at the lobby, and I already called Ichi-kun! He said the five of you should head straight for Kara-chan's apartment, and he'll meet you boys there. A cab is waiting too."

Osomatsu smiled at him. "Oh. Thanks a ton, Kaoru-san. Ah, but aren't you coming with us?"

"No problem, Osomatsu-kun. It's my duty to help after all." Kaoru chuckled. "And unfortunately, I cannot go. I have work to do, see. I got to make a living somehow, you know."

"Ah, alright. We just have to let Choro put his pants on and we'll be there-"

"I said that isn't me!" Lonely whined. "Stop calling me by that name, I don't deserve it!"

Todo, who now had a bleeding nose from the hard impact on the floor, glared at him. "We're gonna straight-up fuckin' call you Fappymatsu if you don't stop it with that bullshit."

"Oh dear. Are you two fighting again? Honestly, the reason Kara-chan had Osomatsu come with you, Todo-kun, was to make sure you and Choro-kun don't get at each other's throats. Think about how upset Kara-chan will be when he hears you two fighting again! Why isn't everyone as passive-aggressive as Ken-san.." Kaoru sighed, looking at Osomatsu and ignoring Lonely's cry of how "Choro-kun" wasn't him. "You know, big brother Osomatsu-kun, it's your job to stop their bickering." He lectured. "Aren't you going to do something about this?"

"I'm not the idol big brother Japan wants me to be though. Ya gotta pay me before you see me take charge like an actual good brother. I'm a piece of shit with five twins who are minutes younger than me." Osomatsu snickered. "Let 'em bicker. Let 'em learn from their mistakes and laugh about this in the future. It works everytime. Soon, they'll get along. You'll see.~"

"That's an idiotic way of saying you won't deal with us." Todo grumbled, grabbing a tissue from the nearby tissue box to stuff in his nose.

"I agree whole-heartedly." Lonely pouted. "Pine, be more responsible. I now fear not only for my safety, but the others as well."

"See? They're getting along already. They bond over the fact I'm an idiot, haha." He ignored Todo's glare and Lonely's pitying pout at him. "But all joking aside, are you done dressing up, Choro? Sorry, I dunno what to call ya, in all honesty. Once you figure out what to call yourself as, we'll stick with that, 'kay? But are you done dressing up? From shirt to slippers?"

Lonely looked down at the white slippers that the hospital gave to him, as he didn't have his own shoes. He moved his toes a bit, and with a small smile, he nodded. It was nice to wear something loose and comfy, in contrast to the stuffy suits he always wore. Those black shoes he always wore for his feet made his toes hurt a lot sometimes, but with the slippers, he could easily move them. "All done, Pine!"

"Well, let's go then." Todo grumbled, walking to the door. "The sooner we leave this place, the better. It feels weird knowing that the psychopathic bitch of a nurse is in the same building." He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Come again?" Kaoru raised an eyebrow.

Oh right. He had no idea about the reset, so he couldn't remember Shiyou or knew about her true nature. "Todo just got dissed by one of the staff earlier." He lied on the spot, and nearly burst out laughing at Todo's confused expression.

"I don't think that counts as being psychopathic." Kaoru murmured under his breath. "Anyway, I'll be heading to the lobby. You boys are coming, right?"

Osomatsu glanced at both Lonely and Todo, and from the looks of it, the cold was getting to them. That, or the fear of running into Shiyou was making them go rather pale. "Yeah, we're good."

* * *

"The snow is so pretty."

Kara was glad that Jyushi wasn't afraid of him. He did become upset when Todo was tasked to go with Osomatsu to pick up Lonely, but Jyushi figured that Kara wasn't scary or a threat at all. Currently, the two were at the lobby as they waited for the others to come, and Kara had rolled Jyushi's wheelchair close to the window, as the younger brother had stated that he was curious about the snow. Much to Kara's relief, Jyushi was starting to talk and loosen up with him, and he was now admiring the snow outside. "It really is pretty, isn't it Jyushi? Maybe we can go out and play once you feel better."

"I feel okay now, Kara-san. Can we play?" Jyushi turned to face him. Finally, those yellow eyes of his were full of life and not fear. "I really want to make snow angels.. mama always made snow angels.. and sledding too! Sledding is fun.. I want to make a snowman too! And ice-skating!" His voice got louder as he spoke, and they were laced with enthusiasm instead of uncertainty. And that was good. "I really want to play in the snow, Kara-san."

Kara chuckled, running his fingers through Jyushi's hair. His playful side was coming back, it seemed. If only his memories would do the same.. but as long as Shiyou was up and walking, that seemed unlikely. "You'll need to rest for a few days though. Don't worry. Winter won't just disappear by tomorrow. We'll go play once you feel a whole lot better, okay? I'll help you make snow angels and we'll go ice-skating, if you want."

"And we'll drink hot chocolate!" Jyushi beamed. "Winter is a really quiet season, so playing outside makes it less quiet! And playing with everyone is fun!"

Kara nearly forgot how sunny his smile was. It was good to see it again, especially after a night that Kara feared that Jyushi's innocence was taken away due to fear. But now, it seemed as if he was turning back to normal. Kara was glad. "I'll make a lot of treats then. I know you like sweets. And I'm sure you'll love playing with Todo. He's competitive when it comes to snowball-fights, you know. He can be such a child at times.. but I won't lie, snowball-fights are suitable for all ages. And rather fun as well."

"Todo-niisan will play." Jyushi smiled. "Nii-san will play with me! I'm so happy!"

Kara couldn't help but look sad at that. Despite Jyushi being happy, his memories were still a problem. Ichi missed Jyushi dearly, and Jyushi was afraid of him.. Ichi probably felt replaced with how clingy Jyushi was towards Todo, but for now, they needed time. If Jyushi was able to smile as bright as the sun as he used to, then he was certainly able to get his memories back. But now wasn't the time.

"Kara-san." Jyushi softly said, looking at him. "I.. I'm sorry for causing so much trouble."

Kara blinked. "..What?"

"I can't.. remember anything.. but I remember giving something up.. to protect someone I really love.. someone that I care about with all my heart! And I can't even remember them.." He looked away. "I know.. that Todo-niisan.. isn't really my nii-san.. but.. he reminded me of my nii-san. Strong, protective.. and has a soft spot for something!" He sadly smiled at him. "You and him.. remind me of my nii-san and I.. but I don't even know who my nii-san is.."

Oh. So that's it. "Jyushi.."

"I.." He wrapped his arms around himself, his eyes shaking and welling with tears. "I'm scared.. I don't remember.. anything.. I'm so scared, Kara-san.. I know I have no family left, except for my nii-san.." He hiccuped. "But.. I can't.. I can't even remember.. but I remember these painful feelings.. these feelings of uselessness, weakness-"

Kara hugged Jyushi in an effort to calm him down. It hurt him to see someone as bright and sunny as Jyushi break down in tears, and Kara was going to help him feel better. "You're what is most important to your brother. You're not weak, nor are you useless. You are a strong boy who kept him going, and you are each other's lights in this dark world. Understand?" He hugged him tighter. "Many people care for you, Jyushi. You may not feel like that now, but when you get your memories back.. you'll see what I mean."

And Jyushi only responded by hugging tighter.

The warmth was so familiar to the yellow-eyed male, and despite his fear, he decided to cast it aside for now. He really needed a hug right now.


	136. Chapter 136: Starting Point

Osomatsu waved at Kaoru as he got into the front seat, just next to the driver. Kaoru waved back with a smile on his face, and that was enough for Osomatsu to finally get in the car and put his seat belt on. "Alright, everyone ready?" He glanced behind him. "I doubt any of you can get car sick, eh? Buckle up, kiddos, we're in for a drive and I don't want to pay for anything else if one of you guys end up getting car sick and throwing up on the damn floor!"

Lonely was pressing his face against the window with this sparkle in his eyes, so Osomatsu assumed he was having fun. Beside him was Todo, frowning and obviously angry at Osomatsu for calling shotgun, as he clearly didn't want to be stuck with Lonely. Unfortunately, Kara had scolded him and told him that he just had to sit with him, as Kara relied on Todo's help to take care of Lonely. Kara was just beside Todo, eyes closed and humming a tune to either calm Todo, himself, or Jyushi. And Jyushi was on the far right, looking outside the window, but not being as fidgety as Lonely was. Rather, he was looking at the outside world in awe, all the while he was cuddling with Kara's scarf. The blue-eyed cavalier had given it to him in order to calm the youngest brother down, and Jyushi seemed to like the painfully sparkly blue sequin scarf.

"It's only a two-hour drive." Todo crossed his arms. "And I doubt Jyushi gets car sick. He rode a limo once with us, and I'm sure he's been riding one his whole life. This is nothing to him."

"So this is what the interior of a car looks like! I have only seen them from above my hang glider.. and they are bigger on the inside!" Lonely piped up, kicking the back of Osomatsu's seat. The eldest, despite being amused, didn't expect such a thing and ended up choking on his own breath as Lonely kicked the chairs harder. "Truly wonderful! The scent that the air freshener gives calms my very soul, and the coolness is different from the winter breeze, albeit a bit more different! It's such a nice feeling! The seats are soft as well, and the quietness is calming-"

"If the quietness is calming, you should pipe down a bit.." Kara told him. Jyushi couldn't remember him, so the yellow-eyed male was obviously scared, despite Lonely's peppy and friendly nature. "We're off to my apartment now, but do you think you can hold your excitement for a little later? Moving around too much results to getting car sick, which results to nausea.. which results to vomiting. I do hope you understand."

Finally, Lonely stopped kicking Osomatsu's seat, but he was still vibrating on the spot, as if he was holding a large amount of energy inside him. He honestly reminded Osomatsu of Jyushimatsu; he was too curious, too talkative, and too hyperactive. Kinda cute though. "Oh! I very much understand, Karat Cake. You only wish for what is best after all. So!" He finally stopped vibrating, but the smile of his was present, as it always was. "I will listen to you, naturally. Although, I do wish to know the contents of your humble abode! I cannot contain my curiosity any longer! I am simply dying to know, Karat Cake! Not in a literal manner, but you get the point, do you not?"

Contents? Did he actually mean what was inside Kara's apartment? Just a few simple stuff and furniture, such as tables, chairs, his beloved ficus named Rosa, and a few appliances, electronics, and trinkets. Naturally, there was food inside the fridge, soil on beloved Rosa's pot, and clothes inside closets and drawers. What was Lonely trying to find out? "Um, a TV? And a heater? There's also a washing machine that works fine, even though my dear friend broke it once.. and there's a lovely plant decor, and some pictures of me with my family, my dear friend, and my dear friend's grandfather. There's a lot of things we have at the apartment, so-"

"..What is a.. TV?"

 _..You can't be serious._

The driver snorted, and Osomatsu immediately felt second-hand embarrassment just by listening to the conversation. No way in hell did Lonely seclude himself from people for too long that he had no idea what a TV was. "It's.. somewhat like a box, but some of them are flat and look like desk surfaces, but a lot of them resemble boxes. They have a screen that shows stuff like what's going on another part of the country or world, or animated stuff like anime or western cartoons.

"But most of them are annoying dramas, boring talk shows, and sickening rom-coms that make you gag and wish you never changed the damn channel away from the news channel. They sometimes show sports or contests that are trending, though commercials sometimes make it suck ass. Have you seriously never heard of one?" Todo raised an eyebrow. With all the hero-bullshit Lonely had put himself through the last couple of years, you'd think he would see at least one TV from hang-gliding all over Akatsuka City, a city that was full of technology and was so advanced.

"I think I remembered seeing some during my lovely flights around Akatsuka!" Lonely frowned. "Hm, is that so? TV.. a peculiar name indeed. But I refer to them as magic boxes."

Jyushi seemingly giggled at Lonely's naivety regarding modern technology, but as soon as he noticed that he giggled, he shyly covered his mouth with Kara's scarf and his over-sized sleeves. "There.. there was one at your hospital room.. I.. I had one, but.." Jyushi hadn't been interested in turning it on, especially since he was new to his surroundings.

"Oh! That box in my lovely room? I had no idea how to make the magic box work, and I would have asked my nurse for assistance, if she hadn't been so rude! And when I was about to ask that lovely doctor, he immediately told me I was getting out of the hospital and I needed a proper diet! What even is wrong with eating fresh onions? I was so ecstatic about the news that I completely forgot the magic box! Shame.. I always wanted to see a magic box up close!"

"Do you at least know of any sort of technology?" Kara asked. "I mean, if you didn't.. how on earth were you updated on the entire Tougou incident? Surely, you didn't rely on newspapers all the time.."

"Newspapers.. oh! Yes, I completely required newspapers at the time! I simply did not have the time to understand how modern technology works! Ah, the pain of being the Akatsuka Nightingale.~ Time passes on as I stay in the past.~"

 _Oh, everything stayed in the past, alright. You sound like an eight-year old whose been living under a fucking rock the entire time._

"Not even a radio?" Osomatsu asked. To prove his point, he slightly increased the volume of the radio, and the driver didn't even attempt to stop him. "Haven't you heard about this before-"

Immediately, Lonely fit himself through the gap between the driver's seat and passenger's seat, nearly making the driver hit against the rails of the highway. "What is that?! Absolutely astounding!" He reached out for the knob of the radio and started twisting it around. "It increases and decreases in volume?! This is so extraordinary-!"

"GET BACK IN YOUR SEAT, OR YOU'LL GET US ALL KILLED!" Todo barked at him, pulling him back. "And we are not going back to the hospital, you idiot!"

Kara had hugged Jyushi the moment Lonely had leaped out of his seat in excitement, but at least the youngest male in the car wasn't crying of fear or anything. Rather, he was giggling at Lonely's antics, and was just hugging Kara because he got startled that the car nearly hit the rails. "T-Todo has a point, Choro. Please stay still. I fear we are all going to suffer from a crucial car crash if you were to do something like that again. A-Apologies, mister." Kara told the driver meekly. "My.. friend here is rather excitable. He tends to be amazed by the simplest things, which is kind of nice, but sometimes extreme."

"I do not!" Lonely huffed, crossing his arms.

"Says the guy who lost his shit over a sweater." Osomatsu pointed out with a smirk. Todo snorted.

Again, Lonely huffed. "Did not."

"You did." Kara sighed. "I could hear your screaming from the lobby."

* * *

"I missed you so much, yon!"

The first thing that greeted them once they got into Kara's apartment was Dayon, who they had left for about a few days now. The taller male immediately hugged both Kara and Todo upon seeing them, and to their surprise, Todo didn't pull away from the hug. Neither did Kara, who was laughing and thanking Dayon for a job well done. Jyushi, who had previously been in Kara's arms, was now being carried by Osomatsu, looked around the apartment in wonder. The same was with Lonely, who was bouncing on the spot and itching to run all over the place.

Suddenly, Kara pulled away from the hug, and he seemed to be looking at something else. His eyes widened and he gasped, running over to something that Osomatsu and Todo knew far too well. "Rosa! My darling Rosa, my beloved plant!" He cried, kneeling over in front of the potted ficus that freaked Osomatsu out so much. The plant now had a nice blue hat and a blue sundress, and Osomatsu wondered if Dayon actually used his money to get that for the plant. "Such a lovely choice of clothes! Dayon, this is a work of art! I am so happy right now!"

"Oh god." Todo scowled. "I forgot.. I have to live with that.. thing.."

"I watered her good, yon!" Dayon chirped. "And cleaned the rooms, yon! I'm glad I did, yon! I didn't expect you to come home already, yon! And new friends! New friends, Todo!"

Todo glanced over at Jyushi and Lonely. "Oh. Well, Dayon, this is Suuji Jyushi. He's a bit meek and pretty shy at the moment, but he's definitely friendly. The other one is Kodoku Choro. He's a magician." He added the "at the moment" part, because he knew damn well that Jyushi was only this scared because of his lack of memories.

"Magician? I love magic shows, yon!"

"Um.." Jyushi looked over at Dayon, before burying his face on Osomatsu's shoulder. It caught the red-clad Matsuno off guard, but he eventually adjusted his hold on Jyushi and started patting his back in an effort to soothe him. "Waaahh.. I'm scared.."

"I am honored to meet the friend of my friend." Lonely bowed. "And I'm quite ecstatic that you adore magic shows! It is my hobby, see!"

"They'll get along just fine." Osomatsu murmured, walking around the apartment while carrying Jyushi in his arms. "You must have felt stuffy inside the cab. No problemo, Osomatsu-niisan will make sure you get a nice long rest!" Osomatsu chuckled. "Hey, Kara? Can I borrow your room for a moment? Jyushi here needs to rest."

"Oh!" Kara's attention shifted from the ficus to his older brother. "Feel free to borrow my room! Oh, and if Jyushi or Choro require warmer clothes, feel free to rummage through my closet." He looked at Todo. "Todo, my dear friend, would you care to let Choro rest as well? It's been a long trip, and I'm sure he wants to look around, but maybe it's best to take a seat first. In the meantime, I'll make snacks for everyone." He truly did miss cooking, and he was glad to be back in his own apartment, where he could cook whatever the hell he wanted.

"I'll help too, yon!" Dayon cheered.

Todo frowned, but refused to argue with Kara. "Fine. Oi, Choro. Get your ass in here."

"I told you not to refer to me as such!" The green-eyed magician whined.

Osomatsu chuckled as he felt Jyushi shift in his arms. "This place.. is warm.." Jyushi whispered. "And.. cozy.. I.. I like it here.."

"Maybe it's because this place has that kind of atmosphere, ya know?" Osomatsu said, opening the door to Kara's room. "A nice, cozy atmosphere, with a lot of people, and even the scent of freshly-tended flowers.. yeah, it's a nice change of atmosphere from the business of the other part of Akatsuka City, eh? Simplicity's where it's at."

 _This atmosphere.. heh, it's almost similar to home._


	137. Chapter 137: Strawberry Brothers

It was a nice place, Jyushi realized as soon as Osomatsu carried him inside and plopped him on the bed. It was warm and Kara's room smelled like freshly-brewed coffee and cookies, and there were small pots of flowers by the windowsill, which added a little bit of color to the brown and white. Although, there was another color besides brown and white, and that was baby blue, which was the soft-looking and probably fuzzy carpet on the floor. It was also a nice, clean room that had a lot of space for pacing around, not that Jyushi would do so. He could barely walk after all, so he decided to stay in the bed with his legs crossed. If he tried moving them in any other position, they would hurt. And Jyushi hated pain, so he refused to move an inch. If someone tried to move him, chances are, he'd bawl like a baby. His legs tended to be sore when he stood in one place for too long, or kept walking, but they would also hurt if her were to suddenly shift in another position.

But the room felt welcoming. Despite it being so unfamiliar to Jyushi, he liked the warm and homely atmosphere. It made him feel safe for some reason. Still.. as safe as it felt, Jyushi was aware he needed to keep his guard up. The voice of his friend and his words were echoing in his head.. he could have sworn his friend had dragged him outside the cold earlier, but maybe.. maybe it was just a dream. He knew that he felt the cold snow against his skin, but when Jyushi woke up, he was at the hospital bed, not leaning against a tree.

He could hear the sound of Kara and Dayon happily chatting away as they seemingly discussed the snacks they were about to bake, and Todo seemed to be yelling at Lonely from the other room, and he was yelling at the green-eyed magician to stay still. Naturally, the noise only got louder and louder, so Osomatsu decided to shut the door and open the curtains, revealing the beautiful winter scenery that Jyushi adored so much. He glanced at the window and felt the want to go outside and play in the snow.. but Kara told him to rest. So for now, he was staying with Osomatsu.

"It's been awhile since I've been here! I slept here twice, you know! And even though it may look like a simple bed, this place makes you feel like it's your own home!" It was best not to mention the fact that the first time he slept at Kara's soft bed was after Todo had thrown him against the door and knocked him out, fearing that Jyushi might start to be scared of Todo as well. And as soon as he woke up, he had to rush to an abandoned building to save Todo and accidentally murder Atsushi. And again, the shock was too much, he blacked out and woke up at Kara's bed again. Now that he thought long and hard about it, Osomatsu seemed to have gotten used to the near-death situations, but not the sudden deaths of people he knew from his dimension.

Atsushi was his youngest brother's friend, and he was also the sextuplets' friend by default. Sure, he was busy living a good life and all, but whenever he dropped by, he would always bring a tub of ice cream for them. Hatabou was their childhood friend, so it was natural that Osomatsu would feel a little- no, it wasn't a little. He felt intense sadness and horror upon seeing Hatabou's corpse.. but no way in hell would he believe that Jyushi was the murderer. Tougou, as much as that man hurt and scared Osomatsu back when he was a child.. the Tougou of this dimension was so close to having a second chance. And Kamimatsu ripped that away from him.

He felt anger surge through his entire being just by remembering that. Who did Kamimatsu think he was to murder Tougou? Who did he think he was to judge Tougou? Just thinking about it made Osomatsu feel the urge to just punch the ever-living shit out of him-

And suddenly, Jyushi whimpered, bringing his sleeves close to his face and hiding them from Osomatsu's sight. Osomatsu realized that he was gritting his teeth angrily and he was clenching his fists. Ah. He was scaring Jyushi unintentionally. "O-Oh! Sorry about that, buddy. I wasn't angry at you, don't worry! I.. I was angry at something else. Something that hurt you and the others. I just hate him, but I don't hate you, okay?" He forced a smile. "You're probably hungry, aren't 'cha? Don't worry! Kara made us breakfast once, and lemme tell you, it tasted great! You like sweets, right?"

Jyushi removed his sleeves from his face, but still made sure they were pressed against his mouth. It wasn't like he hated Osomatsu or thought that the latter would punch him or hurt him in any way, but it was hard to feel safe in an unfamiliar environment with equally unfamiliar people. "..Yes. I like sweets." He said softly, his words muffled by the over sized sleeves.

"Ah! I thought so! Your style is so soft and royalty-like, you just seem to be the type of guy to absolutely love sweets! What's your favorite kind of sweet? Do you remember what it is?" Osomatsu asked, attempting to shift Jyushi's attention away from the previous topic. "I'm not much of a sweets guy myself. I only like ice cream and snack cakes with custard or chocolate. But I guess cakes aren't so bad once in awhile. I prefer croissants though."

Jyushi thought for awhile, often glancing at Osomatsu out of uncertainty. "I think.. I like.. this one kind of cake with a lot of cream and strawberries." Jyushi looked up at Osomatsu. "It's a really soft ans very sweet cake that has a lot of cream on top. There are strawberries in the middle and on the top, and the cake itself has a slightly yellow color. But.. maybe it's because of the eggs.."

As Osomatsu said, he wasn't a fan of cakes and pastries, so he had no idea what kind of cake Jyushi was talking about. But at least he managed to get him to say something instead of letting him be scared of him. "Ooh! Nice! I'll ask Kara if I can go buy you a cake sometime! Sweets are really great for people like you, ya know? It seems like they've been associated with softness or refinement. But then again, our dear Tater Tot isn't exactly any of those traits, eh?" He chuckled. "Oh. Are you alright with what you're wearing now? Or is it still a bit cold?"

It was still rather cold around Jyushi's bottom area, and even with the turtleneck, it was still chilly. Besides, he was wearing the thin shorts from the hospital, as well as the thin white stockings. It didn't really do much to provide any heat, so Jyushi nodded.

Osomatsu glanced at the bag he had brought with him. It was the bag that had both Jyushi and Ichi's stuff, which Osomatsu figured that Ichi probably had Dekapan or any of his Flag Corporation slaves drop it by the hospital. "Hm. Maybe there's something there with thicker material. If not, I'm looking through Kara's closet." He told the yellow-eyed male sitting on the bed. He unzipped the duffel bag and pulled out the contents. On the very top were Jyushi's clothes from last night. Not the outfit Lonely had given him, but rather, the outfit he was wearing when the rest had discovered him. There was also his scarf, neatly folded, and on top of the scarf was Jyushi's locket. "Oh! Look here buddy!"

"Huh..?"

"It's your's! Such a pretty locket, huh? You have a ring too, but I'm pretty sure that's with Ichi at the moment. Not that it matters, you have your locket here!" Osomatsu chuckled, juggling the locket. "A bit scratched, sure, but this is your's. No doubt about it. See?" He clicked open the locket, showing Jyushi the picture of him and Ichi by sitting next to him and facing the locket towards him, just a few inches towards his face. "It's you and your big brother!"

Jyushi blinked, before taking the locket out of Osomatsu's hands. His eyes focused on the picture of him and another person who seemed to share the same face as him, except he had purple eyes, glasses, and scruffy hair. "Nii..?"

Osomatsu patted his head softly, with a soft and sincere smile on his face. "You may not remember him, but yeah. That freak with glasses is your nii-san. But all joking aside, he may seem scary on the outside. But think of it as a shell."

"..Shell..?" As in, like the shells of peanuts? Clam shells? Sea shells?

"You'll understand what I mean, buddy. But for now, hold onto that while I look through some stuff in your bag. Who knows, we might find something there to warm you up. Those clothes look like they're not gonna do much for you." Osomatsu chuckled, before he left the bed to continue to rummage through the duffel bag. "Let's see what else is in here- oh!" He took out Ichi's clothes from last night, as well as what seemed to be Lonely's clothes, including the cape. "Man. Lonely'll freak when he sees his cape in here. And damn. It's a bit heavy.. yet soft. Nice. Hm, maybe I should hand it to him later." He folded the cape and put it aside with Ichi's and Jyushi's clothes on the floor. "Hmmm, what else.. oh!" He found the four headphones underneath, as well as a small tin of mint candy and a box of cigarettes, but that wasn't what got Osomatsu's attention.

On the bottom of the duffel bag was a small badge shaped like the pine-tree symbol the Matsunos had on their hoodies, sloppily made and the green color was fading. There were few spots of red tainting the edges of the badge.

 _Huh? Why does it look like our family symbol? And why does it smell like copper? It's clearly just cardboard and colored paper stuck together.._

Jyushi seemed to notice the badge, because he looked away from the locket and reached out for it. "That's..!"

"Huh?" Osomatsu showed him the badge, making sure to hold it carefully. "You know this little thing, Jyushi?"

"That's.. that's.." Jyushi had extended an arm, but suddenly, he pulled away. "T-That's.."

"Jyushi?" Now Osomatsu was worried. He went back to the bed and placed a hand on Jyushi's shoulder. "Hey, buddy? Something wrong?"

It wasn't long before tears suddenly welled in Jyushi's eyes, but not a single sob came out. "I.. I don't know.."

"What do you mean?"

"I know that.. that badge.. is important, somehow, b-but.." More tears flowed and Jyushi resembled a waterfall at this point. "I can't.. I can't remember anything-"

Osomatsu pulled Jyushi into a hug, rubbing his back. "It's gonna be alright, buddy. Osomatsu-niisan'll be here to help you remember. Don't be scared." He soothed. It felt like he was comforting one of his little brothers after a nightmare, which wasn't far off. Jyushi, despite being a different person in a different dimension, in a way, was still Jyushimatsu, and thus, one of Osomatsu's little brothers with just slight differences. He pulled away from the hug, and used the rainbow scarf wrapped around his neck to wipe Jyushi's tears away. Certainly, Karamatsu won't mind. "You know, you always had such a bright smile. It's a shame I haven't seen it in awhile."

"Huh..?" His smile?

Osomatsu grinned. "Your smile is what people love most about you. Besides your sunny personality and kindness, of course! Your smile is just contagious and so.. nice to look at. Everyone has to agree on that." He put both of his thumbs on both sides of Jyushi's mouths, slightly pulling them on different directions in an effort to make the sunny brother smile. "Smile for onii-chan! If you don't I'm squishing your cheeks. You don't want that, neee?~ Hustle hustle!"

Jyushi's eyes suddenly widened, as if he had heard something phenomenal. That phrase.. it sounded so familiar to Jyushi. It rhymed with something, and Jyushi could remember yelling those words as loud as he could. Sadly enough, he couldn't remember what it was, but it was worth to try, right? After all, Osomatsu was trying hard to make him happy.. it would be rude to ignore all of Osomatsu's efforts into making a useless child like him happy. "Um, muscle.. muscle?" He replied nervously.

Osomatsu suddenly stopped squishing his cheeks, before pulling him yet into another hug. "Oh my god! You remember! You remember how it goes, oh my god!" He practically screamed. "Alright, let's keep going 'til those tears of your's are dry as fuck! Hustle hustle!"

Again, Jyushi repeated those words, seeing as it made Osomatsu happy somehow. The hug, though it was suffocating him a bit, was a bit comforting, in a way. "Muscle muscle."

"That's the spirit! Hustle hustle!"

"Muscle muscle.."

"Alright! Hustle hustle!"

"Muscle muscle.."

"Hustle hustle!"

"M-Muscle muscle.."

Sensing Jyushi's nervousness, Osomatsu patted his back. "Don't back down, buddy! Do it loud and clear! Scream to the fucking sun! Hustle hustle!"

"M-Muscle muscle!" Jyushi immediately pulled away from the hug and covered his mouth. That yell was similar to a squeak, and he feared he may have accidentally yelled in Osomatsu's ear. "I'm s-sorry-"

"Hustle hustle! That's the spirit!" Osomatsu punched the air with his fist. "And Jyushi?"

"H-Huh? O-Oh! Um, muscle muscle.."

"Hustle hustle!"

Jyushi didn't fully understand what was Osomatsu doing by making him chant with him. Yet, there was this light feeling in Jyushi's chest.. and he liked that feeling. Taking a deep breath, he mustered all the courage he had and set his uncertainty aside.

Perhaps this chant was something that comforted Osomatsu whenever he was upset.

"Muscle muscle!"


	138. Chapter 138: Chaotic Tea Party

The sound of the door knocking interrupted the two of them, and Kara walked in. He was once again wearing that embarrassingly sparkly blue apron with a few stains of batter and matching blue mittens, implying that he didn't just cook. The latter probably baked as well, and went over the top with preparing snacks. Well, at least he didn't look stressed or anything. Instead, he looked relaxed, since he was smiling and didn't seem to look strained or overworked. Maybe he just missed cooking, Osomatsu thought. It has been awhile since Kara cooked for them after all, since the hotel they were staying at was in charge of such things. "Osomatsu-niisan, Jyushi. I've already prepared the snacks. Lonely, Todo, and Dayon are already helping themselves to the snacks, so I suggest getting out there and grabbing something to bite on before they eat it all."

"Okay, Kara-san!" To Kara's surprise, it was Jyushi who chirped, raising his sleeve in the air. Sure, his eyes were slightly puffy from crying, but after chanting with Osomatsu, he felt better. It felt as if that motto somehow freed him from his burdens, and it felt great. It was like some sort of battle cry that warriors would use to increase their strength! But even with that, Jyushi still couldn't stand up. Maybe his legs were just feeling lazy. "Ahhhhh, I feel really great! I can't move though! Awww, but I'm not gonna let that get me down again! Hustle hustle! Muscle muscle! Hustle hustle! Muscle muscle!"

Kara seemed to cry a bit, Osomatsu could tell. "Osomatsu-niisan.. you're so cool.. to be able to make Jyushi cheer up instantly like that.." He sniffled a bit, and Osomatsu held himself back from laughing. Even though Kara was more responsible and level-headed than Karamatsu, he was certainly as sensitive and as dramatic as the other whenever he saw something mildly heartwarming. "So cool.. you really are so cool, Osomatsu-niisan.. to be able to do what I couldn't.. you really are an interesting and amazing older brother.. I envy the other me for having such a wonderful brother such as you.. I aspire to be just like you.." He sniffled, wiping his teary eyes with his arm.

Osomatsu chuckled. It was nice to have someone stroke his ego, Osomatsu admitted. Maybe this was what Karamatsu felt whenever he rarely got complimented? But besides that, Jyushi was finally being his optimistic, loud self again. As long as Osomatsu kept this up, Jyushi would stop fearing them, even before his memories return. And that was going to lessen their burdens. "Yeah, we're going. C'mon Jyushi. Onii-chan's strong enough to carry ya." He spread his arms out. Immediately, Jyushi clung to him like a koala and Osomatsu lifted him with zero effort. He was really light, so Osomatsu felt like he was just carrying a bunch of pillows rather than a person. "Alright. What did you cook up, Kara? I get hungry just by thinking about it!"

"Well, there are some chocolate cookies and two different pies, but I also cooked up popcorn and there are some Dango and Imagawayaki that Dayon brought earlier for his snack time. So there's a lot to pick from. The drinks are either coffee or tea, and there's a platter of fruit if you're not that hungry, which I doubt you are."

Imagawayaki? Well, Osomatsu found something he certainly wasn't going to share. He followed Kara out of the door and into the dining area. Dayon was happily stacking fruits on his plate, while Lonely was messily eating a pie with his bare hands, ignoring the fact that there was a fork that was meant to be used. It looked like a rather disgusting sight, but then Osomatsu remembered; Lonely probably didn't have a proper meal in years, and the poor lanky thing was just hungry, so he let it slide. Plus, he was disgusting himself, and no way in hell was he going to be a hypocrite.

Todo was the only one standing up and grabbing cookies and fruit from the table, and it seems as if he changed out of his hoodie, and was wearing his white sweater instead, except it seemed to be a thinner version. Osomatsu immediately realized that their stuff was back at the hotel, meaning that Osomatsu couldn't change clothes if he wanted to. At least, not until he gets his stuff back. Thank god he brought the phone and syringe with him. "Cold.." He grumbled, glaring at Osomatsu, before biting the entirety of the cookie as if to threaten him. "Our shit is back at the hotel, you know. And it's cold wearing with the only remaining clothes I have left in my closet, which are all thin as fuck."

"Hehe, sorry! Onii-chan needs to watch over his brothers too, you know? Plus, I didn't expect this would happen. Not like it's a bad thing, of course." He pulled a chair using his foot, and gently set Jyushi down, before pushing the chair. He pulled a chair on his own and sat next to Jyushi as Kara handed them plates and forks. "Alright! These all look good, Kara! What do you wanna eat, Jyushi? Oh! That pie looks good, doesn't it? And Choro's enjoying it. Must be a pretty nice pie. Hey, Dayon! Would you mind passing the pie?"

"Sure thing, yon!"

As Dayon gave the pie to Osomatsu, Lonely frowned. "Don't call me that, Pine. I am still thinking of a wondrous name that shall replace my old ones. Until now, I will enjoy this pastry that is meant for the taste buds of the gods." Lonely scolded, while stuffing his face with the pastry Kara baked. His crumbs were all over his spot, falling on the table, the floor, and even his clothes. But Lonely didn't seem to care, even though Kara looked like he was itching to grab the vacuum cleaner and use it to clean up Lonely's mess. "Karat Cake has impeccable baking capabilities! I am impressed beyond belief! It tastes so heavenly!~"

"Y-You're too kind, Choro.." Kara nervously chuckled, sitting next to Dayon. He looked uncomfortable for some reason, but it was probably because of the crumbs. Either that, or he was once again flustered to receive such praise. Nonetheless, he tried to distract himself. "J-Jyushi, is there anything you would like?"

Jyushi put a sleeve over his mouth, looking over the food. While he did want some pie, he didn't seem to be in the mood for something with egg or apple as filling. Maybe something simple would do for now. "Ummm.. cookies, please!"

"Drink?"

"Ummm... tea?"

"Alright then." Kara placed five cookies on Jyushi's plate, and reached out for a yellow cup. "Todo, my dear friend, could you help me out a bit and pour the tea?"

The pink-eyed punk just grabbed the kettle and poured the tea onto the cup. "Here."

"Thanks. Here you go, Jyushi. Enjoy."

"O-Okay!" Jyushi squeaked out a reply, taking a bite out of his cookie. Not only was it sweet, but there were nuts in it too. He beamed, and proceeded to eat the rest of the cookie, before downing it with his tea. "Thank you, Kara-san!"

"Aren't you gonna take a seat, Tater Tot?" Osomatsu asked, grabbing an Imagawayaki and splitting it in half. Custard. He felt so lucky about not sharing these kinds of things. He set one half of the cake on his plate, just on top of the apple pie, and took a bite out of it, spilling the custard on his hoodie. Oh well.

"Nah. I'm fine." Todo said, reaching out for the strawberry on the platter. "Just grabbing a few things to bite on. I have to look for something in my room, and I haven't cleaned in months. It's probably gonna take me hours to look for it."

Osomatsu could practically hear Kara rolling his eyes. "I noticed how clean your room is. What are you looking for? I may be able to help."

"Oi. I get it, my room is a pigsty. I'll try to clean my shit later.. 'try' being the key word. If I'm able to find that, it may be a blessing." Todo murmured, looking away. "And.. it's nothing big, so no need to help. I get that you're busy, but I can look for this on my own. It's just a box of important stuff you don't need to know about, ones that I've kept since we were at high school. You know, the things that kids love to watch nowadays and skip social gatherings and whatnot if they're lonely-"

Suddenly, Kara slammed his fists against the table, startling everyone. "Todo, you.. you keep _that_ in this house?!"

"What." The other raised an eyebrow.

"Y-You know full-well what I'm talking about!" Kara's face turned red as his voice raised in pitch. "W-Why would you keep such things in here?! How are you able to do so?! I-I did not allow you to keep such things in this house!"

Todo blinked. "...Haaaaah?"

"I don't get it, yon." Dayon blankly said, still having that big smile of his.

"I do not follow as well." Lonely murmured, chewing on his pie. He then picked up his tea cup and took a sip, before setting it down again. "However, I choose to not be a part of this conversation. So.." He reached out and grabbed another slice of pie. "It does not worry me as much. The key to living a free life is to be free from all worries."

Jyushi shifted next to Osomatsu, with a confused look on his face. The eldest Matsuno blinked, wondering what got Kara so riled up.

 _A box of important stuff that we don't need to know about? Things that kids watch when they're lonely and want to skip social gatherings- oh my god._

"Todo." Osomatsu spoke up. "You keep porn in your place?"

Silence passed through them, before Jyushi awkwardly looked away from his cup of tea. "What.. what is 'porn'?"

"Ah." Dayon suddenly stood up from his seat. "I lost my appetite, yon! Well, I better go now, yon!" Dayon walked out of the apartment in a heartbeat, shutting the door as he left.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT!" Todo shrieked, his face red. "I DON'T EVEN LIKE THE THOUGHT OF PEOPLE DOING THAT! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I'D KEEP PORN IN THIS HOUSE?! WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID, OSOMATSU-NIISAN?! I WAS TALKING ABOUT ANIME!"

Anime? Oh. That's completely different from porn. "Whoa, chill. Just followed my instincts."

"YOUR INSTINCTS ARE SHIT!"

"A-Ah.. I misunderstood then.." Kara sat back down. "That's a relief.. for a second there, I thought Todo was keeping pornographic material in this house.."

"Dude, that's gross. You know that those things are sensitive topics for me. My grandpa was such an asshole to give me 'the talk' while I was like eight." Todo scrunched his nose in disgust, rubbing his temples. "The thought of people doing.. that.. is just.. gross.. actually, I'm gonna vomit if I think more about it."

"Why were you looking for anime in the first place?" Osomatsu asked.

Lonely took a rather loud sip at his tea, and then proceeded to wipe his mouth with the tablecloth. "Hmm.. oh! That happens to be my fault, in a way! I have no idea what Tater Tot does for entertainment-"

"Basically, this prick pestered me into showing him anime, since he wanted to know what I do to pass the time. I don't even have proper hobbies besides taking walks." Todo crossed his arms and huffed. "Anyway, I'll be excusing myself now. Dayon probably misunderstood shit, and I don't even have a damn phone to contact him. I might as well just look for the anime DVDs I hid somewhere under my bed."

"Oh! Before you go.." Osomatsu grabbed the other half of the Imagawayaki, and handed it to Todo.

"..The fuck is that supposed to be? A half-eaten cake? No thanks-"

"Here. You have to take it. My brothers and I split these in half a lot, and it's often our way of saying sorry and shit." He grinned. "Sorry for stepping on a landmine, Todo. Sex must be a touchy subject to you!"

"..Please stop saying that word." Todo murmured, but took the cake anyway.

"Hm? What word?"

"You know! That word!"

"Touchy?"

"No, no, no! The 'S' word!"

"Oh! Sex!"

"That! Stop saying that word!"

"Huh? What's wrong with the word 'sex'?"

"It's just gross, okay?!"

"Hmmm.. well, the process of sex is unappealing to some people-"

"Stop it! It's gross!"

"Yeah.. sex is gross, sometimes."

"You're just looking for another reason to say that word!"

"What word?"

"That word! That stupid, disgusting 'S' word!"

"..Sex-"

"STOP THAT! YOU'RE DISGUSTING!"

As Osomatsu and Todo continued to bicker, Kara sighed. "They can be such children at times.."

"Um, Kara-san.." Jyushi looked at him. "What is porn?"

Oh, dear god. Kara did not want to be the one to give Jyushi the talk. "You're too young, Jyushi. Maybe ask someone with experience..? I don't really know, but maybe Osomatsu-niisan? I'm pretty sure Osomatsu-niisan is the only person to ever touch porn in this entire room. Anyways, you're too young to know."

"I agree whole-heartedly. I am older than Sweets, and looking at him reminds me of the days I was once naive and innocent. Ahhhh, those were the days! And then Tougou came by, and such purity was gone! Gone with the wind, just like dust." Lonely clapped his hands together. "Such a young, pure heart Sweets has. It's best not to taint it for now, yes?"

"Yeah. Let's just wait until you grow older, Jyushi."

"Oh. Umm, okay." Maybe Jyushi would ask Osomatsu later.

Lonely nodded in agreement. "And since I am older, with no purity to risk in the slightest.." Lonely looked at Kara. "Karat Cake, would you care to elaborate on what 'porn' is?"

 _..Are you serious?_


	139. Chapter 139: Inflammation

"Well, he's fast asleep. It's nice to see him sleep peacefully. I hope he returns to his normal self soon. But now that's over with.. do you need any help with the dishes?" Osomatsu asked.

The sun was setting now, and with Dayon gone, they didn't have to deal with anything else, except washing the dishes used for the snacks and preparing a hot meal for dinner, since it was cold. Kara had helped Todo look for his box of old anime DVDs, and the latter was currently watching every single DVD he owned, alongside Lonely, who was often heard gushing about how beautiful the music and animation as, as well as how impressive the capabilities of the "magic box" was. Jyushi was easily full from eating all the snacks, and after downing a glass of hot milk, he fell asleep and decided to skip dinner. Osomatsu had tucked him in, and after making sure that the youngest was deep asleep, he left the room and gently shut the door. Kara would have objected to that and tell Jyushi that having dinner is important before sleeping, but the latter looked very tired, so Kara let him rest.

 _I mean, he is hosting a demon inside of him. It must tire him out to hold Akumatsu inside of him.. and Akumatsu must drain every fiber of his being. It's a surprise he can still act normal and as free as he is, even with Akumatsu draining his energy slowly.. I guess that makes sense on why he gets tired easily._

Thankfully, Dayon had dropped by again and dropped off some ingredients for dinner, knowing full-well that Kara had his hands full with not just taking care of Todo, but also Lonely, Jyushi, and Osomatsu. Kara invited him to stay and have dinner, but Dayon claimed he was going to do something else. Still, Kara was sincerely thankful to the bigger man for going through the trouble to buy stuff for tonight's dinner. And now, normally lax Osomatsu-niisan was asking if he needed help with the dishes.

Kara glanced at him, smiling. He was happy that despite Osomatsu's laziness, he was still willing to help him with the chores. But he felt as if he could handle all just fine. "It's fine, Osomatsu-niisan. You can watch anime in Todo's room if you have nothing to do. I just have a few things to finish before I make dinner-"

"And let you deal with this alone? Alright, stand aside, Kara. Nii-chan's gonna help you out no matter what 'cha say. I'm not that shitty, geez." Osomatsu folded the sleeves of his hoodie and reached out for the spare pair of rubber gloves and put them on. He usually didn't do chores at home, since their poor mother Matsuyo often did so for them. But Kara was the only one doing things in the entire apartment, and Osomatsu felt bad about leaving him to do it all on his own. And he wasn't really into anime, so doing chores was the next best thing. "You go work on dinner now, and you better make it good! I'll handle the dishes for ya."

In all honesty, with everything they've been going through, Osomatsu wanted to sort things out. Akumatsu's appearance and explanation of certain things was getting to Osomatsu, and he wanted to do something to distract himself.

"Oh! Okay. Thank you so much, Osomatsu-niisan. This makes things faster." Kara removed his gloves and opened the fridge and took out some ingredients, and set them on the table. There was a variety of meat products and vegetables. "I was thinking of making something with beef or chicken.. or you know, pork, and make katsudon with curry instead. And some lettuce and tomatoes, and fried eggs to balance the salty taste of both the katsudon and curry. But since the doctor told me that Choro needs to take small servings and eat light food, until he gets all better." He glanced at the frozen fish. "So maybe fish is a better option? But Choro might not eat it. He doesn't eat much, and I think it'll be too bland for him.."

"What makes you say that? If that's what's worrying you, then just serve it with ketchup, mayo, or even soy sauce. Try making tempura and fish fillets. It's light and easy to make, and it tastes really good. And if Choro doesn't wanna eat those, well.. you're not gonna be the one vomiting, haha."

Kara frowned. "I promised the doctor I'd take care of Choro, so I can't very much leave him to barf on the floor. But.. your suggestions are nice. Not the one where I leave him be! Your suggestion of food, that is. I'll make fish fillets, tempura, and curry. Todo is not a fan of spicy foods, but he enjoys curry. And I'll make some scrambled eggs too. Do you have anything else you want to eat, Osomatsu-niisan? I'll make it if I have the ingredients."

"Ah, not much. I'm fine with the curry. Maybe make some hot soup? It's kinda chilly after all."

"..What do you think Ichi would like? I don't think I see him eat much food besides chicken wings, and I'm pretty sure the only thing he drinks is coffee." Kara asked as he put the other meat and veggies back in the fridge, and grab a bowl. "I mean, he obviously doesn't like seafood, seeing as he argued with Todo that one time about chicken wings being better.. but we don't have ingredients for chicken wings at the moment. Do you think he'd eat chicken curry?"

"I think the guy would eat anything, to be honest-" Suddenly, the phone on the table started ringing. "Kara, can you get that for me? On second thought, just place it over here after you press the answer button. It's probably Oso."

"Oh alright." Kara made sure to place it on a spot where the water from the sink couldn't possibly splash the phone and get it wet, which might cause it to malfunction. And no one wanted that. "Here you go. Just talk to Oso as you normally would. Pretend I'm not here, if you're going to talk about serious things." Kara nervously chuckled. "I know that you seem to have.. private conversations regarding things I don't understand. I mean, I don't understand as fast as Choro does, so you have nothing to worry about! But I have to make dinner, so-"

"Aw, don't think like that, Kara!" Osomatsu grinned at him. Kara was very much the opposite of Karamatsu, obvious by the fact he tended to think he was weaker or slower than the rest. And as the older brother, it was Osomatsu's job to make sure every single one of his brothers felt good about themselves, one way or another. "It's fine! I mean, you're pretty much the mom in our group, so I think it's best to tell you first if something interesting happens, and then we can talk about it over a nice dinner! Oso and I mainly talk about shit like our love for croissants, so it's nothing serious-"

 **"Unfortunately for you.. I have bad news.."**

Kara was obviously startled by the sudden voice coming out of the phone, but Osomatsu expected it by now. And as he expected, the screen was black. Either Oso was trying so hard to be Karamatsu-cool by keeping his face hidden, or he was just camera-shy. Or both. "Ayyyyy, other me!" Osomatsu greeted, turning off the faucet so he could hear the other's voice better. Honestly, Oso's voice was so soft, that the sound of running water was probably deafening compared to it. Well, Osomatsu shouldn't complain to much on how the other him started. The other dimension tended to change a lot of things after all. "How's it going there-"

 **"Peachy."**

Oh. His voice sounded rather.. serious, even more so than usual. Time to drop the happy-go-lucky-facade then, even though Kara was clearly in the room. There were just times when he had to be serious. "Alright, what's going on?"

Kara was even more startled by the sudden change in Osoomatsu's voice. It was serious and a bit lower, and he sounded like a different person entirely. Nonetheless, he tried to focus on dinner, and poured the bag of flour on the bowl. He shouldn't eavesdrop and accidentally plant the seed of paranoia or doubt within him, even though Osomatsu was literally a few inches away from him and he had no choice but to listen. At least he'd be able to distract himself with the calming sounds of eggs cracking or food being deep-fried.

 _Just the right amount of flour I need. Now for the eggs and potato starch. It'll work well for both the shrimp and fish to share the same batter, and maybe I'll add breadcrumbs to the fish to make it crunchier. And after I finish battering them up, I'll just need to heat the oil and deep-fry them, and I can make the curry next. The soup will be mushroom cream to match the lightness of the fish and tempura, but I'll add some salt just in case today's dinner is too plain. I have to chop the vegetables for the curry, so the curry will be the one adding flavor to the rest of the dinner._

As Kara continued on making dinner, Osomatsu had already forgotten the dishes completely and was now holding the phone. He had removed the gloves as well, and was entirely focused on the phone. "There's trouble going on?"

 **"..A lot."**

"What is it?"

 **"How do I.. put this.. ohhh.. but.. but are you.. calm enough..? The news may.. faze you.."**

Osomatsu honestly hoped it wasn't life-threatening, since Oso sounded so unsure and even a bit scared. As selfish as it sounded, he really didn't feel like leaving the warmth of Kara's apartment. But if he was required to go save Oso's ass right now, he had no choice. "I'm calm, no worries. What's going on?"

 **"The hospital.. where you were earlier.."**

"What about the hospital?" God, Osomatsu hoped that the hospital wasn't wanting Lonely or Jyushi back. Everything was going well after all, and the hospital just had an atmosphere that made Osomatsu feel uneasy. Jyushi was being drawn out of his little shell, and Lonely was at least getting a bit healthier too. They had no reason to take them back, Osomatsu thought. "Wait, how'd you know about the hospital we went to? I mean, yeah, you know we went to a hospital.. but I doubt I told you which one it is. It's impossible to see whatever we were doing too-"

 **"..A.. a murder happened.. a really.. brutal murder.."**

Kara stopped cutting the vegetables and froze in fear as soon as he heard those words. "What do you mean a murder happened?!" He shouted angrily, startling Kara and causing him to accidentally cut his own finger with the knife he was holding. It wasn't too big, but it was leaking blood, and after hearing a murder just occurring at a hospital, Kara felt sick just by looking at it. "Something happened again?! God, does.. does Kamimatsu get random people involved?! After hurting Choro and Jyushi, and even killing Tougou, he's getting other people involved?! Damn it!"

 **"Other me-"**

"What the hell is his problem?! Why does he insist on making this a bigger issue than it already is?!"

Kara wouldn't lie, he was startled when Osomatsu suddenly snapped, as the stress may have gotten to him. But Kara was startled even more with how hard Osomatsu punched against the wall. It was hard enough to leave a dent, and for a moment, Kara could have mistaken Osomatsu as Todo, with how angry he looked. "O-Osomatsu-niisan-" Kara tried to calm the other down, but Osomatsu wasn't having any of it.

Such a loud, booming voice was enough to drag Todo and Lonely out of the room. "Oso, what's going on?! When did the murder happen?! Oso-"

 **"Tch.. you.. you're a liar.."**

"What's going on?! What's with the yelling?!" Todo rushed over to Kara, who was shaking. Todo immediately took the knife away from Kara's hand and inspected the wound. "Dude, what happened to your finger?! And is that Oso on the other line?! Osomatsu, what did you do to Kara, why's he shaking- IS THAT A DENT ON THE WALL?!"

"Owl!" Lonely ignored the entire situation and leaped over the table, before grabbing the phone near the sink and holding it above his face. He didn't know what on earth was he holding, or why was it flat in shape and resembled a small TV, but he was sure that it was Oso who was speaking. He just knew it was him. His voice.. Lonely knew his voice all too well, even though they spent such short time together. "Owl, is that you?! Where are you right now, Owl?! Are you trapped in this device?! But it's so small..!"

 **"C-Choro-?"**

"Give me that, Choro!" He snatched the phone away from Lonely. "Oso?! Oso, what's going on-"

 **"..I'll call back.. when you're.. calm enough.."**

"No, don't you dare hang up! Oso?! Oso-!"

 **"Bye."**

Then there was a beep, signifying the call had ended. Osomatsu lowered his phone and glanced at the alternate versions of his brother. Kara was shaken, and Todo was trying to help him regulate his breathing while fumbling over his bleeding finger, and Lonely looked at him as if he was a kicked puppy. "What.. what was that all about.. Matsuno Osomatsu? Was that really Owl on the other side? ..How do such things function-"

Osomatsu glared at him as he tried to call Oso again. "Choro. Shut up."

Lonely was about to object, but that glare of Osomatsu's was like a knife piercing through his skin. It was icy and serious, and for a second, Lonely felt shivers up his spine. "I.." He slowly backed away, until he was next to Kara and Todo. "I.. I deeply apologize for grabbing your small, magic device, Pine. I.. I was merely curious and worried about Owl to notice-"

"Just shut up for a minute." Osomatsu said distractedly. "Fucking hell, Oso, pick up, damn it.."

Todo looked at the guilt-stricken Lonely, and then the annoyed Osomatsu, and finally, Kara, who was still shaking. "Dude.. Kara, honestly.. what happened?"

Before Kara could answer, they heard the shuffling of footsteps and the sound of a door closing. Osomatsu must have noticed, because he turned around and looked like the mix of confused and panicked.

 _There was only one person who wasn't present in the kitchen.. does that mean.. that.. Jyushi saw that..?_


	140. Chapter 140: Ice Magician

Todo decided to help out Kara with dinner just to make sure his best friend didn't accidentally cut his own finger off, while Lonely rushed back into Todo's room to continue watching some anime on Todo's TV, making it clear that he was upset as he slammed the door. Osomatsu just sat in the living room, trying to call Oso, but unfortunately, his other self wouldn't pick the phone up. Whether it be out of irritation or pure laziness, Oso didn't seem to be planning on picking the phone up soon. Osomatsu sighed and stuffed the phone back in his pocket, putting his phone back in his pocket as he contemplated how he acted.

Like a piece of shit, he concluded. Did his feelings just explode after he bottled them all up for days? He wasn't usually so pissy, and he not only put a hole through the wall from a single punch, but he also managed to upset Lonely, who only got curious of the functions of his phone. He would have normally let it slip, because clueless people like Jyushimatsu or Lonly didn't know any better, yet, he still got angry at the latter mainly because he had gotten curious. And with the way he sounded, he missed Oso terribly. That wasn't too odd, since Oso left without even saying goodbye to the others. And Oso probably saved Lonely's life from Jiguzou, which might explain Lonely's sudden excitement upon hearing his voice.

And like a piece of shit, he snapped at him.

 _I'm the shittiest older brother in both dimensions.._

He remembered Lonely's scowl as he rushed back into the bedroom, as well as the words he said.

 _"If you may excuse me, I will attempt to learn more about the social norm to avoid grabbing random devices laying carelessly and inspecting them to have a better understanding. Summon me if you require anything."_

"My dear friend, I can very much handle this myself! Why don't you go and watch anime with Choro? Surely, he must be feeling a little bit lonely watching them all by himself. He has no one to ask questions to, so he must be confused about what objects they're showing in the show. Besides, my finger feels better. There's no need to worry about me." Osomatsu heard Kara reassure Todo, accompanied by a nervous laugh. He remembered that the blue-eyed cavalier was in the same room when Osomatsu suddenly snapped, so it may be the reason why he was so nervous. "The last thing I want to see is you hurting yourself by cutting vegetables."

And then Osomatsu heard Todo sputter out something in disbelief. "Why are you so worried about me?! My head bled once, and I'm still alive! It's you who I'm worried about! So just let me help you! Who cares if I hurt myself?! It's better than seeing you accidentally cut each and every single one of your fingers off!" Todo barked in reply. "This is a better way to make sure you're not shaken up enough to accidentally chop your own hand off! At least I can keep an eye on you this way."

"Really, you don't have to do this for me.. I can handle this just fine on my own. I feel more at ease when you're not holding something so dangerous." Kara sighed deeply, before making more nervous chuckles. "..But thank you anyway. Just promise me you'll be careful. I don't want to see you with even worse cuts.." He murmured. There was something laced in his voice, and it was probably regret; regret over asking a question that is sure to remind them both of that day when Kara had walked in and saw Todo doing something he shouldn't be doing.

There was a moment of silence before Todo spoke up again. It seemed as if it was still a touchy subject to him, and Todo swore he could still feel the stinging pain of the cuts, which were still covered in bandages. "I'm fine, and so is Choro. Besides, he's watching that one anime with the butler. I doubt they have modern technology besides the lawn mower."

"Oh! But that's a violent anime! You really shouldn't show him so much anime with such grotesque themes! We know how certain fanatics act over those kinds of anime when they first see it.. they start to ninja-run in school hallways and threaten their professors with paper shurikens.."

"Eh. I think it's better than letting him take apart the TV to inspect what it's made of. He was screaming about how beautiful the music was in that one sports anime, so I think he's more likely to break something by doing a pirouette rather than break something by throwing silver forks and knives everywhere. He even attempted to do ballet, and ended up smashing his head on the wall."

"Sounds painful."

"As painful as his vocabulary and behavior."

 _Painful, huh.. just like Karamatsu. But with the energy and naivety of Jyushimatsu.. and the sass of Todomatsu.. but the face of Choromatsu? God, if he got something from Ichimatsu, I hope it's not the bitterness that comes with seeing couples on Christmas Eve. Then again, I do the same._

Osomatsu finally stood up from the sofa once Todo and Kara stopped chatting to one another, and just focused on making dinner. He had to apologize to Lonely. He just couldn't take the guilt in his chest. He carefully made his way towards Todo's bedroom, hoping that his footsteps weren't loud enough for the two at the kitchen to hear. Gently, he twisted the knob and opened the door, and slid himself in. "Choro-"

He was interrupted by a loud scream. Lonely wasn't directing the scream at him though, and the scream was similar to a one that a fangirl would typically make upon seeing some random hot guy. The green-eyed magician was still focused on the TV, but he was hugging a pillow close to his chest, with his legs crossed on the floor. Osomatsu could see that Lonely's eyes were practically sparkling with happiness. "They kissed!" He shrieked, slapping the floor with the pillow. "They kissed! On live TV! Where people can see them! Their love shatters what society used to consider taboo back in the old days, but is now accepted and normal, and look at their eyes! They're so in love! And good god, the music..! Such beauty, such grace, the animation is utterly flawless-!"

"Choro..?"

Lonely immediately snapped out of it, and turned to face Osomatsu. His smile dropped into a scowl instead. "Oh." He huffed. "It's you."

 _Man. Am I that bad that he's literally sassing me?_

"What do you want?" Lonely crossed his arms. "And just when I got to the good part.."

Before Osomatsu could speak, he noticed something about the anime that made it seem so familiar. After seeing the main characters skating around what seemed to be an ice rink, he realized that it was an anime that Choromatsu watched before, but completely dropped it, claiming that he preferred a different genre. But the music was familiar, and so was the art style and characters, so Osomatsu noticed it immediately. "Are you watching 'Yuuki on Ice'-"

"You know this anime?! It seems you have great taste in animation after all, Pine!" Lonely's head turned to him, his eyes glistening with comical tears. Osomatsu couldn't find the heart to say no, so he just confusingly nodded his head. His mistake, he realized after Lonely jumped to his feet. "It's a wonderful animation, I say! The music hurts my heart so much, and the stories behind each routine..! Truly beautiful! I have forgotten the joys of ice skating!"

"Wait.. you skate?"

"I used to skate. Ah, those were the days! I truly regret not being able to do so many things when I was a small boy.. and the fact that I didn't get to appreciate so many things." Lonely grabbed a case from the opened box filled with anime DVDs. He inspected the cover, before returning it back in the box. It was a card-game anime with odd-looking monsters, but despite the colorful appearance, it was not really his type. "With my parents. But alas, the time for fun has faded away the moment my parents' souls left this very world as well." He sighed. "But I do very much miss ice-skating. But my chase for Tougou has took all the free time I had.. and I have no pair of ice skates anymore. The last time I ever skated on the beautifully frozen rivers of Akatsuka was when I was a little boy. Ahh, a poor eight year old, I was!"

 _Eight? Choro.. Choro was still a small kid back then.. when he lost his parents.. oh my god. Poor guy. No wonder he's a cloud-cuckoo-lander._

"And for now, the doctor said I needed to rest up and heal before I do anything else!" He huffed. "I'm perfectly fine, mind him."

"I think he's talking about your weight." Osomatsu pointed out. "I mean, it gives you an advantage since you're light enough to run around and throw yourself.. but, uh.. I guess he's worried about thin you are." Then again, who wouldn't be worried? Lonely looked absolutely malnourished, and the poor thing hasn't gotten a proper meal in years. How was he still alive? "I'm sure that if you attempt to do anything remotely physical, you'll just.. fall off and die."

The green-eyed magician pouted, looking offended. Certainly, he didn't resemble a scarecrow as everyone thought! "I am the very picture of health. I managed to hold my own against Tougou, and I exercise daily."

"Dude, still. Your arms are skinny." Osomatsu pointed out. "I'm kinda scared that you can still hold a sword wit how thin your arms are. Your tuxedo did a good job at hiding it, but now.. god, the sweater looks big on you."

"That's just one problem." Lonely shot back.

"So are your legs." Osomatsu sighed.

"They're just long!" Lonely stomped his foot in irritation. "But! Lady luck has blessed me with such wonderful legs that, for some reason, haven't grown a single hair! Wanna touch?" As if to make his point, Lonely effortlessly raised his leg up into the air, wit both his arms crossed. "And they're rather flexible too! Come now, Pine! I know you are rather curious, hm? Well.. you may have acted scary earlier, but our mutual love for 'Yuuki on Ice' makes up for that! So, I'll let you freely touch my legs. Here." He pulled his pants up.

And true to his word, there was not a single hair on it. That didn't make the eldest Matsuno less disgusted though. Osomatsu took a few steps backwards, just towards the door. "..Dude. No thanks."

"Awww, why not?! I promise it's clean-!"

"Nope. Don't wanna." Osomatsu shook his head. Still, Lonly insisted by kicking yet another one of his legs up in the air, and Osomatsu knew he had to think of a different topic quick.

"Hmph. Pine is so disgusted by my legs. I was thinking of forming a fellowship with you too.. we had a mutual love for a wonderful anime.. I was hoping you would have an appreciation for my legs as well.. and after I went so far to take care of them!"

 _Fellowship..? Ah! That's it!_

"Actually, Choro.." Osomatsu rubbed the back of his neck. "I came here because I wanted to know more about you."

The green-magician blinked. "..Surely, you jest?"

"Jest"? Wait, according to local Nerdymatsu, that word meant "to joke". Oh. Lonely was asking him if he was joking. "I'm not. I really am curious about you, Lonely."

That sentence alone caused Lonely's eyes to brighten once again. "Really?! You are curious?! Of me?!"

"Um.. yes-?"

Lonely then plopped down on the carpet, hugging the pillow close to his chest. "I feel like we're gonna get along just fine, Pine- no.. Matsuno Osomatsu!" Lonely grinned. "Well! For starters, I am twenty-three years old, my birthday is at the third of December, I absolutely love the color green, snakes are my favorite animal, my favorite dish is apple pie-"

 _Oh my god. He isn't just Karamatsu in terms of painfulness._

As Osomatsu made a horrifying realization, Lonely continued to chatter on, oblivious.

 _He's as narcissistic as Shittymatsu is..!_


	141. Chapter 141: Individuality

Osomatsu was glad that he brought his notepad with shitty notes from days ago, regarding the original plan for the masquerade, which backfired after a certain green magician accidentally got separated from the rest. At least it came in handy, Osomatsu thought. Because no way in hell was he going to remember every single thing that Lonely was saying, especially since he was talking in such a painful manner with words that Osomatsu probably wouldn't know if Choromatsu wasn't nerdy enough to explain such things in his free time. English just wasn't Osomatsu's thing, and he only knew basic phrases because he didn't really understand the point of learning the entirety of the English language when he couldn't even leave Japan.

Lonely was chattering non-stop about himself, and while it was a bit cute at first, it turned the atmosphere from warm and somewhat light-hearted straight to awkward, especially since Osomatsu lost interest twenty minutes ago and wanted nothing more than just to check up on Jyushi. His narcissism matched Karamatsu's so much that Osomatsu felt a bit sick in his stomach. Of course, none of that bothered the green-eyed magician, who was still rambling on and on about himself, but specifically, the story of how he got the hang glider in the first place. Osomatsu would have found it interesting if he was a nerd like Choromatsu, but really, things like this got him bored immediately.

Well, at least he was passionate about something, even if that something happened to be himself. That was what matters the most, right?

Osomatsu took a look at his notes, just to make sure he understood a few of Lonely's words properly. Lonely's real name was Choro Kodoku, that much was obvious. He was born in December the third, and was currently twenty-three years old, but this makes him younger than Kara due to the month gap, which meant he wasn't the oldest. His hobbies, besides role-playing as some sort of hero, was hiking, cooking, reading books, and watching the stars. His favorite color was green, and his favorite animal was a snake, for some reason. He also liked watering small plants back at the forest. Some of his favorite food was apple pie, onion soup, and omelet, specifically cooked by his mother.

All in all, he seemed to be a really simple person, despite his oddball nature. At least there was a bit of normality within him.

 _Although, eating raw onions for two straight years isn't exactly considered normal.. geez, Lonely. How'd you live a life out there alone?  
_

"I made it from scratch! And with my knowledge from reading books, all I had to do was gather scraps! It brings me back to when I had my first flight with my darling hang glider! I feared that my creation would fail on me and it would ultimately lead to my death, but alas, I was wrong!" Lonely made a dramatic pose to signify his point, something that involved spinning around and raising his leg up in the air again, before collapsing on Todo's bed. "I do wonder where is my hang glider and rapier! I terribly miss them both! It feels as if they have been a part of me for so long!" He sat up excitedly and glanced at Osomatsu. "Surely that is the same with you, Pine?"

 _What? Did he call for me? Shit, I wasn't listening.._

"Uh.." Osomatsu scratched the back of his neck. "Can ya run that by me again?"

To his relief, Lonely didn't seem offended."Surely, there is something important to you that feels like it's a part of you. That is what I said." Lonely repeated, a small smile on his face. "I feel terribly lonely without the items that I have brought with me for so long. It's like being a soldier and wielding a gun, yes? The gun slowly becomes a part of the soldier.. and my weapon and my source of transportation are like claws and wings. It's simply impossible for me to feel just fine without them. Why, even the cards I carry underneath my clothes have become some sort of comfort." He sighed. "You are not of this world, Pine. Surely there is something that is of utmost importance to you from the world you came from."

 _Something important..? From my dimension?  
_

"I guess it's my brothers." Osomatsu replied quietly. "They're not objects, I know, but.. we're sextuplets. Six twins, basically. And ever since we were born, people keep mistaking them for me. And whenever something bad happened, people would pin the blame on me. Whenever someone needed to take the lead.. of course, it'd always be me." He chuckled. "But I guess that's the price of being the eldest. I have to keep an eye out for them, even though they've grown. But old habits die hard, I guess.."

Lonely blinked, trying to understand Osomatsu's words. "You still keep an eye out for them, even though you are all adults? Is that normal? I do apologize, but I am an only child, and I have not protected a victim of Tougou's that seems to have a sibling, younger, older, or even a twin. Well, Sweets is an obvious exception." He patted his own chin in thought. "Hm.. while it seems rather odd to keep doing so.. it appears Pine is the type to truly care for his brothers no matter what. You are merely keeping an eye on them, yes?"

He shrugged. "I think? I know that Choromatsu and Todomatsu find that instinct of mine annoying, but I can't help it! That's what happens to you if people keep tellin' ya that you need to keep an eye out for them, because you're the eldest and they're just your little brothers! Hell, and Karamatsu doesn't even refer to me as 'nii-san' anymore! Just plain old 'Osomatsu'! Not even 'aniki'! He's so rude sometimes. At least Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu appreciate poor ol' onii-chan, even though they're the weirdest of the bunch."

"Ohhhh? Is that's what it like to be the eldest?" Lonely frowned. "Suddenly, I wish to be a younger brother rather than the eldest. I do not think I'll be able to handle the pressure.."

"It's hard. 'Specially since they all look like ya. The differences started showing as we grew, but even so, telling us apart was a chore for so many people. Hence why they decided to call every single one of 'em by my name." He looked up. "Come to think of it, ever since we were kids, we purposely took advantage of the fact we all look alike. We even did the same pose and everything. It was fun at first, but then we started to feel a little bit insulted whenever people couldn't tell us apart. Todomatsu was the first to break out of that, and the next was Choromatsu. And everything went downhill from there." He sighed deeply. "Sometimes.. I wish those days were better. Maybe then we could still understand each other."

"But.." Lonely fiddled with his fingers. "Maybe.. they just wanted to show their individuality."

Osomatsu glanced at him. "Uh..?"

"Individuality. Their own selves as their own person." Lonely said. "If they constantly got mistaken for you, maybe they aspired to be their own person, just like you. I read that twins have a harder time expressing their true selves mostly because they tend to do things together in sync. That, and people tend to mistake them for the other. And individuality is important in a person, right.. maybe they wanted to be better than their older brother. You may never know.. they might have wanted to step out of your shadow for so long.."

 _Step out of my shadow?_

Did Osomatsu even have a shadow for the others to step out of? That made no sense. Osomatsu was aware that he barely had any redeeming qualities besides being the eldest brother. He didn't have any quirks at all, or anything else that made him look a tiny bit different from the others, hence why he was considered the "basic" brother. He remained the same, with only his height changing and a little bit of color being added onto him, but aside from that, nothing else. No, the somewhat perverted nature didn't count, as all the brothers had a perverted side.

Was there anything admirable about him at all? Well, besides how shitty he was, naturally. He was so shitty, he managed to summon Akumatsu all on his own. That alone was a bit impressive.

"I guess that makes sense." Osomatsu crossed his arms. "They're all clearly different from one another now. Even if we do have similar faces.. but it's easier to tell us apart now." He looked at Lonely. "Even with you guys. Your eyes are different from ours, and you have slight differences. Yet.. we still look the same."

"But we do look a bit similar, don't we? That's enough of a sign that we do have a connection." Lonely chuckled, before standing up again and twirling excitedly. "Except my hair is different! And so are my eyes! But even with those differences, we still look the same! I still cannot believe that you are my brother, in a different world! It must be so wonderful to have brothers! And I am so proud to have a brother as interesting as you!"

 _Wait, didn't he like hate me earlier for snapping at him..? He's over that already? God, he really is strange.. but he's still.. Choromatsu, in a way, with his love for anime and all. 'Course, Choromatsu's much more sane than Lonely is.  
_

"Interesting, huh.." He reached out to pat Lonely's hair. The other cocked his head in confusion, but Osomatsu didn't stop. He continued to pat his hair, chuckling. "Let's be real buddy, you're the interesting one in this room. Who survives off eating raw onions for two whole years? It's a miracle you didn't get sick at all.."

Suddenly, Lonely pulled away. "Eh? Who said I didn't get sick?"

In return, Osomatsu blinked. "Huh?"

"I got sick! More than once, actually! Such a bitter cold, it was!" He frowned. "I thought I was going to die this one winter night, as I was soaked with ice water and currently freezing to death.. but alas, I managed to ended up at my resting quarters, with my blazer, socks, shoes, gloves, and tie removed! And there was even a glass of water sitting by my desk, the fireplace was burning bright and providing warmth, and a bag of crackers sitting just outside my door! That was my worst fever yet.. but for some reason, lady luck had been on my side! And saved me from the lonely cold!"

 _..Okay, what-_

"Dinner's ready." A voice called out from the other side of the door, accompanied by exactly six knocks.

Osomatsu and Lonely turned to face the door. Strange. If it were Kara, he wouldn't have any troubles opening the door, considering this was his own apartment. If it was Todo, he wouldn't care about opening the door, since this was his own bedroom. "Alright, we're coming." Osomatsu replied as he stood up from the floor. "C'mon, Lonely. It's time for us to eat."

"Oh! I do love Karat Cake's cooking!" Lonely chirped, skipping towards the door and reaching the doorknob. "It radiates such warmth in a way that reminds me of my mother's cooking-!"

He froze once he opened the door.

In front of him was Jyushi, looking downwards as he fiddled with his sleeves. "S-Sweets?" Lonely stuttered. He didn't expect Jyushi to be the one to tell them about dinner, especially since Jyushi himself said he was skipping dinner due to being full from the snacks from earlier. "Sweets, I thought you were sleeping away to regain your energy? Or did you awaken due to hunger-?"

And then Jyushi looked up.

His eyes were red yet again and his teeth were sharp as he grinned at Lonely.

"..Oh."

Jyushi giggled, covering his mouth with his sleeve. "Hi hi, Lonely!" He greeted in a manner that was supposed to be cute.


	142. Chapter 142: Weights of the Past

Well, with all the weird shit that has been going on for days now, Osomatsu honestly shouldn't be surprised that Akumatsu would appear more than once. It was best to just expect the worse rather than hope for the best, as Osomatsu himself knew that if he were to let his guard down for even a second, his ass would be gone.

"Jyushi- no, Akumatsu." Osomatsu sighed, squatting a bit. Jyushi's physical appearance was shorter than his, despite being supposed twins with similar heights and all, but maybe it was because of how hard it was for Jyushi to grow without proper exercise, due to his disability. It felt like talking to a child, but Jyushi was looking at him with such a smug face that Osomatsu didn't really care at the moment. "God.. you're here again? I mean, I don't hate you, it's actually nice to have someone from my dimension be here with me as it's more reassuring.. but I think Jyushi is tired? Couldn't you.. ah, at least give the poor guy a break? Even for a few hours?"

"When death itself is upon us? You expect me to lie down and rest?" He scowled, before crossing his arms. Osomatsu noticed that his voice was different from earlier, but it probably meant that Jyushi was unconscious, so Akumatsu was taking over. "No thanks. Plus, his precious Ichi-niisan is here, just changing his clothes at the bathroom, I heard. I doubt he'd want to see his lil' bro in bed again. Might as well show him that his bro is still up and kicking, eh?" He snickered a bit. "Come now, it's a joke. Jyushi's okay, just sleeping and all that."

"Captain Katana has arrived?" Lonely's eyes lit up, as if he witnessed his beloved anime scene yet again. "Oh! Captain Katana is here! Truly joyous! He must know something about my darling rapier and my lovely cape! I must hurry, for hunger might strike!" With that, Lonely skipped away excitedly, chanting something about his deck of cards and how he would be able to perform magic yet again. "Captain Katana! I am worried for my beloved weapon and my beautiful cloth! Wherever did you put such precious items of mine?! I miss them dearly-"

"Can you shut the fuck up?! You're noisy as hell, you idiot!" Todo barked from another room, accompanied by the sounds of plates and utensils clattering against one another. Suddenly, they heard the sound of pots and pans clanking, as well as a pained yelp from Todo himself. "Ow! What'd I do, Kara?!"

"Inside voice! The neighbors might hear you again! It's not like Choro is the only one here making noise!" Osomatsu heard Kara scold. "And keep your language child-friendly! Jyushi is still sleeping, and you might wake him up! If he wakes up, he might catch one or two bad words!"

Jyushi chuckled again, covering his mouth with his sleeve to stifle his giggles. "They're a weird duo. But they still have the bit of our brothers in them, huh? Karamatsu's goody-two-shoes nature and Todomatsu's sassy and slightly hypocritical demeanor.. if you look hard enough, they're still there. Isn't that right?" He grinned. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Hm, but I possessed little Jyushi here earlier. There's nothing to be shocked about."

"Right." Oso sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "What is it that you want, Akumatsu?"

"Hm?"

"I know you didn't come out for small talk. I already know they're different, I've been here for days." He reached out to run his fingers through Jyushi's hair. "Poor guy. You should really let him rest, Akumatsu. He's been through enough, you know."

Jyushi slapped his hand away with a scoff, his nose scrunching in disgust. Again, it was odd to see Jyushi do such a thing, but the red eyes and sharp teeth were enough to remind Osomatsu that this wasn't Jyushi. It was Akumatsu. "Fine, 'big brother'." He spat. "You're so annoying sometimes when you're not being shitty to anyone, and it annoying someone doesn't even count as being shitty. When the hell did you start being such a good big brother? You better knock it off. If you lose your shittiness, I'd cease to fucking exist."

"Eh?" Osomatsu rubbed the hand that Jyushi slapped away. It didn't hurt at all, but the fact that Jyushi, of all people, was the one to slap his hand away? Well, that hurt a bit. And the fact that Akumatsus suddenly snapped doesn't help at all. "I'm just acting like myself, Akumatsu."

"No you're not." The smaller male hissed through gritted teeth. "If you were, you would have left Tougou to rot in hell last night. You would have just left him there, or better yet, have the other Osomatsu kill him while you're at it instead of offering him a second chance. You would have let Kamimatsu, that damn salt shaker, fucking murder him. And after that, you should have killed Kamimatsu as well! If you did that, maybe you would have gotten home earlier!"

Osomatsu looked away, remembering how Tougou's corpse looked when Kamimatsu.. did something. Osomatsu didn't know what it was, as Oso covered his eyes. But it definitely seemed brutal enough to have his intestines pop out his own body. "It just.. seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Plus, what else could he do? He ran out of puppets to use.. and his own abilities backfired against him. He couldn't hurt us anymore. And the guy.." He then looked down. "The guy was hurt from having his wife killed. It doesn't justify the fact that he hurt lots.. and killed Choro's parents, but-"

"That's where you're wrong. You think he killed that damn idiot's parents out of sadness?" He pointed a finger at him. "Think again."

"Ah..?" Osomatsu blinked. "What are you-?"

"Osomatsu-niisan!" Kara was suddenly next to Osomatsu. "It's time for dinner- ah! Jyushi-?"

"Akumatsu." The other swiftly corrected, now grinning. " Jyushi's still asleep, so I'm taking over for now. Sorry, but even evil shitty beings get hungry too. Would it be okay for me to join you all? I do have something important to discuss at the dinner table." He grinned. "But I'm pretty sure little Jyushi wouldn't mind if I take a few bites, hm? On the bright side, he'll be full and won't even eat breakfast tomorrow!"

Kara seemed a bit surprised, maybe even scared, judging by how white his face suddenly got. But he didn't hesitate in the slightest. "Akumatsu.. well, do join us. I'm glad I made just enough for the six of us. Although.. if you feel bloated, don't force yourself to eat. We don't want you or Jyushi feeling sick." Kara coughed awkwardly. "W-Well.. Todo! Please prepare six plates! It seems Jyushi- no, Akumatsu will be joining us.."

"AKUMATSU?!" And out of nowhere, Todo stumbled into the scene clumsily, wearing one of Kara's blue aprons and his hair tied into a ponytail. However, his entrance was far from graceful, as he landed on his face and had to scramble to his feet to point a finger at Akumatsu, as if he was accusing him of a murder. "Now look here, satan spawn! The hell are you doing now, you literal piece of shit?!"

And again, Kara smacked his head with the whisk that he had been holding, causing the other to yelp out of pain. "Language! Jyushi is literally right in front of you!"

 _He can't really hear since Jyushi's unconscious and Akumatsu's in charge- oh never mind, this is just priceless to watch. Edgelord Todo gets scolded by local mom friend Kara. Go figure._

Osomatsu covered his mouth with his hand as he tried to stifle his giggles, but Jyushi just watched the entire exchange, widely grinning and not even afraid to show the fact that he was laughing at them. "This is cute. It's just like a poor tired mother trying to deal with her rebellious son in a phase." He giggled. "Aw, how does it feel to have such an unbreakable friendship, Kara-niisan?~" He teased. "It's similar to a mother and their child, hm?"

The blue-eyed cavalier turned red in the face. "It's.. nice. I really appreciate his friendship, if that's what you're asking. I don't get.. why you would liken me to a parent, much less a mother."

Todo clicked his tongue in annoyance, glaring at Jyushi and moving defensively in front of Kara. It was obvious that he still disliked Akumatsu, but if Osomatsu were to notice the beads of sweat on his forehead, it'd be much easier to point out that the pink-haired punk was even the slightest bit terrified of him. "Fine. But I'm only doing it because you probably know something we don't. If it's for Osomatsu-niisan's sake.. or even Jyushi's, or that green idiot's, it's probably worth something listening to."

"I know a lot of things, Todo-niisan!" That voice sounded almost like Jyushi. "But I prefer talking about it over a nice meal!"

And as Jyushi expected, Todo looked absolutely disturbed. "W-Whatever. I'm gonna go set the plates and shit. C'mon Kara. We need to put the food in the bowls too. A-And we need to make sure that green idiot doesn't eat everything in the table in one go." He muttered, walking away from them and into the dining area. Kara followed without hesitation and he left a bit too quickly, signifying that he didn't want to hang around Akumatsu any longer, even though the embodiment of shittiness was possessing someone that looked extremely harmless.

Jyushi giggled. "Mission accomplished."

Osomatsu raised an eyebrow. "What mission?"

"Scare the living daylights out of Katsuna Todo." Jyushi shrugged. "But now I'm bored. It was fun seeing someone as tough as nails just back away like that." Upon seeing Osomatsu's look of disapproval, he scowled again. "It was just a joke. Geez, you're no fun at all. Whatever happened to being such an asshole? This dimension changed you a lot." He huffed. "This world really is a mistake."

"You still haven't told me what that means." Osomatsu pointed out. "You said that every dimension is there for a reason, except this one. What makes you hate this one?"

"It's supposed to be a dimension where Matsuno Osomatsu doesn't have anyone that looks like him, minus his fucking parents. And yet, here they all are! One just cooked dinner, the other just helped with cooking dinner, one of them is inside the bathroom, another is waiting for him to get out of the bathroom, and the one I'm possessing is asleep!" Jyushi spat angrily. "This world can easily be molded, can easily be changed! From the past to the future, anything with the right amount of power can change this world!"

 _Change this.. world?_

"What do you mean?" Osomatsu immediately asked. "Akumatsu, what do you mean by change this world from the past to the future?"

"Choromatsu told you from the start, right? This world is unstable. Anything in this world depends on the past. If you were to change something from the past, the future would immediately change." He clenched his fists. "You thought it was fate? That you immediately met up with the alternate versions of your brothers? If the past hadn't been tampered with, Ichi and Jyushi wouldn't even be in Japan. They'd both be at France. Kara and Todo? They'd still be in Akatsuka, but the chances of running into them are as big as the chances of any of you shitty virgin NEETs getting a girlfriend or getting laid."

"If everything happened because of a minor change in the past, then.." Osomatsu's eyes widened. "There's only two people who can do that."

"Right."

"You hate this dimension, so there's no way you'd go as far as to make a minor change in this world just for all of us to meet. You don't even like them. So then-?"

Jyushi then walked away, arms crossed. "I'd end the conversation right now since I hate talking about this, but.. yeah." He glanced at Osomatsu again. "It's the salt shaker. He did it."


	143. Chapter 143: The Key

Well, Kara's pure intentions regarding a peaceful dinner had been completely obliterated the moment Jyushi woke up as Akumatsu. But he wasn't rude as to refuse grabbing a porcelain bowl from the shelf and pouring the thick soup into it, seeing as how Jyushi- no, Akumatsu, was grinning at him from ear to ear, alongside his piercing, red eyes that was in place instead of Jyushi's sunny and bright yellow eyes that Kara very much preferred rather than those red, demonic ones. It just made Kara uncomfortable, but at least Oso's eyes from last night didn't look as scary as Akumatsu's; they looked normal, if not a bit glassy or tired.

That made the blue-eyed cavalier wonder if Oso had any decent sleep. He looked like the kind of person to skip sleep all for the sake of finishing something he started, and staying up late to the point that your eyes resembled an owl's wasn't really a good thing in Kara's book. But worrying won't solve anything. As Osomatsu said, Oso had stuff he had to do that they didn't need to know, and the only thing they could do right now was to pray for Oso's safe return and the truth to finally come to light.

 _The truth will put us all at ease. But patience is a virtue. All we need to do is wait. And well.. deal with Akumatsu- forget it, there's no way I can live through handling Akumatsu again.. he's too.. disturbing.._

"The food is exquisite! Truly, Kyabarie Karat Cake's abilities as a chef is of a high caliber! The taste of the food blends well together, with the heaviness of the curry and the lightness of the shrimp! I have never eaten a meal so delicious before, and it almost exceeds my mother's cooking abilities! And the last time I properly ate was when I was a mere child! Ahh, it gives me such a warm, fuzzy feeling with each bite..~ I would eat this forever, if it means experiencing this homely feeling over and over! The vegetables in the curry are perfectly chopped as well! Such a lovely texture..~"

Well, at least they had a a certain green-eyed magician happily chattering on and on, as if nothing was wrong and disturbing. Kara made sure to put small portions of food on Lonely's plate as he happily ate away, with Osomatsu beside him, obviously enjoying the meal as well. Across the duo was Todo and Kara, with Todo quietly eating his seafood and glaring at Jyushi (or Akumatsu, Kara honestly didn't know what to refer to him as) every few seconds while Kara just distractedly nodded at Lonely's praise for his culinary abilities. On one side of the table was Ichi, finally dressed in something that was a bit loose for once, and he was glancing at his phone every few seconds, before continuing to eat his dish. And on the far corner of the table was Jyushi, who was still smiling and hadn't touched his plate, bowl, or chopsticks the moment he sat down.

He didn't even take a sip out from the glass of water!

 _Absolutely rude._

"..It's good. Pretty good, in all actuality." Commented Ichi, as a simpler way of saying he liked the food, in contrast to Lonely's unnecessarily long comments of praise. Either he truly enjoyed the food, or he was looking for a way to distract himself from Akumatsu, who was currently possessing his dear little brother. "Hm. I forgot what it's like to have home-cooked meals.. maybe I should fund the Flag Corporation's kitchen project even more. I'd like to cook again sometime, and it's safer than going out of the building to have dinner everyday." He murmured to himself. "..Then again.. I'm not allowed to make too much fuss over a project that isn't related to Flag Corporation's initial goal. I have to ask his permission first."

"Whose permission?" Asked Oso, whose mouth was stuffed with fish fillets. Todo's eye twitched before he grumbled something and ignored him, but Kara gave him a look that resembled a mother's when they catch their child talking with their mouth full. "I mean, you're the president, so you basically can do whatever the hell ya want, because you're rich as hell-"

"Osomatsu! That's disgusting!" Todo barked at him, tossing a tempura over the other's head. "Close your damn mouth while your chewing food! God, didn't you mom teach you anything?!"

"Hey!" Osomatsu managed to bark out despite his mouth being filled with battered shrimp. "Don't waste food!"

"..Please ignore them." Kara sighed, taking a bite out of the shrimp and chewing it, trying to ignore Todo, who was currently flicking his food at Osomatsu with a makeshift catapult. "They bicker like children, I swear.."

"Hijirisawa-san, I mean. Hatabou's grandfather and one of Jyushi's many guardians. I still need his permission, since technically, the building is his property." Ichi completely ignored Todo and Osomatsu's current bickering in favor of answering the red-clad Matsuno's question. "I don't really need to do that, since he gave everything to me, but it seems fitting to ask. Maybe it's out of respect.. or maybe I just want to have him think about something else other than the grief of losing a family member." He sighed. "It almost reminds me of my mother's death.. and maybe even my father's."

Lonely frowned. "We are similar, even though we're a tad bit different, Suuji Ichi." He sighed. "Truly, I wish to understand the pain you carry."

"He did call in earlier and expressed his grief for his grandson, that poor man. He said he'll try to go home as soon as possible.. meaning, I have to set up the wake and whatnot. God, and prepare the speeches as well.. Hatabou had very little contact with anyone. I think it's best if I prepare one, as well as Dekapan. Maybe Hana, since she's his personal assistant and whatnot. And.." He sighed, looking at Jyushi across the table. "It'd be nice for Jyushi to recover his memories soon. I'm sure Hatabou would love to hear something from him."

"Eh. I doubt the spirit of good ol' Hatabou would like to hear something out of this brat's mouth." Jyushi smirked, playing with his chopsticks. He used it to stab the tempura, before taking a bite out of it. "Especially since he killed him, hm?"

That statement alone caused the atmosphere to suddenly change. From warm and light-hearted to cold and deadly silent, with even the normally chatty Lonely shutting up. Ichi snapped his chopsticks the moment Jyushi shut his mouth, and his deathly glare, though directed at the demon-possessed male in front of him, managed to pierce through everyone's souls.

"The hell did you just say?" Ichi growled. "We went through this. It was Kamimatsu's influence that forced Jyushi to kill Hatabou. It wasn't Jyushi himself."

"Whose hand was it then?" Jyushi snickered, taking another bite of the tempura. He seemed to be enjoying it, judging by how slowly he chewed the shrimp. "Whose face had Hatabou's blood splattered on it? I don't remember seeing that white-clad bastard having a single speck of blood on his clothes. Oh right, maybe it's because he wasn't the murderer." Picking up the glass with his sleeve-clad hands, Jyushi seemingly inspected something in it, but only Kara noticed that he was seemingly checking his own reflection on the glass. "Hm. I recall it was this brat here-"

"What is it that you wanted to talk about, demon? You joined us for dinner for a reason, no?" Lonely asked, trying to enjoy his dinner while also trying to prevent his two "brothers" from attacking one another. "I very much prefer learning more about what you want to say rather than witness Captain Katana attempt to pull you out of Sweets' body."

"Oh yes. I nearly forgot." Akumatsu chuckled, glancing at Osomatsu. "Well, ya see, as soon as I woke up in the brat's body ready to eat shit and whatnot, I just remembered a small detail. A detail so small that I forgot about it, as it's seemingly not relevant to anything at all. Like a speck of dust in a messy room. So small, so insignificant. Just like this body I'm possessing. Such a small body, ne? I wonder how such lanky legs are able to support such a body." He chuckled, picking up another tempura with the chopsticks as Ichi glared daggers at him from across the table. "Hm, but even the smallest details.. add up to the final piece." Now, he glanced at Lonely. "Isn't that right, Kodoku Choro?"

"Ah?" Lonely looked around. "Me? What about me, demon?"

"I feel bad for you. Not only should you not exist in this world, but even with your existence.. my, it was truly meant to be a mistake. That, or someone didn't want you to get your happy life." He chuckled. "If Kamimatsu hadn't interfered in what Oso had done, you would still have your precious parents you know."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Lonely sat up suddenly, knocking over his glass of orange juice. "My parents..! What about them?!"

"Choro, please, calm down!" Kara tried to soothe the other, but to no avail. Lonely looked panicked, and he ignored the fact that he just knocked over his glass of juice and it had stained his pants.

Jyushi wasn't fazed. Rather, he was amused. "Let me tell you all such a wonderful story about how this dimension came to existence. Like every other dimension, it was made for the sole purpose of keeping another dimension stable, and so on. Each dimension supports one another one way or another. And this one was meant to be a dimension where none of you," He pointed his chopsticks at everyone but Osomatsu. "Were supposed to exist. But after a certain someone made a really big fuck-up, well.. here you are now!"

 _A mistake.._

"You're not saying Oso could have done all of this!" Osomatsu cried. "You said so yourself, right?! He was born into this world! He's fully human, just like me! You didn't refer to him as a 'mistake', there's no way in hell he could have-"

"That's where you're wrong, nii-san!" Jyushi chirped. "But you wouldn't understand unless I were to go back to the very start. Oso, the other you, was a lonely person. When he was born, he was a happy child, just like you. But when Tougou came into his life, his emotions, his childishness.. in the blink of an eye, they were all gone. But as I said. He was just like you. At the age of ten, he already lost his innocence and wasn't able to live a proper childhood since. And even now, while he's the same age as you, Osomatsu-niisan, he still hasn't gotten over your trauma."

 _Neither did I._

"What does that have to do with my parents?" Choro asked impatiently. "Demon.. this isn't funny. Please, tell me."

"I can't make you all understand unless you know who's truly at fault here." Jyushi said, still smirking. He was playing around with his chopsticks, and purposely stalling, all for the sake of seeing everyone in the edge of their seats. He hadn't had much fun in awhile, especially since his entire being was dormant until he managed to get enough shitiness to have a form in this ungodly dimension, even though it was unstable and required him having to possess another being."So let's just start if off and say that the real reason all of this is happening is because Osomatsu, the one of this dimension, fucked up big time and got his entire dimension involved."

"You made that obvious." Todo pointed out. "You're oddly nice to him, for some reason. Even though you claim to hate everything from this dimension."

"It certainly isn't because of the fact that he's the one who's 'real', correct?" Ichi crossed his arms, scowling. "You keep saying so. That we are mistakes, with the exception of the other Matsuno Osomatsu. But it certainly isn't the reason why you hold him in such high regard."

"You're right. I have my own reasons. But Matsuno Osomatsu, the one from this dimension, is a real piece of work."

"And why is that?" Kara was almost afraid to ask.

Jyushi giggled, before pushing his plate away from him. "Let's play detective and find out, shall we?"


	144. Chapter 144: The First Mistake

Matsuno Osomatsu was the eldest of six sons, the first baby to come out from his mother's womb, and the first one of the sextuplets to greet Akatsuka Hospital with a serene, sleeping face, that only turned into a large frown with tears streaming from his cheeks as he bawled a few hours later, just beside his younger twin brothers. He was always the first one that was called whenever the Matsuno sextuplets had gotten themselves into trouble. When they started to show more physical differences, Osomatsu was the only one who looked the same, without a quirk, or something similar. Despite that, he ended up normal, even with his gambling addiction and his perverted nature. He was a normal adult, with the mind of a six grader.

That Matsuno Osomatsu, the well-known troublemaker of Akatsuka Ward, leader and eldest of equally troublesome sextuplets, had disappeared from his own world, leaving his five little brothers all on their own. Choromatsu had to be the leader for the time being, as the voice of all reason, while Karamatsu became the eldest in Osomatsu's place. Jyushimatsu, the one who was supposed to keep everyone hopeful and less pessimistic, had fallen sick, which made everything even worse. Normally stoic Ichimatsu showed his frustrations often, and so did Todomatsu.

The only thing that kept them going was the thought of getting their eldest brother back home, safe and sound.

Matsuno "Oso" Osomatsu, on the other hand, was an only child. He still possessed the black hair and two cowlicks, but his eyes were a dark red color rather than the black eyes his parents both possessed. Unlike the other Osomatsu, he didn't grow up with little brothers of his own to play with, which made him hang out with his childhood friends even more. However, if his friends happened to be too busy to play with him, little Oso would go play with the neighborhood cats or practice swinging his plastic baseball bat. He wasn't too lonely at all. He had friends and loving parents, and almost everyone at the neighborhood knew him as that one troublesome child who would prank everyone.

And then the winter incident happened. A criminal under the guise of a lodger had managed to trick the entire Matsuno family and the entirety of Akatsuka Ward's citizens, pretending to be a polite man who just happened to be paying the Matsunos for helping him in the time of need.

Matsuno Oso had never been the same ever again.

Bags developed underneath his blood red eyes as a result for not sleeping properly. His once bright eyes turned dull and lifeless, and they always look tired no matter what time of the day. He seldom spoke at all, and even though he acted normally and pretended he was once the Matsuno Oso that everyone knew, it was obvious that all of it was fake and forced. Matsuno Oso was never that innocent child ever again.

Matsuno Oso had forgotten how to feel emotions. Matsuno Oso had forgotten how it felt to be happy.

Matsuno Oso had forgotten how to be Osomatsu.

"It's funny how a small thing can change your entire life and decide your fate. If Tougou hadn't been a piece of shit, the other Osomatsu could have ended up like you, with or without brothers at all. It wouldn't matter if he had some in the first place, just as long as Tougou hadn't interfered with his childhood. But even you've been influenced. With that trauma of your's, you're clingy to your brothers. You're like a leech."

"Gee, thanks for that comparison." Osomatsu rolled his eyes.

"Always happy to be an asshole." Jyushi giggled. "But the thing is, a small thing can change an entire dimension and how it works. Every fuck-up affects the future, one way or another." Jyushi reached out for a grape from the fruits basket, something Kara had placed after he and Todo brought the dishes to the sink. Gently, he rolled it with his finger, almost as if he was playing with it. "Beings that are not of this world can affect the past, which affects the present, and therefore, affects the future. Of course, your dimension doesn't count, as it's considered the 'original'. That's why Kamimatsu was able to alter your present, but not your past. If that was the case, he'd most likely prevent you from being born, neee?~" He flicked the grape and it rolled towards the basket, before rolling back and stopping just a few inches from Jyushi's finger.

"Quit beating around the bush or I'll beat your face in." Todo growled.

"You do that." Jyushi giggled, still toying around with the grape. "Let's see if Ichi-niisan lets you."

"I'm not going to defend you from anything." Ichi scoffed, nose scrunched in disgust.

"You'll certainly protect your brother's body. Won't you?" He smirked, pinching his own cheek. It wasn't a soft pinch that involved a simple press of his skin against his fingers, no, Akumatsu was making sure Jyushi's nails were pressing against the soft skin, making sure to leave a mark. "This'll hurt him an awful ton, usually."

"Then stop it." Ichi hissed, resisting the urge to pounce on his demon-possessed brother and punch him until Akumatsu left Jyushi's body.

"Enough of that!" Lonely cried in desperation, pounding his fists onto the table. "Demon, what about my parents?!"

Jyushi scowled, letting go of his cheek and picking up the grape again. He fiddled with it with his fingers, before he rested his cheek on his free hand. "Well aren't you an impatient idiot. But I'll try to explain the best I can. As Kamimatsu is not a being from this world, he can affect you all one way or another. And what he did was he tampered with the past, and tampered with the memories of the people from this dimension."

"Care to elaborate?" Kara asked, resting both hands on the table. "Apologies for being too slow, but you're not exactly making sense here."

"I'm highly aware of that." Jyushi replied. "But let me be more specific. A being, not entirely human at all, can tamper with dimensions. Of course, you'd expect Kamimatsu to be the one to tamper with shit, right? Well, that's right. But." He flicked the grape up in the air. His eyes flashed for a moment, and in a second, the grape suddenly disappeared before it even hit the table. "Of course, Kamimatsu hates this dimension- no. He loathes it. As well I, but I won't get rid of this dimension just because I hate it. That takes too much effort, and I'm not one to put effort over anything. But Kamimatsu would do anything to ruin the lives of the people who live here."

"Why is that?" Osomatsu was almost afraid to ask.

"Because he likes seeing people suffer." Jyushi grinned. "Funny, right? And I'm supposed to be the shitty one. But there he is, being a piece of shit."

"..Surely there's a reason." Lonely quietly stated. "I.. I know there's a reason why people do things like that! Why they hurt others, why they take happiness from seeing others.. hurt.."

"Jyushi wonders that too." Ichi closed his eyes. "And not even I can offer an answer to that. It's sad how low people have sunk. I wonder if there's something even deeper than rock bottom."

"It's called hell, Ichi-niisan. Everyone just has that natural shittiness, y'know? Some just have it worse than others." Jyushi shrugged. "But back to meeeee.~" He giggled. "You see, if Kamimatsu didn't decide to be an asshole, ya'll would have normal lives, you know? Kyabarie Kara wouldn't have lost his parents so early. Katsuna Todo wouldn't have been abandoned. Suuji Ichi and Suuji Jyushi's family could still be alive, and well, normal.. and so could Kodoku Choro's. He should have grown up with his parents, went to school once he was smart enough, and be a great entertainer in all of Akatsuka.. all of you were meant to be happy."

Everyone remained silent.

Kara's grip on the teacup he was holding seemed to tightened, but not as tight as Todo's grip, who had destroyed the poor handle with just a squeeze. Ichi's glasses were seemingly fogged over, so they couldn't read what Ichi's eyes were trying to express. Lonely's green eyes were shaking, his face in a state of shock. And Osomatsu? His expression was unreadable, as if it was a mixture of shock, anger, sadness, or maybe all three.

"But when you have the power to change the past, you probably abuse the fuck outta it." Jyushi glanced at Choro. "And unfortunately, you were the first victim."

"What do you mean..?" Lonely asked quietly, his fists clenching.

"Kamimatsu is unaffected by a dimension's changes, and so am I. You'd think we're the only two beings that won't be affected by such a thing. But there's a third." He then glanced at Osomatsu. "I think you know who I'm talking about."

"..It's Oso.. isn't it?"

Jyushi smiled, and his smile actually resembled the actual Jyushi's, not Akumatsu's. "He fucked up four times, big time. And yet.. he still somehow managed to remain.. safe.. and alive.. and unchanged.. and the power he forcefully took from Kamimatsu is proof of that. The world around him changed, but Matsuno Oso's being.. and memories.. remain safe. He managed to overcome all odds."

"There's a lot of things we don't understand yet." Kara looked down at his cup of tea. "A-And just when we thought that this story is coming to an end.."

"You haven't seen half of it." Jyushi looked up. "There's a deeper story to everything. But for now, why don't we focus on Matsuno Oso's first mistake?"

"A mistake so big that it changed everything?" Ichi raised an eyebrow. "That would have been nice to know earlier.."

"There are still a lot of things you don't know. And as Oso said, he'd like to do things himself before he tells ya what's going on. It's to fully understand why all this is happening, why it all happened.. and why you all exist." There was a somewhat nasty glint on Jyushi's eye, but seeing as how he was possessed by a demon, it was to be expected. "I'll leave the rest up to Osomatsu-san. The other one, I mean. But I'll cut him some slack and tell you what I know, so do me a favor and shut up. Yes, that means you, you green-eyed freak."

Lonely didn't answer. He just looked down at his lap.

"Alright, here's the first thing you gotta know. After that bastard and the other Osomatsu failed to send Osomatsu-niisan to this dimension alone, they both got into a little fight, see."

 _Fight?_

"Hold on, what kind of fight?" God, if it was a physical fight, Osomatsu was sure Oso wouldn't stand a chance against Kamimatsu-!

"If you're concerned about him not putting up a fight, don't you worry. He's just like you, Osomatsu-niisan. And nii-sans are scary when they're angry! They sometimes kick their little brothers out of anger, even for something as petty as dropping sushi by accident! " Jyushi giggled again, and his laughter only became much more bubbly at the sight of Osomatsu's face suddenly realizing what Jyushi was implying. "He's strong enough to protect himself, so there's nothing to worry about. But enough of the chit-chat!"

"We had enough of your stalling ten minutes ago!" Todo hissed.

Jyushi ignored the pink-eyed male, however, and simply grinned. "Now let me tell you about the first mistake!"


	145. Chapter 145: The Beginning to the End

The first mistake was the world, the same world whose air they breathed, whose land they stepped on, and whose sun gave them light and warmth.

Sure, Osomatsu's dimension existed long before Kamimatsu existed, but it was just a simple world with a simple purpose. It was a dimension wherein everything was the same except Osomatsu was an only child, and the other five didn't exist. It was supposed to continue being like that, with one of the few differences being Osomatsu's entire personality. It wouldn't affect everyone around him too much. Osomatsu would just grow up with a personality that society would most likely frown upon.

Totoko would continue trying to pursue her career of being a fish idol. Iyami would still be trying to find ways to make money to go to France. Chibita would be determined to make the best oden in Japan. Dekapan and Dayon would travel around the world and do who knows what. And Hatabou would probably try to sell his mystery meat just to make more money.

Matsuyo and Matsuzo would only need to worry about their somewhat quiet and timid son.

Of course, when Osomatsu got Kamimatsu's power after fighting with him, all of those were gone in an instant. In exchange, he supposedly got something better in return.

Or to be more precise, he fucked up; his mistake lead to him losing everything, but at the same time, gaining something else entirely.

There were always consequences for irresponsible actions.

The supposedly normal life he had up until now vanished like dust in the instant. Even as he reached his hand towards what seemed to be the disappearing figures of his parents, he wasn't able to truly hold their hands one last time. The last thing he saw before everything changed was the horrified face of his own mother.

And when he opened his eyes, he realized.

He was now standing on the top of Akatsuka City's radio tower, the winter breeze gently stroking his cheek. The city lights and the snow created an image of beauty as the wind blew his hair, and he watched the cars pass by and the people who were out late at night, probably buying Christmas presents for their loved ones.

He looked up.

The same night sky. The same stars. The same snow. The same city.

And yet..

He knew this was different. He couldn't sense anything that made this Akatsuka City the same as the old one.

The fact that he saw a small white light at the center of the city was enough proof. The previous dimension had been changed into a completely new one, and was currently "in renovation". A work in progress.

To be precise, it wasn't finished yet.

So he reached out for the small white light that floated towards him, closing his eyes as the light surrounded his entire being. He lost his balance and fell of the radio tower, but even then, fear didn't consume him.

Because before his body even hit the ground, he was gone.

That was when the dimension started to change, slowly yet surely. Pieces of the original world remained, but it didn't do anything to make the dimension stable. Even the timeline was flawed, as some people still had their previous memories, despite each and every single story of their's being rewritten as time passed on. But even with those small changes that weren't enough to fix the flawed world, it took five different figures, each made from light, that fell from the sky. Only then was the world truly rewritten.

Dekapan and Dayon were cut out from his life completely. The once famous Nyaa-chan of Akatsuka ceased to exist. Hijirisawa Shounouske, a citizen of Akatsuka Ward, also vanished. Everyone's stories got rewritten.

Matsuno Osomatsu opened his eyes, seeing himself in a world of white, five balls of light in different colors surrounding him. The one in front of him was a bright green light, but it glowed so brightly that Osomatsu didn't even see how it managed to transform into a sphere-like object into the figure of a human being.

And the ultimate surprise only came when he opened his eyes.

Standing in front of him was a figure who looked exactly like him, except his hair was neatly combed, and no idiot hairs stuck out. Green eyes blinked at him, with that slightly angular mouth curling into a cute smile. He pressed both of his hands together and clasped them, leaning near Osomatsu's face, with his eyes sparkling in curiousity.

"I do not believe we have met before."

* * *

Osomatsu sighed, looking outside the window. It had been a rather eventful day, with the time resetting and Jyushi being possessed by Akumatsu. Twice, to be specific. After a long conversation over dinner and desserts, Kara decided it would be best to let everything sink in for the night and go to bed to rest. No one needed more surprises, otherwise, they'd all get heart attacks simultaneously. So, for now, Ichi decided to have everyone's stuff from the hotel sent back to Kara's apartment, before he left for Flag Corporation to plan something with Dekapan and the other four.

 _Such a workaholic.. to think he's Ichimatsu's other self.._

Kara and Todo decided to share Todo's room for the time being while Lonely and Jyushi, along with Osomatsu, shared a bedroom. Osomatsu would have slept on the couch if Lonely wasn't too thin and Jyushi wasn't so small. The three of them could fit on the bed, and right now, Lonely and Jyushi were soundly sleeping. It reminded Osomatsu of Choromatsu and Jyushimatsu, and the poor third brother couldn't get a decent sleep with the hyperactive Jyushimatsu beside him. But this was completely different. Jyushi was tired out, and was peacefully sleeping with a pillow cuddled close to his chest, while Lonely had one arm covering his eyes, and another on his side. Still, that left enough space for Osomatsu to sleep in.

Not that he was tired.

With his phone sitting on the desk and his dirtied hoodie from earlier changed into his comfortable pajamas, Osomatsu sat by the windowsill. It was rare for the eldest Matsuno to get off his lazy ass and sit back to admire the beauty of the stars and the moon, because he found no time to actually do such things. The Matsunos had a strict schedule, and sleeping exactly when Choromatsu said they would sleep. He rarely had time to admire the night sky, and when he did..

He was alone. He was rarely alone, being part of a family of eight and all.

 _The last time I ever looked at the moon was when those bastards left me alone._

He sighed again. No use thinking of the past. He certainly didn't want to remember the looks on the youngest brothers' faces when he hurt them out of anger.

 _They're back at home, but then there's me.._

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Kara really deserved praise from how nice and cozy he made his entire apartment to be. The soft snoring of Jyushi (apparently, Lonely doesn't snore, he noticed) gave him a sense of tranquility, and he took deep breaths to calm himself. It's best to not lost his temper again.. unlike earlier. Scaring his brothers, and even his alternate brothers, was a scary thing with equally scary consequences.

 _Maybe this is just punishment. Maybe I've been really shitty, and this is my punishment for taking those fuckers- my little brothers, for granted.. maybe.. maybe I'm not meant to go home after all. Maybe I've been cursed to stay in this world for as long as I fucking live._

And maybe his only source of communication with his brothers would forever be the modified cellphone of Todomatsu's, that didn't even have the silly selfies the youngest took with the group of brothers. It would have been better if the pictures remained, as Osomatsu wanted to take a look at the pictures that captured the silly moments of the brothers together. But maybe it was deleted on purpose. Out of spite for the eldest Matsuno, or to remind him that he didn't deserve such brothers.

But he shouldn't try to be so pessimistic.

He had already encountered every alternate version of the Matsunos, and if Oso were to come and let Osomatsu do his job, he'd be home. He just needed Jyushi to heal well so he'll be able to inject him with the syringe, and so would Lonely and Ichi. And by the time he was home, he really hoped that Ichi would let Jyushi live a normal life and let Lonely find a home and family to live with. As his name suggested, Lonely was lonely. He needed companionship, as the lack of any friends or family made him a complete cuckoo-lander.

But he meant well. He was just an oddball with a big heart, and wanted friendship.

Suddenly, he heard something tapping against the windows.

"The fuck?" He murmured under his breath, opening his eyes-

Only for them to be met with rather frightening red eyes. Sitting on the rails of the balcony in a squatting position was a male who looked like Osomatsu, his hair messy and his head tilted to the side, trying to resemble an owl with how big his eyes were.

 _Wait, that's-_

"Hoot hoot-"

Osomatsu screamed, toppling over the chair he was sitting on.

"Ugh, I absolutely loathe noises." And then Lonely sat up grumpily, rubbing his eyes as he turned on the lamp. "Pine. Matsuno Osomatsu. Dearest Matsuno Osomatsu with lovely eyes as dark as the night sky." He whined, as Jyushi also stirred awake, but remained lying in bed and stared at Osomatsu with a somewhat pouty expression. "Can you please not? It's the first time I ever got such a nice meal and a comfortable bed ever since the death of my dear parents. At least let me get some beauty rest for once."

 _Oh right. Choro isn't really the definition of healthy._

"B-But-!" He pointed at the window. "Someone's there! Look-!" When the eldest Matsuno glanced at the window, he realized Oso was no longer sitting on the railings. He could feel Lonely's piercing glare at him, and he could hear Jyushi whine a bit and pull a pillow over his head to block any noise. "But he was.. just there.."

Lonely looked at him with a deadpanned expression, eye twitching in annoyance. "Just go to sleep, Matsuno Osomatsu. You're just tired from the events from today. I know I am, so please, do shut up." Lonely grunted, before pulling the covers over him and Jyushi and falling asleep in an instance.

 _Well.. he's exactly like Choromatsu when it comes to crankiness.._

Osomatsu blinked, before turning his head towards what was sitting on the balcony of Kara's apartment, which apparently settled itself while Osomatsu was listening to Lonely scold him for being so noisy. Wide red eyes, bags underneath, messy hair, and all-black attire.

No doubt about it.

 _I thought.. I thought he left. And.. isn't he angry at me? For losing my temper earlier..? Why is he here? And late at night too.._

Mustering his courage, Osomatsu managed to choke out the words he needed to spit out.

"Oso?"

Oso heard him through the glass, so in reply, he tilted his head to the other side. "Hoot."

"The fuck?" Osomatsu murmured, before he decided to stand up and open the window. Bad idea, as the cold wind from outside went brushed against his face. No matter, he thought. Grabbing the rainbow scarf that was lying carelessly on the floor, he wrapped it around himself and stepped outside the cold. Dear god, he was lucky he was wearing slippers. "Uh, what are you doing out here? I thought you were busy! And it's cold too!"

Oso blinked again, finally sitting properly on the rails. "Hoot hoot."

"..What?"

"Hoot hoot."

 _I-Is he.. is he trying to copy an owl?!_

Well, he was getting nowhere with this. Oso was repeatedly hooting and was seemingly ignoring Osomatsu, but it may be because that Oso didn't appreciate anyone listening in to what he wanted to say to the other him. Just so Lonely and Jyushi wouldn't freeze, wake up, or hear anything, Osomatsu closed the window behind him. "Is this better then, Oso?"

Oso didn't reply. He just swung his legs, his eyes finally softening.

 _..Ah. Wrong idea-_

And then Oso sneezed.

Feeling his brotherly instincts kick in, Osomatsu removed the scarf from around his neck and wrapped it around Oso's neck instead, pulling Oso's hoodie up as well. "Hey! You idiot, why are you sitting out here in the cold without anything warm on?!" He chided, brushing snow out of Oso's head. "Geez, and it's night too! You could have at least worn something thicker!"

The other whined a bit, but nuzzled himself into the thick scarf. "Warm.."

 _Oh._

His voice.. it seemed as if it was a bit more quieter. A bit more hoarse.

 _Did something happen?_

Oso patted Osomatsu's hands, which he had unconsciously put on the other's shoulders. Osomatsu blinked, pulling away. Oso's mouth was covered by the scarf, but at least he seemed much more relax now. "O-Oh.. sorry." Osomatsu apologized to his other self. Touching someone without their permission was rude. "But hey, you're warm now, right? Don't get around the city without something warm, geez.."

"..So fussy.." Oso huffed, his voice slightly muffled by the scarf. "As expected.. of a big brother.."

"Eh? I'm not that fussy." Osomatsu scoffed. "If anything, you should see Karamatsu and Chorofappyski."

"Mhm."

A moment of silence passed between them, before Oso patted the railing.

"Sit."

"Excuse me?"

It was as if Oso was expecting Osomatsu's sudden reaction, because his eyes suddenly flared an angry red color, clearly upset with Osomatsu not hearing him the first time. "I said sit."

And so he did.

To be honest, Osomatsu was a carefree person, so heights didn't terrify him one bit. He sat next to Oso, watching his younger brothers inside sleep peacefully while he was outside, suffering in the cold. But Oso's body seemingly relaxed, and he was quietly hooting, as if it helped him express his happiness. It prompted Osomatsu to relax too, knowing he won't fall with Oso by his side. He started to swing his legs slowly, humming a tune and closing his eyes.

Even with the cold, it was nice.

"So," Suddenly, Oso spoke up. "About the thing.. I'm here for.."

Osomatsu opened his eyes. "Hah?"

"Come with me."

Suddenly, Oso grabbed Osomatsu by the wrist, before leaning back. "What are you doing-"

And as Oso slipped off the railing and fell into the ground below, he took Osomatsu with him, the latter screaming.


	146. Chapter 146: Boy of Creation

When Osomatsu opened his eyes, he noticed there was something weird going on. He may have been wearing his pajamas, but clothes didn't matter if the last thing he could remember was Oso pulling him and probably leading to their deaths as they fell off the balcony of Kara's apartment. It was a bad idea to sit on the railing in the first place, and if Choromatsu had ever saw him do such a thing, he would lecture him, complete with frantic hand gestures, high-pitched screaming, and after he was done lecturing and panting for air, he would slam the door on his face.

Not like unbearable screeching would do anything to change Osomatsu's mind. And hey, he wasn't dead! So there was no harm in doing as he pleased right? But even so.. it seemed rather odd. The sensation surrounding his body felt like he was inside a bubble. First off, his body. His body felt very light, and despite the coldness from earlier, it was now completely warm, like a fleece blanket was wrapped around him. And when he looked at his bare feet, he realized that he wasn't even touching the ground.

If there was a ground in the first place, that is. Because secondly, he was in a world that was just plain white. He was hovering over nothing, not even his shadow was there.

 _This is.. a weird experience.. kinda cool, it feels like I'm back in space again._

He chuckled. Space. Ahhhh, the joys of space baseball and getting your ass kicked by a bunch of questionable looking aliens with baseball uniforms and weird anthems for their supposed school. It felt nice though. His body was so light, and it didn't even feel like a chore to raise his own hand.

He blinked, remembering the events that happened beforehand. He was watching the moon while Lonely and Jyushi were sleeping in peace, and suddenly, Oso was sitting on the railings and proceeded to hoot like an owl. Osomatsu was startled and fell off his butt, but that awoke Lonely and got the green-eyed male annoyed at him for waking him up from his beauty sleep. Jyushi awoke too, but it didn't last long for both of his alternate brothers to pass out again. That was when Oso, the other him, beckoned him to go outside. Because if he didn't, Oso would refuse to answer anything Osomatsu would say, only replying with hoots.

And then he was lead outside, wasn't he? And then he fell.

 _Amazing. I'm still alive._

"Look up." Osomatsu did indeed look up, seeing Oso hovering above him, but was upside-down and had his arms crossed. He squeaked a bit in fear, and Oso lowered himself, kicking the air to turn himself upright. The other still had the scarf on, still covering his mouth. Despite his muffled words, there was a bit of snarkiness laced in his voice. Even his normally tired red eyes looked like they were planning something."Heh.. scared much, other me..?" The other snarked. He moved the scarf a bit to show his somewhat mischievous smirk. At least it looked better than the constant soulless expression Oso always had. "Big brother.. is easily scared..? Heh.. who would have known.."

"Definitely not." Osomatsu waved his hand dismissively, before breaking into a grin and rubbing the bridge of his nose. Oso's sudden smirk was enough to get him feeling playful rather than worried. And with all the shit he went through today, he at least deserved a break. "This is.. kinda impressive, to be honest. I mean, this place looks cool and all! Is this the world Ichi and the others were talking about? A dreamworld?" He whistled, putting his hands on his hips. "Gotta say, there's not much in here. Where are we now, other me?"

Immediately, Oso's shit-eating smirk faltered, and he pushed his lips into a frown. Crap. That meant Osomatsu stepped on a landmine and ruined the completely not-so-awkward atmosphere from earlier. "Oh.. about that.." He looked around. "This isn't.. the Monochrome Dreamland.."

"Aw." Osomatsu pouted.

While he may appear upset over the fact that he was left out when Ichi and the others left for the world known as Jyushi's dreamland, he was actually disappointed he wouldn't get a chance to know what it would feel like to enter the dream of your brother. Plus, he didn't really know what the others saw back when they went to Jyushi's dreamland, or what happened while they were in there, so he couldn't really tell if it was a dangerous experience or not.

"However.." Oso glanced at him again. There was something in his eyes, something Osomatsu couldn't describe, but he was sure there was a tinge of sadness. "I can assure you.. that it's better.. than the Monochrome Dreamland.."

"How so?" Osomatsu raised an eyebrow.

"Hmmm.. where do I start..? Dreamlands are very.. unstable.. and of course.. they can break.. and be manipulated easily.." Oso hummed, slowly putting his hands on the sides of Osomatsu's head, and pressing his thumbs on his forehead. "But you know.. no one can.. hurt you here.." He closed his eyes, prompting Osomatsu to do the same. A golden light enveloped both of them, and the rainbow scarf Oso was wearing started flowing, as if there was wind in the first place. "Heh.. if only that.. was the case.. maybe then.. we'd all be safe.."

Osomatsu opened his eyes. "Come again?"

Oso shook his head, rubbing his thumbs on Osomatsu's head. "No.. nothing.." He then pulled away. "Don't mind anything.. I say.. just.. thinking about something else.." Osomatsu felt slight dizziness as Oso pulled his hands away, but thought nothing of it. Oso had weird powers, that much was obvious, so who knows what kind of spell did Oso do now. The other him didn't even seem to be focused on what was going now, as if he was in a dream. Justified, considering what kind of place they were in. "But other me.. I have a question.. for you.."

 _Questions?_

Oh dear. Osomatsu wasn't good at that sort of thing. Nonetheless, he crossed his arms, cocking his head to the side. It was the older brother's duty to lead the younger ones, and questions were no exception."Shoot."

The other looked down, biting his lip. It was almost as if Oso regretted asking that favor in the first place. Nonetheless, he took a deep breath, wanting the words to just slide off his tongue with no difficulty. "If you were.. given a chance.. to fix one mistake.. that you made.. in the past.." Oso glanced somewhere, his fists curling. "What is it.. that you would fix..?"

 _..Fix?_

A mistake? Hm, if Osomatsu were given a chance to fix one of his many fuck-ups, that would be hard all by itself.

 _For one, maybe I shouldn't have broken Fappymatsu's Nyaa-chan figurine. Or scared Karamatsu off a bridge. Or hid Jyushimatsu's favorite baseball without thinking how much damage he'd cause looking for it. Or ate Ichimatsu's fish snacks in front of him while he was dressed up as Karamatsu- that wasn't a mistake, that was fucking hilarious. Or maybe how I shouldn't have went to Sutabaa twice and expected Totty, that fucking dried-up monster, to even serve me some decent takoyaki. Hmm.. most of those are kinda petty though.. but back when we were kids, those things weren't that big of a deal._

"Honestly, I don't know." He shrugged. "There are just so many fuck-ups, that I don't know which one to fix, y'know? Haha-"

"Oh." Oso didn't look pleased with that answer. He slightly tugged the scarf off so Osomatsu could see his scowl. "You don't know?" And his tone was flat.

A sudden drop of character meant that Osomatsu said something wrong, something he had learned as an expert of gags. When someone didn't react to his words in an amusing manner, it meant he fucked up. Badly. Nonetheless, he tried to play it cool, despite that annoying voice in his head yelling at him that he fucked up bad and there was a chance he was gonna have his ass handed to him. "Did I say something wrong-"

"I have something.. to show you.." Oso interrupted. "Maybe it will help you understand things better."

Osomatsu couldn't help but notice how pained Oso's voice sounded. Maybe it was because the latter was forcing himself to speak clearly rather than in his usual, soft voice. But before he could point that out, Oso suddenly grabbed his shoulders and threw his head back, before headbutting their heads together.

* * *

"..Mommy? Daddy?"

"What is it, dear?"

Osomatsu suddenly found himself in a child's bedroom. Well, it looked like any other bedroom, but the stuff inside it said otherwise. And despite being an ultimate idiot, even Osomatsu knew where he was right now. The problem, is he had no idea where Oso was, or what the other him did. He also went straight for the kill, not really explaining what was going on. But, on the bright side, he was seemingly sitting on a nice, warm bed, and seeing the sun from the window made him feel all warm and fuzzy. Winter just seemed longer after his "disappearance".

The walls were a light cream color, with a painting of colorful flowers and vines on the doorway. The room looked simple enough as a child's bedroom, with two bookshelves filled with books and even small toys, with the bigger toys on the green carpet, as well as advanced-looking textbooks, notebooks, and a clutter of pens and crayons. A standing mirror was placed just next to the closet, which was just by the doorway. One side of the bedroom had a chest full of toys, while the other side had a trash bin, overflowing with crumpled papers and what seemed to be candy wrappers. If Oso wasn't mistaken, there were also folded, pink fabric sitting next to the trashcan.

 _Why would someone's clothes be next to the garbage?_

And suddenly, three people entered the room. Two adults, and a child, presumably their child. The child's father and mother didn't look too odd in Osomatsu's opinion, but the father's green eyes and the mother's green bandana certainly caught his attention.

And then there was the small child. Osomatsu couldn't tell if the child were a boy or girl, but with that short hair, he'd assume the kid was a male. He had bright green eyes, similar to his dad, and neatly combed black hair, except for the two cowlicks that stuck out. The child was wearing green overalls over a black shirt, and he had fuzzy frog slippers on to cover his feet. He also had two cute star hairclips that kept his bangs out of his face. The child, however, was frowning and close to tears.

"I can't find Lizzy's hat!" The child suddenly wailed, bursting into tears. Osomatsu noticed that he seemed to have one of his teeth missing too.

The mother and father looked at one another, before the dad made an amused smile, turning his head. "Maybe it's because your room is such a mess." He said, kneeling to his son's level and patting his head affectionately. "Let's clean this up a bit, alright? Then we'll be able to find Lizzy's hat easier."

 _Who in fuck's name is Lizzy-_

Wait.

Osomatsu.. couldn't move. He couldn't even turn his head!

 _But how am I witnessing all of this?! Wait, why am I even here?! Who are these people?!_

Suddenly, the child nodded happily, wiping his tears out of his face with his small hands. "Okay, daddy!"

The father chuckled and started to pack away the toys on the floor, while the child gathered as many books as he could with his small arms. Unfortunately, the child was trying too hard to clean up all at once, and after gathering five books in his arms, he tried to run to the bookshelf, only to trip over and fall flat on his face, dropping the books in the process.

 _Oh dear._

The child started bawling again.

The father looked at his son worriedly, but before he could go and comfort him, the mother already left her spot to pick up her crying child from the floor. "Sssssshh.. darling, it will be alright. Don't cry so much, dear." She hushed, cradling him close. The child sniffled, burying his face on his mother's shoulder as he shaked. "Oh dear.. what would we do with you?"

"Crying's normal for a kid, Chihiro." The father pointed out, gathering the books the child had dropped and placed them all on the bed. Osomatsu realized that whatever he was right now, the parents and child certainly didn't notice his presence. The father's eyes looked rather sad and worried. "Still though.."

 _I wonder what's wrong? Is he worried for his kid-_

Suddenly, he reached out to Osomatsu.

 _Wait, what, what the fuck is he doing-_

He felt as if he was being squeezed, but his ribs weren't being crushed, oh no. Rather, it felt like whatever was in him was cotton.

 _Cotton? Wait, what the fuck am I-_

He caught a glimpse of himself on the mirror.

 _Is that-_

And before he knew it, the father had given Osomatsu to his child. "Will Lizzy stop the tears?"

 _I can't believe I'm a stuffed dinosaur that's pink and is named "Lizzy"._

Osomatsu had no idea how he ended up in such a form, but that could explain the reason on why he couldn't move. The child started to hug the dinosaur close to his chest, whimpering.

"Oh, what will we do with him, Hiroto." The woman, Chihiro, told her husband with a sigh.

"Not to worry, Chihiro." The husband, Hiroto, assured her. "Choro will be stronger and braver in the future."

 _Wait.. CHORO?!_


	147. Chapter 147: Irregular

Osomatsu was smarter than he looked and seemed, so if anyone were to see him in such a sorry state, they would assume he had just given up and let a child version of Kodoku Choro cradle him in his arms and carry him in the form of a stuffed pink dinosaur. What they wouldn't notice however, was that Osomatsu was taking note of his surroundings. He was observant, despite what many people thought, and Osomatsu thought it would be best to just take note of whatever it was that Oso wanted to show him. Perhaps he wanted him to see Lonely- no, Choro, in a different light?

Not as a sassy, loud oddball. But rather, someone with weak points. A crybaby. A child. A person like them, even with his tendency to be amazed by the smallest things.

 _Choro's our brother. He's definitely hiding something from the rest too._

But there were still a few things bugging Osomatsu regarding the green-eyed male.

 _When I first checked Choro's file, it stopped updating four years ago. But if Choro was serious about being secluded from people for so long, then how was his file continuously updated? There's no way.. especially if Choro stayed in the forest ever since his parent's death. He only came to the city to take what he needed, or to stay and try to protect Tougou's victims. But even so.. he's good at hiding, more than anything else. Even if Tougou was a big criminal, Flag Corp doesn't really give a fuck, they just want his information and only give it to those who can pay._

But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

 _Choro said his parents were killed when he was eight, as victims of Tougou's massacre. But Tougou said that Oso, the other me, was his first victim. And Oso was the same age as I when Tougou came in our house and fucked up my life for good._

And that was when things didn't start to make sense.

 _Choro said earlier that he was twenty-three. Two years older than me and Oso. If Oso was Tougou's first victim, then Choro would have been twelve at the time when his parents died, since he's ahead of Oso. And even Tougou said that Oso was his first victim, and treated Choro's parents as one of his victims._ _That applies to the Suujis too. Choro should have found the manor after the Suujis left it.. and Ichi was thirteen at the time. Choro should be around fourteen when he found it. But what has he been doing for the past seven years then? Where did he live? How'd he even get the money for the party?_

It was either someone was lying or something odd was interfering with Choro's life. Because as Akumatsu said earlier..

 _"I feel bad for you. Not only should you not exist in this world, but even with your existence.. my, it was truly meant to be a mistake. That, or someone didn't want you to get your happy life."_

The fact that Akumatsu seemed to consider Choro a "true" mistake was something to be curious about.

Out of all "anomalies" that Akumatsu talked about, he treated as if Choro was the ultimate "anomaly". But that could explain why Choro literally does not make sense. And his parents seemed like a matter that he would talk about so seriously and passionately too. And the light in his eyes when he talked about his parents or his past.. Osomatsu was sure they were real. Choro wasn't lying, but neither was Oso and Tougou, it seemed. Oso obviously hated liars, and Tougou, as murderous as he was, just didn't seem to be the type to lie about small matters.

But back to the topic in hand, he was a stuffed dinosaur who couldn't do much but think at the moment. An irritatingly small pink dinosaur with stubby arms that couldn't even do much. And a kid Kodoku Choro was holding him as if his life depended on it, hugging him close to his chest.

"Choro, dear." His mother called out to him from the kitchen. After cleaning up the mess and not finding Lizzy's hat, the child was left feeling guilty over the fact that he may have possibly lost his precious dinosaur's hat. Hiroto attempted to cheer him up by putting him in the living room and playing dominoes with him, but his mind wandered to the fact that his dinosaur would remain hatless. The father, with a heavy sigh, said he was going to do a surprise in the attic, leaving Choro alone, wallowing in his guilt. It wasn't really a big deal in Osomatsu's opinion, but Choro was a child. His heart was still innocent.

Choro's head turned from the stack of dominoes to where his mother is.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up upon seeing what his mother was holding in her hands covered in cute mittens.

"Pie!" He squealed, putting Lizzy (aka Osomatsu) in the pouch of his overalls, running towards his mother. Osomatsu feared that if he were to trip again, not only would he fall flat on his face and bawl like a baby, but Osomatsu, as a dinosaur in the pouch of someone's overalls, would also get crushed by Choro's weight. It doesn't matter if Choro was a child right now, he was bigger than his stuffed dinosaur.

Thankfully, Choro didn't trip, and he was just making grabby hands at the pie, prompting his mother to chuckle. "Call your father first, dear-"

"You called?" Hiroto walked in with a cheeky grin. He ruffled his son's hair, before picking him up and setting him on his arm. "Your apple pie is always the best, Chihiro! Choro thinks so too, right?"

"Mommy's apple pie!" He cheered.

If Osomatsu could move right now, he would have smiled. This was just too cute.

"What were you doing in the attic though?" Chihiro asked, setting down the pie next to a couple of colorful plates.

Hiroto winked, putting Choro down as the child climbed on his own chair and set Lizzy on the table. "Just a special show. 'Course, I'm a bit hungry. I need some pie to recharge my magical energy, you know?"

Chihiro snorted, but Choro stared at his dad in awe. "You're out of magical energy?!"

"Yup." His dad sighed, albeit a fake one. "Being a magician ain't easy, you know? You need all the magical energy you have to give the audience a good show after all. Always give your best to the audience. That's what a good magician should do, Choro."

 _His dad was a magician? So it wasn't a joke.._

Choro nodded, taking a large bite of his apple pie and ignoring the mess. "Eat a lot of food to give the audience a good show." He repeated to himself. "And water?"

"Lots and lots of water." The mother played along, before smirking. "And magicians have to be tall, you know. The audience wouldn't be able to see you otherwise."

Osomatsu saw Choro pout. "I'll be bigger than daddy someday! I'll be a tall magician!" He declared, pointing at the doorway that connected the kitchen to the back door. "Let's see how tall I am right now!"

"Oh, but Choro.. we just checked this morning." The father pointed out, somewhat amused by the sudden fire in his son's eyes. Don't talk about his height, for that's the only thing that an eight-year old like him would fight for. "I don't think you've grown that much in the past few hours-"

Choro left his seat, standing on his tippy toes. Osomatsu couldn't see much with how far Choro was from the table, but if he was correct, there were small lines on the side of the doorway, probably to see the progress of Choro's growth. And judging by how low those lines were, Choro was a really small child, maybe even smaller than Osomatsu and the other five when they were his age. "See? I've grown, mommy!"

"You're standing on your toes, dear." Chihiro pointed out, giggling. "You'll grow in a few years. Maybe drink more milk-"

"Milk is gross! It's basically water, but somehow, even more bland! And it's an icky white liquid!" Hiroto exclaimed and slammed his fists against the table, before turning to his son. "Don't listen to your mother. You can grow just fine without milk, trust me. Just eat your veggies and everything else that isn't milk, and you'll turn out just like me." He explained.

Choro nodded with a determined face. "Milk is yucky!" He repeated. "Don't drink milk!"

"Hiroto, I swear, if Choro remains that small until he's an adult, it's all going to be your fault." Chihiro sighed. "Choro, dear, come here and finish your pie."

"Okay mommy!"

He walked back to his seat and took the pie with both hands, before stuffing it all into his face. Osomatsu would be a hypocrite if he were to say he was slightly disgusted because of the fact that Choro didn't even use the small plastic knife and fork, but then Osomatsu remembered that he, Jyushimatsu, and Ichimatsu eat their pies the same way. It just tasted good for some reason if he quickly gobbled up food rather than worrying if a crumb were to "ruin" his clothes. Unless it was the shirt that Todomatsu brought for them during their birthday of course. But even that was stained by mustard, thanks to Jyushimatsu.

Once Hiroto finished his slice, he stood from his seat. "Right, now that I'm full, it's time to put on a show!"

Chihiro laughed, but she had a towel prepared in the table for Choro to wipe his face and hands with. After her son cleaned himself up, she scooped Choro in her arms, who was now holding Lizzy-Osomatsu tight in his arms. "Alright. Give us a good show, won't you Hiroto?"

"Of course!"

* * *

The good thing about being a stuffed dinosaur cherished by Choro was that Osomatsu was treated very well, even for a stuffed toy. Apparently, Lizzy the dinosaur had it's own plastic chair in a very cute size, and even a cushion for the chair. Choro sat in his own small green stool, watching his father with interest while Chihiro closed the door that lead downstairs, before walking over behind her son and standing just behind his chair.

They were in the attic, and to be honest, it was a nice room. Sure there were boxes and broken furniture, but the room had a somewhat calming feeling about it. The walls and floor were wood, and the single window provided a golden-like light in the room. Osomatsu could see a bit of dust and cobwebs here and there, but it was an attic, so it was to be expected. Kind of nice and has a homely-feel to it though, Osomatsu thought. Very warm too. It certainly was a anice change of pace, especially since he had been suffering from the coldness of winter.

Hiroto was dressed in a familiar black suit, complete with a green necktie, black cape, a black magician's hat, white gloves, and of course, a white colombina mask to dramatically cover his face with. With how his hair was styled, Choro truly resembled his father as an adult, and it was kind of cool to see Choro's dad wearing similar clothes to what Choro usually wears. He was pacing around a table covered in a black cloth with white paint splatters. Maybe it was an attempt at a starry-like cloth, but it was obvious what kind of show he was going to put for his son. And maybe for his wife too.

 _I can see why Choro looks up to him._

The first trick involved a hat, as Hiroto removed it from his head to place on the table. The most cliché magic trick, that somehow manages to still be a wonder with children. Summoning a wand from out of nowhere and tapping it against the hat, Hiroto proceeded to put his hand inside the hat, and with little struggle, pull out something from inside it. As expected, a white rabbit, being held by it's ears, and a piece of lettuce in its mouth. It looked at Hiroto for a few seconds, before freeing itself from his grip. Osomatsu couldn't turn his head, so he didn't know where the thing went.

Choro started clapping and giggling. Chihiro chuckled from behind her son, shaking her head at Hiroto's cheesiness. "Honestly? A rabbit is so cliché, Hiroto."

"I'm expecting Choro to pull something different when he grows up." Hiroto chuckled. "Now hush and let me continue the show."

A second trick. He rubbed his thumb against the tip of the wand, and tapped it again, before wrapping his entire fist around the wand. He brought it close to his lips, blew it, and once he released the wand, flowers popped out of it. Choro practically squealed at the sight while Chihiro was more amused at Choro's reactions than the tricks she saw a million times before. Hiroto chuckled, pulling the flowers out of the wand and handing them to Choro.

"I love you, daddy! Thank you!" Choro giggled, taking the flowers.

Osomatsu could see that small smile in Hiroto's face, and if Osomatsu were to remove that mask covering Hiroto's face, he was sure they would be sparkling with happiness. "And now for my final trick!" He declared. "I need.. a volunteer-"

Choro was raising his hand. "I volunteer! I volunteer, daddy!"

Hiroto chuckled. "Come here, Choro."

Choro gave the flowers to his mother and took Lizzy in his arms, walking over to his father. "I'm ready!"

Osomatsu watched as Hiroto seemingly toyed with his own cape, before suddenly scooping Choro in his arms. "And now for my final trick!" Choro glanced at his father, a bright smile on his face. "I disappear alongside Kodoku Choro!"

"Don't be late for dinner, you dork." Chihiro scoffed with a smug smile.

And with that, Hiroto wrapped his cape around himself and Choro.


	148. Chapter 148: A Bad, Unwanted Child

When Hiroto removed the cape that was blocking the light, Osomatsu realized they weren't even in the house anymore. He wasn't able to look around with his tiny neck stuffed with cotton, but he could hear the sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling, and judging by the amount of trees that were nearly blocking the sky, they were in a forest. Osomatsu couldn't smell as he was in the form of a pink dinosaur, but somehow, he knew that it would smell of dried leaves and plants, and maybe even wilted flowers. It just had a somewhat dark and eerie feel to it, but somehow.. that made it seem nice and quiet.

 _Funny. I hate nice and quiet. Loud and flashy is where it's at, unless it's Karamatsu._

There was a lack of green, and instead, just different shades of yellows and oranges. Ah. So it was fall. The dried leaves crunching under Hiroto's feet were enough proof. Poor dude, Osomatsu thought. Even with the coolness of winter, he seemed to be sweating. Being a magician was no joke, especially if you wore such stuffy outfits, and with a heavy cape too. Not even a child was light in his arms, obviously. He looked absolutely tired, panting and all. Nonetheless, he wasn't tired enough. He turned to his son, shakily smiling. "So how was that, Choro?"

Choro looked at him, his bright green eyes sparkling with happiness. He looked so happy that it wasn't even obvious that he was crying. "That was so amazing, daddy! Even better than last time!" Choro cheered, hugging Lizzy close and giggling. "I'll be a cool magician like you one day! But.. maybe not as cool, since daddy is the coolest! Not even I can beat how cool daddy is!"

Such words caused Hiroto to smile brightly, his cheeks turning pink. His previous fatigue was seemingly gone the instant Choro praised him. Of course, praise from a child was the best kind of praise, even though children were easily impressed by anything. "Is that so.." Hiroto muttered to himself.

 _So he's doing magic for all for the happiness of his son? Impressive.. he really is a guy that's dad-material. Choro must have been so devastated when he lost him.._

Magic tricks were obviously hard to pull off. But did Hiroto seriously learn magic just to entertain Choro? Maybe he was spoiling Choro so much, but Choro wasn't turning out bratty in the slightest. Obviously, he adored his parents, more than anything else in the whole world. And in return, Chihiro and Hiroto loved Choro so much, but maybe they were coddling him too much that he was turning out to be a too-sensitive crybaby. But even with that, the family was a small, but happy one. It was just the three of them in their little heaven deep within the forest.

Osomatsu remembered the times his father and mother would do a puppet show for them as kids. He felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest.. and yet, it hurt so much too. The fact that he didn't cherish much of those moments, that is. And here he was now; a grown-ass man in the body of a stuffed dinosaur that was pink in color and was named Lizzy and had a missing hat that he knew was going to look as frilly and as pink as he was right now. He was no longer a child.

 _Even if I want to stop it.. I have to grow up someday._

He heard Choro's innocent laughter as Hiroto started to talk in a painfully dramatic manner, similar to adult Choro.

 _Poor kid.._

He was eight years old right now. The same age he claimed he was when he lost his parents. Plus, it was fall, and if winter were to come soon, then Choro would be nine years old. If only he could avoid fate.. and if Osomatsu could help him avoid it. At any moment now.. this child could lose his family, and his innocence would disappear alongside it. He would be the oddball named Kodoku Choro that was probably sleeping on the same bed as Jyushi right now, dreaming and having a good rest for once in his life. The Kodoku Choro that was awfully lonely and traumatized by what he has went through.. but still standing as strong as ever.

Osomatsu wanted to hug him as soon as he got back.

 _Choro needs a fucking hug._

Once Hiroto put his child down, he removed the mask covering his face as well, and gently placed it on Choro's face. Naturally, with how big the mask was, it was crooked, but Choro was happy nonetheless. "Daddy's magic mask! I have magic too!" He cheered, jumping up and down with Lizzy in his arms. Osomatsu swore he was going to get sick with how much Choro was bouncing, and the leaves underneath him that were crunching was the only thing Osomatsu could hear, unless his bubbly laughter counted as anything. All it was doing was giving Osomatsu a headache, even with how cute Choro was.

"The magic only works if the mask recognizes you as a true magician!" Hiroto huffed proudly, hands on his hips. Choro finally stopped bouncing and held an unknowingly dizzy Lizzy-Osomatsu in his arms as Hiroto bragged about the path of being a magician, ignoring the sound of the bushes and leaves of trees rustling from behind him. Osomatsu wasn't sure if it was just the nausea, but he swore he could hear growling and somewhat heavy footsteps against a muddy ground. "Of course, being a magician requires training, my boy! The path to being a magician is a long, rigorous road-"

And something popped out of the bushes.

 _Is that fur-?_

Even in a still too dizzy state, Osomatsu could see that it was, in fact, a large bear.

 _HIROTO-!_

Suddenly, Hiroto stopped his explanation, and turned around. "Eh-?"

The bear was obviously two times his size, and when compared to something as small as a child, or worse, a stuffed toy, Osomatsu and Choro were tiny compared to that beast, who looked like it was ready to crush Hiroto with how big it was.

But Hiroto grabbed the bear by it's paw, a smug smirk on his face.

 _Wait, what the fuck-_

"Here we go then!~"

"Daddy-!"

In a swift motion, Hiroto effortlessly lifted the bear, and swung it against the grass in full force, causing the leaves to fly upwards. Thankfully, he only threw the bear against the pile of dried leaves and made sure to not throw it at his own son, who was watching everything happen with wide eyes, hugging Lizzy close to his chest.

 _D-Did.. did Choro's dad just effortlessly beat up a bear?!_

"Arthur," Hiroto said in a whiny tone, and he proceeded to look down on the bear. "I was in the middle of explaining something! Don't be rude."

 _A-Arthur-?_

"Arthur! Good afternoon!" Choro squealed, jumping and proceeding to plop himself on the bear's stomach, though he was still holding a confused dinosaur in his arms. The mask slipped off his face and into the ground. "Big and fluffy bear!"

 _Wait.. do they KNOW this bear?!_

The bear didn't do anything to push Choro off, rather, it was making deep purring noises as Choro nuzzled his face against it's belly.

"Arthur, don't be rude. Now Choro has probably lost interest." He huffed, crossing his arms. However, he felt something nuzzling against his leg, and looking down, he realized it was a small white rabbit. "Oh! Good afternoon to you too, Sebastian!"

 _"Sebastian"-?_

Hiroto picked up the rabbit, and Osomatsu felt himself slide from the bear's belly to the pile of leaves, as Choro outstretched his arms and hands for the rabbit Hiroto was holding, Sebastian. "Sebby!"Choro cooed, cradling the rabbit in his arms.

Osomatsu didn't know what to expect. Here he was, a pink dinosaur, lying on a pile of leaves next to a bear called Arthur, while a child version of Choro was holding a rabbit named Sebastian.

 _What the fuck is wrong with this family. Is the mother the only normal one here._

"You must have missed Choro. Choro came by late today because he still had studies. Plus, he couldn't find Lizzy's hat and felt down in the dumps, so I had to do a show for him." Hiroto chuckled, kneeling so that he was able to reach Arthur's face and squish it with his hands. "Except you actually wanted to wrestle with me, didn't you?"

Arthur responded with a growl, but somehow, it wasn't terrifying as Osomatsu thought it would be. Choro let the white rabbit slide down Arthur's stomach, and Choro lied down on the bear's belly again and made a content sigh. "So soft!"

 _They're.. really friends with the animals..?_

"We'd love to stay and chat, but alas, we have dinner to attend to!" Hiroto posed dramatically. Osomatsu could see a look of disgust (somehow) on the rabbit's face, and even Arthur just turned on his side to ignore him, hugging Choro like he was it's baby cub. Hiroto, seeing how the two animals were ignoring him, stomped his feet on the ground repeatedly. "I said don't be rude, you two! Geez!"

The bear seemingly made a huff, and the rabbit just cuddled itself onto Lizzy, ignoring Hiroto completely. "Why are animals so rude.." He murmured in defeat, a pitying dark aura surrounding him.

Choro giggled, breaking out of Arthur's literal bear hug, and running over to his father, hugging him. That pitying dark aura was gone in an instant, and replaced by a smile. "Arthur and Sebby are soft! Arthur is like a big warm bed! And Sebby is like a fluffy fleece blanket! But daddy is a different kind of soft! He smells like vanilla too!" He said, before running over to pick up Lizzy from the grass. "But Lizzy is the softest! Pillow soft! And smells like apples!"

If Osomatsu was correct, Hiroto, Arthur, and Sebastian were all glaring at him.

 _Are they fucking jealous of me, a stuffed toy?_

But somehow, that felt good. Osomatsu really was petty and shitty. Getting attention from an envious father, bear, and rabbit just seemed better than getting attention from five jealous twin brothers. But as if that would happen. None of them could get a girlfriend, even if they tried!

Suddenly, Choro stopped bouncing and he started to sway. "D-Daddy.. I-"

 _What the..?_

Immediately, Hiroto was by his side, and he caught him before Choro fell to the floor. Even Arthur and Sebastian looked worried, and both animals moved closer to Hiroto to see how Choro was doing. Osomatsu couldn't see much himself, but he could hear Choro's deep breaths and whimpers.

 _What's going on..?_

"Dizzy.." Choro whined, burying his face on Hiroto's chest. "And cold.."

"Crap." Hiroto cursed, wrapping his cape around Choro's body, which was shaking. "Arthur, Sebastian, you guys go ahead. I'm taking Choro home right now." He told them, standing up and adjusting his hold on Choro, making sure he was hugging Lizzy close to him. "Ssssshhh.. daddy will take you home. Relax, Choro."

"I'm scared." He whimpered. "Dark.."

 _But..? It's not that dark..? What's going on?_

"Sssssssshhh.." Hiroto hushed, hugging him closer. "I'll take you home."

And then Hiroto ran to the house with Choro, forgetting his discarded colombina mask now covered by the dry leaves.

* * *

Hiroto had came home with an unconscious Choro in his arms, his cape wrapped around him like a burrito. He immediately told Chihiro, who had been chopping vegetables in the kitchen, and rushed Choro to his bedroom. Osomatsu, the pink dinosaur, was also covered in a warm blanket, and Hiroto left his son after giving him a kiss on the forehead, and turned off the lights. Osomatsu didn't know how he missed the glowing star stickers in the ceiling. There was also a rotating lamp just by Choro's nightstand. He must really hate the dark, thought Osomatsu.

 _But still.. what's going on with Choro? He just felt sick and he passed out, just like that.._

There was definitely something fishy going on. Oso must have transported him here for another reason, and watching Choro as a child in the eyes of a dinosaur wasn't just it. There was something with Choro, and even though the alternate dimension was weird all on it's own, Choro was a whole different kind of weird, like a puzzle that needed to be solved.

 _And if they lived by the forest.. strange, they're either really far from the Suuji Manor and the chapel, or the buildings just wasn't there. It's not like you could miss out a big-ass manor. And the animals.. is it just me, or were there no animals back at the party? Even with people around, you'd think there'd be at least.. birds or something. I get bears that hibernate during winter, but.. still.. not even a deer?_

He glanced at Choro, who was sleeping soundly on the bed. He looked so vulnerable like that.. you certainly wouldn't expect an innocent-looking child to be some sort of mental asylum patient in the future.

 _Choro.. what happened to you?_

Suddenly, Choro sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He looked around the room for a few seconds, before grabbing Lizzy and climbing out of the bed. "Daddy?" He quietly called out. "Mommy..?"

 _Kid! Stay in bed! You're not well, for fuck's sake!_

Of course, Choro didn't hear Osomatsu's scolding voice. And if he did, would he honestly listen to a stuffed dinosaur? Choro walked out of the room in his fuzzy green slippers, holding Lizzy in his arms as he went outside. The halls were dimly-lighted, and little Choro was obviously on the verge of tears as he walked towards the stairs, weakly calling out for his parents. "D-Daddy.. mommy.. I'm s-scared.. d-don't leave me alone.." He brought Lizzy close to his cheek and pressed his face against the stuff dinosaur as a comforting gesture. "Lizzy.. I'm scared.. it's dark.."

 _I'd be scared too, kid. Go back to your room-!_

And then Osomatsu heard sobbing.

"Choro.."

"Mommy?" Choro looked up from his dinosaur companion. "That's mommy, right?"

 _It is. Why is Chihiro crying?_

"Mommy is crying, Lizzy. I wonder why?" Choro told Lizzy-Osomatsu. Adjusting his hold on his toy, he took quiet steps until he went down the stairs, just hiding behind the bars so that Chihiro or Hiroto couldn't see him. His mother was sitting in the sofa, her hands covering her face as she sobbed. Hiroto was pacing around the table, with the stack of dominoes that Choro was playing with earlier still there. They didn't seem to care about the mess at all, as they were too absorbed in their own thoughts. Which was kind of good, as they didn't notice Choro was peering from above.

 _What's going on between them?_

"I want him back, Hiroto." Chihiro sobbed. "I want him back."

"I want him back too." Hiroto turned to her, eyes filled with sorrow. For what reason, Osomatsu didn't know. Was this honestly the same cheerful magician from earlier? "I always want him back. You don't think I do?"

"It's not him. It's just not him." Chihiro told him. "No matter how hard we tell ourselves that boy is Choro.. it just isn't."

 _Wait what._

This kid holding him.. he was Choro, right? He had to be. He looked exactly like Chihiro and Hiroto. He just had to be their child.

"Chihiro," Hiroto turned to his wife. "That child is our son. That's Choro-"

"No it's not!" She snapped at him, standing up from the sofa. Osomatsu couldn't see her face, but judging by her body language, she was agitated. Even Hiroto had to back off, because whatever face his wife was making had to be less than pretty. "That child isn't Choro! That child will never replace Choro! Why did we even agree to this, Hiroto?! One slip-up, and it's not just us, but the entirety of this world as well..!"

 _What the fuck is she talking about?_

"Mommy..?" Choro murmured. "I don't get it.."

"Chihiro, please." Hiroto put his hands out in front of him. "What got you so worked up about this? We've talked about this years ago-"

"It was because he offered it to us when he knew we were missing our child! Our real child!"

"Did you honestly just call Choro an 'it'?!"

"He's most certainly not a human, isn't he?!"

While Osomatsu was busy trying to figure out what they were talking about, Choro was shaken and tearing up from the sudden loudness in his parent's voices. And they were fighting too. "Mommy, daddy." He tried to call out for them, his voice somewhat choked and his head light. He put Lizzy down on the very top of the staircase and took small steps down, outstretching his arms. "D-Daddy.."

Hiroto took notice of his small child descending from the stairs in a manner similar to a toddler seeing something sparkly in front of him. "C-Choro?!"

"Daddy.." His frog slippers were too big for him, and one of them fell from the stairs. Choro either didn't notice or didn't care, as he took another step forward.

Wrong step.

Osomatsu watched in horror as Choro lose his balance and fall, with Hiroto trying to run up the stairs and catch him in his arms.


	149. Chapter 149: Liar Dance

Hiroto caught Choro in his arms, but that heroic act caused Hiroto to fall down backwards. Despite that, he wrapped his arms around his son tightly, making sure that Choro wouldn't feel a single ounce of pain even as they fell.

 _Idiot! You're the one who's gonna get hurt instead-!_

Osomatsu tried to reach out to them, but realizing he was in a body of a stuffed dinosaur, he was stuck with the realization he can't do anything at all.

Hiroto fell to the floor with a loud 'thump", but even with his face scrunched in pain, he was still holding Choro. For a few seconds, he opened his eyes again to take deep breaths, rubbing Choro's back with one hand while the other was wrapped around his child. He was safe, and that was all that mattered to Hiroto. But Choro was still sobbing. He was still scared, and the sound of him crying broke Hiroto's heart. He had to calm him down. Hiroto couldn't stand hearing Choro like that.

Even with his body sore, Hiroto tried his best to make it seem that he wasn't in any pain at all. "Ssssshhh, Choro.." Hiroto tried to soothe him. His own pain didn't matter, as his son was clearly more important. "It's alright. You're safe. Daddy caught you."

"Are you two okay?!" Chihiro cried, running over to them. And my god, she looked like a mess, thought Osomatsu. Was it because of her crying earlier? Damn. She is one messy crier, thought Osomatsu again. What even was she crying about? "Hiroto, Choro-!"

"D-Daddy.." Choro sobbed, burying his face on Hiroto's chest again. He was shaking out of fear; from seeing his parents fight like that, and from suddenly falling down the stairs and accidentally bringing his dad down with him. It was too much for the child to handle, and he burst out in tears. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, daddy!"

"Nah, don't worry, kiddo. It didn't hurt that much."

 _Liar._

But Osomatsu couldn't call Hiroto an idiot for lying and ignoring his own pain. If it were any of his brothers, Osomatsu would have done the same. Taking the hit for your loved ones wasn't an act of stupidity after all. It was just human nature.

 _I mean, even Todo was willing to get punched for my sake and Kara's. And Todo threw a fucking plate at me and tried to hit Kara with a wine bottle!_

But still, Osomatsu was confused. Besides the questions he had regarding the truth about Choro's past, what Chihiro was crying about earlier didn't make sense.

 _Was she implying that Choro wasn't her "real" child? And that Choro wasn't human?_

Fishier than the fish Totoko punches when she's upset, Osomatsu thought. That doesn't make sense. Kodoku Choro looked exactly like Hiroto and Chihiro, and if he wasn't their child, then who was? And what did she mean by Choro being given to them? The more that Osomatsu thought about it, the less it made sense. But then again, Choro had so many things wrong with him, and it made Osomatsu just wonder who the green-eyed male really was. He wasn't someone like Kara, Todo, Jyushi, Ichi, or even Oso. There was something that made him different, and it wasn't just the plot holes in his story.

"N-No! Not that!" Choro cried, hiccuping and trying to speak regardless, even though Osomatsu and Choro's parents probably heard nothing else but sputtering. "I-It's just that I m-made mommy cry! M-Mommy.. does mommy hate me then..?"

 _Oh._

There was a look on Hiroto's face for a moment, before he sat up to hug Choro as tight as he could, ignoring the pain his back was going through. Choro's sobs and cries were muffled, and Hiroto looked absolutely devastated upon hearing such a thing. "Don't say that." He told him, voice cracking. "Don't ever say that again."

Chihiro didn't move an inch, even as Hiroto comforted Choro, with his back killing him. However, she suddenly joined the hug, her face obscured by her hair. "I don't hate you. I don't hate you at all, Choro-"

"I don't get what mommy said." Choro sniffled. "I'm not human..? What does that mean-"

"That doesn't matter." Hiroto cut him off. "No matter what you are, you're our son. And you're definitely human, you got that?"

Choro nodded weakly. "O-Okay, daddy.."

 _Bullshit._

To lie to a child was definitely a bad thing, but how can little Choro understand what was going on when Osomatsu, an adult, couldn't? And who in the right mind would hurt their child's feelings, by telling them that they weren't even theirs?

I guess that was necessary.

Hiroto stood up, carrying a crying Choro in his arms. He rubbed his back and paced around the room, humming a lullaby to calm his son down, as if he was a baby. Chihiro only stood up and went up the staircase, giving Lizzy a glare.

 _What did I even do, lady?!_

With a huff, she walked past him, leaving Lizzy-Osomatsu on the top of the staircase alone to watch Hiroto walk around the living room while making sure his son would stop bawling.

And then there was a glint in his eye.

"Don't worry." Hiroto kissed Choro's forehead, continuing to rock him soothingly. "No matter what happens, I love you, okay?"

"B-But what about mommy?" Choro asked, sniffling. "I don't think mommy likes me anymore-"

"Nonsense!" Hiroto interrupted, his tone suddenly chipper. Osomatsu could hear his voice cracking though, and it must have took a lot of strength to not break down in tears in front of Choro. "Mommy likes you. We just had a bit of a disagreement, and she was so taken by her emotions. But it'll be fine. Mommy and daddy didn't mean to fight in front of you." He hugged Choro close again, rubbing his back. "But even if that turned out to be true, daddy loves you more than anything. Okay?"

"Do you really..?"

Hiroto nodded, ruffling Choro's hair with one hand. "I do, Choro. Now stop the tears, okay? It's rather late. Do you want to eat dinner?"

"Not hungry.."

"How about we play something in your room?"

It took awhile for little Choro to answer, but when he did, he just nodded his head and looked up at his dad. Hiroto smiled at him, kissing his forehead.

 _There's something going on in this family.._

* * *

From Osomatsu's understanding, there was something going on in Choro's past, and it may have had something to do with what Akumatsu said.

Something was definitely tampered with. Osomatsu could remember the details of Akumatsu's story and Choro's file back at Flag Corporation. Orphaned at the age of eight, but older than Osomatsu and Oso by two years, when both males were traumatized by the age of ten? That couldn't possibly be true. Hopefully, Choro just made a mistake, and it wasn't really a big thing to worry about.

 _Right..?_

The night was peaceful, at least. Choro was sleeping soundly on his bed after he and Hiroto stopped playing a game of heroes. Choro's "cape", a black blanket with green stars, was on the floor with the rest of his toys, such as a toy sword and shield. Hiroto had cleaned up the other toys, but left Choro's hero equipment on the floor, as he promised to play with him tomorrow. Chihiro didn't pass by Choro's bedroom after she had glared at Lizzy-Osomatsu at the staircase, and Osomatsu would be lying if he said he wasn't dying with anticipation. He wanted answers, but he didn't even know where was Oso right now.

Morning came by quickly, and as a dinosaur, Osomatsu didn't really feel the need to eat, sleep, or shit. He spent eight hours thinking of possible explanations to what was happening in Choro's past, and so far, none has made absolute sense. It was five in the morning, Choro was sleeping, and Osomatsu was trying to come up with a simple explanation for.. well, all of this.

And then he heard a crash.

Immediately, Choro sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Lizzy," he pulled Osomatsu close to his chest. "What was that?"

 _Don't ask me, kid. I don't know what the fuck is happening in all sides._

"It came from downstairs. Did something fall?" Choro murmured. He pushed the blankets off his tiny body and brought Lizzy with him, slipping on his fuzzy frog slippers. Of course, even with how small he was, it wasn't too hard to stand on his tippy toes to reach the doorknob and turn it, but every action Choro did got Osomatsu paranoid, due to how big of a crybaby Choro was. And even though Osomatsu was kinda annoyed that the child would bawl at even the smallest things, he couldn't blame him. Children were fragile after all.

Plus, this kid was a baby Choro! An alternate version of his brother, now in bite-sized form, therefore, easy to get hurt and definitely easy to get sick. Of course his brotherly instincts were gonna kick in sooner or later, though Osomatsu didn't really know how to handle a brother who wasn't even two digits old. And how do you protect a brother when you're just a stuffed dinosaur?

 _Honestly Oso.. are you just making me watch him suffer? Well, not literally, but I know how this ends out.. Choro told me.._

He heard a cry from downstairs.

Choro froze for a moment, before he ran with Lizzy-Osomatsu in his arms. "That's mommy!"

 _Chihiro?!_

Choro ran, and Osomatsu couldn't tell him to not do so in fear of him falling off the stairs again. But Choro took his time going down the stairs, and once he did, he looked around for Chihiro. "Mommy?"

The living room was empty, and the lights in the kitchen weren't even turned on.

"Mommy-?"

Chihiro came running in from the door, her hair disheveled and her face struck with fear. "Choro, dear, come to mommy. It's an emergency." She distractedly told him, putting her hands underneath the carpet and pulling it upwards. From Osomatsu's position, he could see there was some sort of hatch attached to the floor.

 _A hatch? Does that mean there's some sort of door?_

Without any hesitation, she picked up Choro in her arms, along with Lizzy, and pulled the hatchet, revealing a staircase.

 _Whoa! An actual secret hideout!_

Osomatsu made a mental note to ask Choro how to make one as soon as he got back. He could use it to hide his porn stash from his brothers!

Once they got down, Osomatsu analyzed the entire room. The walls and floor were obviously cement, but a lime green carpet was on the floor, decorated with moss splotches. There were Christmas lights hanging on the wooden shelves, and each of the shelves had piles of dusty books and porcelain animals. There was a scatter of toys and crayons on the carpet, as well as a blackboard on one side of the room, with a box of chalk sticks casually lying down next to it.

Chihiro put Choro down in the middle of the room, patting his head. "Honey, stay here, okay?"

Choro turned to her in fear. "But why, mommy?" He asked, trying to keep his voice calm in fear of accidentally upsetting his mother. He hugged Lizzy tighter, and Osomatsu could feel his chest being constricted. "What's going on? Where's daddy?"

"No time for that." She told him, climbing up the stairs. "Choro, please, do not follow or come out 'til I say so."

"B-But mommy-!"

"Stay there! Don't you dare come out of here!" She yelled, her back turned against him. "Please. Do it for mommy and daddy, okay? Just.. stay there. Play with Lizzy and your toys. Mommy'll be right back, okay? I'll make you pie if you're a good boy."

And with that, she opened the hatchet and left again.

Choro hugged Lizzy closer. "L-Lizzy.. what's going on..?"

Osomatsu would have hugged this fearful child if he could. But even though he was just a dinosaur being held by an eight-year old, that didn't mean that he, an adult, wasn't scared or anxious of what's to come.

A twenty-one year old man, who suffered through childhood trauma and a bunch of other things growing up, was terrified. Maybe even more so than this small child.

 _We're in a basement. That means.._

The child would surely suffer soon. And what terrified Osomatsu was he didn't know when. In a few seconds, minutes, hours.. what if Chihiro left him here for days? Months?

 _Calm down. You have no right to be freaking out, Osomatsu. You gotta stay strong._

Choro started to sniffle, hugging Lizzy tighter in his arms, before his legs gave up and he was kneeling against the carpet. "I wanna know." He sobbed. "I wanna know what's going on."

 _Me too, kid. Me too._

"I'm scared, Lizzy. I don't wanna be alone here without mommy or daddy.."

 _Don't be scared. I'm here. Osomatsu-niisan's here. And he'll protect you._


	150. Chapter 150: Crybaby Robot

Choro lay in the carpet with Lizzy in his arms, quietly sobbing.

 _Poor kid doesn't deserve anything he's going through._

Osomatsu couldn't imagine what Choro was feeling right now, because unlike the other, he wasn't too much of a crybaby back when he was Choro's age. He was such a reckless brat.

When Osomatsu was eight, he could remember constantly picking on Jyushimatsu, which made Ichimatsu angry at him and hide bugs in Osomatsu's futon as revenge. Of course, Osomatsu was smart enough to back off afterwards, knowing how far Ichimatsu would go if his favorite brother was bullied, even by Osomatsu himself. Of course, he tried picking on Todomatsu, but the youngest was extremely petty and very cunning, and made sure Osomatsu suffered twice as much as he did for doing a simple bucket-on-the-door-prank.

So with three younger brothers out of the way, one might expect Osomatsu to finally stop or just pick on Karamatsu and Choromatsu. But Choromatsu was scary when angered, and Karamatsu was.. well..

 _I can still feel the punch in my cheek._

Well, Osomatsu guessed that was why Karamatsu was so doting on the other four and very dismissive of Osomatsu at times. His shitty behavior as a kid might have caused Karamatsu to get a protective side, even though his behavior towards the others was merely just a joke. Osomatsu wouldn't actually upset his brothers in any way, as their happiness was important to him.

And honestly? Osomatsu was mature, even with his childish personality. He had mastered the arts of "having no redeeming traits besides being the eldest one", and had nothing to lose. Except when he died, that title would pass on to Karamatsu, and so on if the painful brother were to die, which Osomatsu hoped would never happen. His redeeming quality wouldn't disappear with a change of personality, so Osomatsu never gave much thought of it.

Maybe this is when he should start showing his brotherly instincts. When a curled child was sobbing on the carpet, wanting to see his parents and understand what was going on. He would have hugged him in his arms and assured him that everything was going to be okay, even when it clearly wasn't.

What even was Oso trying to show him? Osomatsu knew how Choro's childhood ended. His parents would get murdered by Tougou, and the poor thing would fend for himself until Osomatsu somehow ended up in the other dimension, and lead to Jyushi's kidnapping.

But maybe even Oso realized the flaws in Choro's story. He'd never been known in Akatsuka City as a live, breathing human, and even if he did, only the files proved that. Surely, the citizens of Akatsuka noticed a weird dude in a suit and cape, flying through Akatsuka City in the middle of the night on a hang glider.

 _I mean, Oso is definitely a genius. What is it that he could have found..? Maybe something I missed? Why is he even showing me this?_

He could hear heavy footsteps from above.

"What's going on, Lizzy?" Choro looked up worriedly. "M-Maybe.. maybe apple pie isn't worth it, Lizzy. We have to check on mommy, even if she told us not to."

Yes! We need to check! If not, then they might- actually, never mind! You're eight, listen to your parents, otherwise, some psycho might traumatize you for life! ..But that's inevitable..

It was hopeless, thought Osomatsu. No matter what option Choro went with, he'd end up an orphan. Or if not that, then he'd end up dead. But it was best to ensure Choro remained alive, not like anything was going to change even with Osomatsu sitting as a stuffed animal. Osomatsu couldn't tamper with anything in Choro's past, only witness it-

Wait.

 _Tamper._

There was something here that Kamimatsu tampered with! Akumatsu said so!

But what could it be?

Could it be the timeline? Or maybe even as something as simple as forging a fake file to convince everyone that Choro was there the whole time? There were so many citizens at Flag Corporation, maybe not even the employees noticed a fake file, accompanied by a supposedly fake picture.

 _Damn it, Choro!_

This entire thing was making Osomatsu's head spin, and he hated it.

 _Who are you?!_

Suddenly, a voice penetrated through the air, cancelling any silence that lingered in the basement. Choro looked up from Lizzy, his eyes widening. "Mommy! Daddy!"

There was no room for hesitation now.

Choro ran up the stairs as fast as he could, trying to open the door. "Something is on top!" He cried. Something heavy indeed. Even though he put Lizzy on the staircase, his small hands couldn't push whatever was blocking the way. "L-Lizzy! I think it's stuck!" He was close to tears again, and his voice was cracking. "L-Lizzy, something's on top of the door! I c-can't open it!"

 _Oh no._

There was nothing scarier than being trapped in a small room without a way out, not even windows, or a bathroom. And no food! Every child was going to get scared at the thought of dying alone, especially out of starvation, in a dull gray room. Not even the carpet brought a bit of life to the room.

Suddenly, he could hear voices, and so could Choro, as he piped down. Osomatsu could hear the racket from upstairs as well, but he didn't know if little Choro was going to understand anything.

The voices belonged to Chihiro, Hiroto.. and.. someone else.

Someone else Osomatsu never heard of.

Or he was sure he never heard the voice before.

He heard footsteps, playful whistles, and the clapping of hands. "What a lovely place you have! Nice and warm and cozy! So, where's the brat?"

"..Playing." That sounded like Hiroto, but his voice lacked any energy or chipperness. "He's out playing."

More tapping against the floor. "At this early hour? Did you two even make him breakfast? I see no plates on the table, or pans in the kitchen."

"We didn't." Hiroto replied a bit too quickly.

"Geez, you two are horrible parents! No wonder your kid-"

"We don't talk about him in this house." Chihiro was the one that interrupted the stranger, her voice icy. Osomatsu could only imagine the piercing glare that accompanied such a threatening voice. To think this was the same woman from yesterday.. "What are you doing here anyway? I have work today at the city, and I don't have time for this."

"Well, why do you think I'm here?" The stranger sounded cheeky. "Come on, lady. Use those brains of yours!"

Osomatsu could only imagine Chihiro's eye twitching in irritation.

"It's too soon, isn't it? He's not even a teenager yet.. there's no way that something upset him that badly. He's just a kid."

"Hmmmm. You've served your purpose, you see. That's why I'm here, right?" The stranger said in a sing-song way. There was a brief pause, before the stranger started talking again. "It's funny! It's like it was just yesterday! Time flies! But I'm sure we wasted enough time, right? Time passes for me quicker than it does to you two fellas, and time is precious. I need to get back soon."

"Please, he's not ready yet." Hiroto talked once again, his voice laced with pain. "He's a child. He's not ready to carry the burden of such a-"

"Shut your mouth. I wasn't done."

"Daddy.." Choro muttered. "N-No one should talk to daddy like that.."

Osomatsu listened in to the conversation again, shushing Choro mentally. He needed to listen in to all of this.

"As I was saying." The stranger cleared their throat. "I've waited long enough, and got all my pieces set. Except for one." The stranger giggled in a way that made Osomatsu sick to the stomach. He didn't trust that voice, especially not after it told Hiroto to shut up. "Of course, I can't start a story without the main character, hm?"

Osomatsu heard the sound of something clicking, maybe fingers, and then he heard footsteps again.

"Stay back!" That was Chihiro, trying to sound intimidating to scare off the stranger, but her voice was cracking and laced with fear. "Don't come near me or my husband-!"

"Sorry, you two." The voice was mockingly apologetic. "But you gotta go. The kid needs to go. But I need to see if his power is really strong.."

There was a moment of silence.

And then Hiroto screamed. Choro's eyes widened in fear, and if Osomatsu was able to feel his own skin, he swore all the hairs would be pointing upward.

"Hiro-!"

"Chihiro, run-!"

"Not so fast, lady!"

 _What's going on?! It can't be Tougou-_

He heard a pop.

Chihiro was screaming again.

"D-Daddy..?" Choro's voice was barely above a whisper. "Daddy..? Daddy what happened..?"

Chihiro stopped screaming, but she was still yelling at the stranger frantically. "Don't touch me-!"

"It's painless, lady! No need to act like I'm gonna take out all your teeth! Look, your husband didn't do as much after I snapped at his direction. Come on, do it for your brat! Don't you wanna see him again?"

 _Wait, which brat..? He can't.. possibly mean Choro.. right..?_

Another moment of silence passed.

"No." Chihiro spat. "Choro is my child, and he's out somewhere playing right now! I don't need you to tell me that I-"

"He's not yours." The stranger's voice suddenly became distorted, as if they were incredibly angry at Chihiro for saying such things. "You think he's yours? Please. Just because he has the same name and face, doesn't mean it's the same brat. He's not yours to keep. You're not the one who sacrificed something to make him. He's mine and mine only."

 _What is that guy talking about-?_

And Osomatsu heard another pop.

Silence followed, and Osomatsu couldn't hear anything else except the stranger's footsteps, and maybe their muttering of curse words. "Shit. I have to look for the brat.. I dropped off the shit already at the other place too.. I need to find the brat before 'he' discovers everything.."

He heard more footsteps, but they faded eventually, meaning the stranger had left the house.

 _No.. that can't.. does that mean.. Chihiro and Hiroto are-_

Suddenly, Choro started glowing, as more tears streamed down his face and dropped on the wooden stairs.

 _Wait what._

Was Osomatsu's beady dinosaur eyes defective, or was Choro actually glowing? It was the same golden aura that Kamimatsu seemed to emit, as well as small balls of light surrounding him.

 _Wait, what's going on?_

"D-Daddy.." Choro sniffled, trying to open the door. "Daddy.." He continued to push against the door, and if Osomatsu wasn't wrong, he could see it trying to open.

Choro's doing it!

He did his best to mentally support Choro, even if he didn't know why the child was glowing. But Choro was frantically chanting Hiroto's name like his life depended on it. And with each word, he glowed brighter and his pushing against the door became stronger.

The child was determined to see his parents.

"Daddy.."

 _Push it harder! You're doing it, kid!_

"D-Daddy.."

 _Another push, kid! I can see light! You can do it! Get us outta here!_

"I w-want to see.. D-daddy-!"

 _One more-!_

The door opened with a loud bang, and to Choro's surprise, the carpet wasn't blocking the way. He picked up Lizzy and ran upstairs, and his golden aura, which he didn't seem to notice that he had, disappeared. "Mommy?! Daddy?! Where are you-"

And when Choro turned around, he and Osomatsu saw everything on the floor.

The carpet was stained red. The furniture was scratched, and some even had scratch marks and were toppled over. The curtains over the windows looked like tattered rags at this point, and Osomatsu couldn't understand how such damage could be done at a short amount of time. He didn't even hear the furniture toppling or anything being attacked, just footsteps, voices, the sound of popping, and a click of fingers.

But it wasn't the mess in the living room that Choro's eyes were glued at. Rather, it was the bodies of those whom he had called his parents.

Chihiro's body appeared normal, if not for the big hole in her stomach. Her brown eyes were wide open, slightly gray now, and devoid of all warmth and life they had minutes ago. Her hair didn't look as shiny or bouncy as it did earlier as well. They were dry, and if Osomatsu wasn't mistaken, her brown hair was sprinkled with what seemed to be white dust. It wasn't snow, Osomatsu could tell. He'd been in winter longer than he wanted, and he was aware that it wasn't snow, even from afar. It was just normal, disgusting dust, sprinkled on the hair of a corpse who was slumped against the sofa in a position that looked like anything but comfortable.

Not to be rude, but she looked horrible. Nothing like the beautiful lady Osomatsu saw minutes ago, whose hair was disheveled and had ordered her son to stay back.

 _Oh my god. Chihiro.. did Tougou do all of this to you..? T-Then.. Hiroto.._

Osomatsu felt sick to his stomach. He remembered Tougou's corpse at the manor, and even Osomatsu was confused on whether his death was actually a good thing or not. Such grusome details made Osomatsu to find the nearest toilet and hurl whatever he had at dinner with Kara and the rest.

No time for that. Focus on what's in the present, asshole.

Then there was Hiroto. Thankfully, unlike Chihiro, whose face was sure to haunt Osomatsu's mind for years to come, Hiroto was lying on his stomach, therefore covering his face. That didn't mean that the hole in his stomach that mirrored Chihiro's went unnoticed. It would appear as if Hiroto had been shot from behind and fell into a frog-like position, but a pool of his own blood formed and even the carpet couldn't absorb it.

And Osomatsu was sure that was his arm on the other side of the room, just near the doorway that lead to the outside.

Both bodies were once lifeless, breathing in this world. But now, they were nothing more than corpses stained with a sickening crimson color, as red as the flames that consumed the Suuji Manor a day ago, as red as the blood that Tougou's victims shed. Osomatsu never thought he would see his own color, the one of a leader's, on such bodies, once flawless, now decorated with scars. But they would never heal, for the dead would no longer rise again, and those scars would stay on their bodies forever.

What was the point in patching up something that was dead?

Osomatsu's thoughts were cut off when Choro started to scream, and Choro dropped him to the floor.

Choro's knees gave in and he buckled and fell on the blood-stained carpet, tears flowing from his eyes, and his screams eventually getting hoarser and weaker, but it did nothing to calm the child down. His words were incoherent, and he was clawing at the furniture in an attempt to stand.

Even though his words were incoherent, Osomatsu could hear his pained cries towards his parents, begging them not to leave him alone.

Choro was screaming for Chihiro and Hiroto to get up, and that he was scared.

He didn't want to be alone.

Osomatsu, despite his current form, tried to reach out to him.

His attempts failed.

 _Damn it, body! Move! He needs you, he needs you-_

Choro started glowing again, and he stopped his screaming.

 _What's going on?_

Shakily, Choro stood up, hiccuping. He didn't notice that he seemed to be glowing, and if he did, he obviously didn't care. He reached out for Lizzy-Osomatsu, hugging it tight to his chest as a way to soothe himself. He stopped his screaming, sure, but his hiccups and sniffles were as loud as ever.

He could feel Choro's heart pounding against his back.

"M-mommy, d-daddy-" He took few steps forwards, staining his fuzzy slippers with Hiroto and Chihiro's puddles of blood. The pale green color was stained with red droplets, but even with the disturbing sloshing sound of feet running against a puddle of blood, Choro's eyes were blank, and he continued walking to the doorway.

 _Choro? Where are ya going, your parents are-_

He didn't notice the sickening crunch sound Hiroto's arm made when Choro stepped on it.

 _Where are you going, kid?! You look like a mess- are you gonna get help?! Oh god, don't, you're gonna get lost if you ever get out of this forest, and if you end up at the Suuji manor-!_

Choro stopped muttering his parents' names, and, as if he was in a trance, started going somewhere else.

 _Hey! What are you-_

"Who did this." Choro choked out, running in the forest with tears blurring his vision. In his trance, he didn't notice the trail of blood on the floor, something even Osomatsu noticed.

He saw something white in the corner of his eye. Something small and somewhat furry, but also with specks of dirt.

 _Is that.. the rabbit..?_

Oh. It wasn't just the rabbit. Osomatsu could see the other animals in the forest, besides Sebastian the rabbit and Arthur the bear. Beside it was also the same bear from yesterday, a deer, something that seemed to be a curled up fox, and two blue birds. They all seemed to be lying down in various spots of the forest, and he swore the fox's ears twitched when Choro walked by.

Or maybe he didn't. Because Osomatsu was sure all those animals were dead.

 _What's going on?! Did Tougou kill all of-_

"Who did this to them." Choro repeated. Osomatsu couldn't hear any sadness or devastation in his voice anymore. Rather, he could hear Choro's voice was as blank as it could get. He wasn't looking or calling out for his parents anymore. It was as if he accepted that they died literally just minutes ago.

With his dull eyes and monotone voice, it was as if the child was looking for revenge rather than anything else.

 _Choro.. what are you-? You can't possibly be looking for Tougou, aren't you?! He just-!_

Osomatsu could hear something.

 _Something's following us-?!_

Even Choro seemed to notice, because he started to run.

With each step, Choro's golden aura was glowing brighter, and his face was determined to get away from whatever was chasing them. This was unlike the crybaby Choro who cried just because he tripped a bit. This Choro was a determined one who somehow did not mind all the dead forest animals they passed by.

His feet crunched against the fallen dried leaves and wilted flowers, and Choro still didn't dare to turn back, not even after one of his frog slippers came off.

 _Why are so many animals dead? And these flowers.. they were just fine yesterday! There wasn't this much leaves either!_

And Choro tripped, dropping Lizzy. His face landed against the muddy ground, and Osomatsu cringed at the cold, sticky feeling.

 _Now's not the time to be a drama queen! Something's chasing us-!_

Choro sat up, rubbing his eyes. His aura was now dim, and once again, tears were forming. And Choro snapped his eyes open, looking around, and realizing he wasn't back at his house anymore.

 _Wait, was he in a trance-?_

"I never went this far with daddy before..!" He said in awe. "This is a clearing..!"

 _A clearing? Does that mean the manor is-!_

But when Osomatsu looked around, he realized something.

 _..Where's the manor?!_

This didn't make sense! Not even the old church was anywhere in sight! The manor, that big mansion that belonged to the rich Suuji Family, something that's apparently been in this dimension for decades..

Was nowhere in sight?!

 _What the fuck-?!_

"Found you!"

Osomatsu froze.

He knew that voice from anywhere.

Choro turned around, facing a man in which whose clothes seemed to be stained with the same red color that stained the carpet. And even Choro was smart enough to know what that meant. He put two and two together easily, and realized who the man in white was.

He was the murderer.

"YOU-!"

The man placed his hand on Choro's forehead, gripping it, and causing the child to suddenly scream in pain. "It wasn't me." He said. "It was a vile criminal. I could never stain my hands with the blood of mortals such as you."

 _So he's-!_

"It's you-!" The child croaked out. "You have.. blood..! Daddy.. mommy.. Sebastian, Arthur, and the others..! It was you-!"

"Come now, child." The other said in a soothing voice, but his voice was laced with malice. "I could never do such a thing. White is a pure color. If I'm a murderer, I surely do not deserve to wear such things."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Choro's voice was getting louder, and the golden aura that surrounded him started glowing brightly again, as if something was fanning the flames. Still, it did nothing to faze the man in white, whose hand was still on Choro's forehead. "C-Come up with any excuse you want.. but it was you, wasn't it?! Your voice-!"

"I said it wasn't me."

His grip on the boy's forehead tightened. Choro screamed in pain, and Osomatsu wanted nothing more than to sit up and punch the guy causing Choro such pain.

"I know it's you! The blood! It's my-!"

"Look." The man in white practically hissed in Choro's ear. "It wasn't me. It was someone by the name of Koroshi Tougou."

There was a brief silence.

 _Is he framing Tougou?! Tougou wasn't the one who killed Choro's parents?! But-!_

"You'll forget about meeting me." He said in a serious tone, but there was just something in his voice that made Osomatsu even angrier. "You'll only remember running into this spot.. and finding something big. You don't know me. You'll think your old house was destroyed by a vicious storm. You'll find another place. And then you'll stay there. Alone."

He snapped his fingers using his free hand.

Suddenly, Choro's aura was glowing brighter than ever, practically blinding Osomatsu.

"Your name is Kodoku Choro. Your parents were killed by Koroshi Tougou. You were left orphaned at the age of eight. You will think your old home was destroyed.. and you will avenge your parents. Understood?"

Choro didn't answer, but such a thing was enough. Silence means yes after all. And the boy wasn't saying no. "Good boy. Now, do me a favor and let's get this over with, so we can get you to the other side."

He pulled his arm away from Choro. His once bright green eyes were now just gold with a tinge of green, and he had a faraway look that Osomatsu couldn't describe, even if his life depended on it.

His entire body was shaking. Choro put his hands over his mouth, muffling his screams. The ground started to shake, and the sky was a solid white color, replacing the once warm colors of autumn.

 _What's going on..? Why is he-?!_

The man in white started to laugh. "A child with a pure soul may be considered weak.. but if used correctly, they can be the greatest weapon ever made. Nothing could match your power!" He cackled. "Now get rid of this dimension once and for all! It's nothing but trash!"

Choro screamed, his eyes glowing.

Osomatsu swore he could feel his physical body for a second.

But before his hand could reach Choro's, everything went white.

* * *

"...Oi."

Osomatsu turned his head to the side, almost as if he was trapped in a nightmare. He continued to mutter Choro's name in his sleep, even going as far as to stretch his arm and nearly hitting the person hovering above him.

"Choro-! Don't listen to him, I'll-!"

"Get your ass up, other me."

Osomatsu's eyes snapped open, and he sat up, panting. He felt really sweaty, but when he looked around, he realized he was back in that little void that Oso dragged him into.

 _The void? Wait, I can move again!_

"So," Oso kicked his legs, flipping himself upside down mid-air. "I think.. you have all.. the answers.. to your questions..?"

"No." Osomatsu glanced at the other him. "Are you kidding?! I just have more questions!"

"Huh." The other blinked, before sighing. "Well.. I did.. what I could.. so you can.. at least have.. a bit of info.. regarding Choro.."

"I don't get it!" Osomatsu cried. "Oso, what is Choro?! Really?! He's not.. he's not like us!"

Oso raised an eyebrow. "For starters.. you and I.. have never been.. the same.. so I don't get.. how you can.. just say.. that he isn't.. like 'us'.."

"That's not what I meant." Osomatsu paced around, managing to deal with the fact there was no gravity. "He's.. not human. He's not like you. He.. he didn't.. he wasn't born in this dimension."

"You got that right.." Oso scoffed. "He's not.. from here.."

"Are you trying to tell me that Kamimatsu somehow made Choro destroy his own dimension?!"

Oso boredly floated around, arms behind him. "..You saw for yourself."

"Just because I saw it," Osomatsu was honestly getting pissed off by Oso's behavior," Doesn't mean I understood it. Could I ask questions? No! I was a pink dinosaur, Oso! A pink stuffed dinosaur named Lizzy! I was a fucking toy!"

Oso snorted. "I was the same.. the last time.. I guess the object.. had to be something.. Choro kept with him.. a lot.. or had.. a lot of value." He fiddled with his own cowlick. "But even I.. understood it-"

"It's 'cos you're a genius." Oso snapped. "And you're involved in whatever is going on, aren't you?"

Oso shrugged. "Don't ask me.. I'm just trying.. to help you.. get home.."

"Then at least answer this one question." Osomatsu was a patient one, but one more cheeky-sounding answer from the other him, and he won't hesitate to fuck the other up.

 _..That sounded wrong._

"Which is?"

"Choro." The name sounded so weird now. At first, it was just a simple name Osomatsu was familiar with, just because he had a brother who had the same name, but maybe with an extra word and two syllables. But now, that name held so much meaning for some reason.

He wasn't just Fappymatsu's other self. He wasn't just some weirdo in a suit. He wasn't just another alternate version of his brother that Osomatsu needed to inject.

"..If you're wondering.. what he is.." Oso glanced at another direction, wanting Osomatsu to focus on his own though rather than the look of disgust. "..Tch, it's too long.. to put in words.."

"Then give me a summary."

Oso looked annoyed. "You were.. so easily content.. before.."

Osomatsu looked down at his own bare feet. "I can't be content with vague answers anymore, Oso. Especially now that I know.. Kamimatsu tampered with his past.

The other snorted again. "If Kamimatsu.. didn't tamper with anything.." He looked back at Osomatsu with a pitying look. "..Then Choro.. wouldn't have been born.."

Osomatsu blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Choro.. how do I.. put it.." Oso scowled. "He's.. the ultimate anomaly.. just as Akumatsu.. told you.. right?"

 _So he knows._

"Is he actually serious?"

"Akumatsu said so.. and he'd never lie.. to you.." Oso looked up. "Choro is.. interesting.. to be honest.." He closed his eyes. "I can't.. describe Choro myself.. but.. if I had.. to describe anything.. that reminds me.. of Choro.."

Why does he sound so sad now?

"It'd be an angel."

An angel? Those pure beings that were often thought to be people who died along with the good they've done? They were religious entities, and Osomatsu didn't really care much for ghosts or whatever cousin with wings that they had.

An angel for Choro though? It'd fit Jyushi better. Choro was bold and sassy, obviously not afraid to speak his mind. An angel wasn't the first thing to pop in Osomatsu's mind when he hears the name "Choro". Something else fit much better.

 _Demon..? Incubus, I guess..?_

"Why an angel?"

"Well.. in most religions," Oso played with his cowlick again. "Angels are sent.. by gods, right? Or.. by one god.." He chuckled bitterly. "Like a certain someone."

Osomatsu didn't glance at him, knowing that he wasn't gonna see anything but Oso's smug face. "Choro.. Choro was.."

"..Created by yet.. another one.. of my mistakes.." He clicked his tongue. "Except.. he's the biggest mistake.."

"And why would that be?" Osomatsu resisted the urge to slap Oso. Was it too extreme of a punishment? Maybe, but honestly, Oso was getting in his nerves, especially with how he acted towards Choro.

"Because he's not a brother." Oso said that without hesitation. "He's not a normal alternate either. And he's certainly not one of us."

Osomatsu clenched his fist, hoping he wouldn't do something he'd regret.

"He's a weapon of destruction. And he's here to kill us all."


	151. Chapter 151: True Light

Osomatsu looked around the void. Sure, it was still blank, and the atmosphere was both tense and cold, but Osomatsu wasn't letting that get to him. He felt as if he just woke up from a long dream, a dream that escalated into a nightmare. "You know, you're not making any sense here. You're raising more questions than answering any." He said, his voice serious. "How do you expect me to understand all of this? Just by showing me that? You know it made me more confused, right?"

Oso looked unamused at Osomatsu's inability to comprehend everything. He didn't really see how hard it would be to accept the truth. It was better than to sugar-coat everything. But maybe it was because Osomatsu hadn't been exposed to such weirdness all at once. Especially ones involving his "brothers" from his dimension. "..Not my fault.." Oso scoffed. "You had.. Akumatsu and I.. explain this.. how is it.. so hard to grasp..?"

"You just told me that Choro, Kodoku Choro, that little sassy dude with weird hair and personality, is a weapon of mass destruction. Do you know how hard that is to swallow?" Oso chuckled at that statement, and surprisingly, Osomatsu didn't laugh at his own unintentional innuendo. "Don't laugh. It's just.. Choro. Choro is human. Even if you say he's some sort of weapon, it still doesn't make sense. He breathes, he lives, he-"

"..You saw what happened.. back there.." Oso looked away again. "..He blew up.."

"How did he survive all that, then? Everything just disappeared. Surely, Choro would have been caught in that as well. " Osomatsu countered. "Oso, no more games. I'm not smart like you, I know, but.. Choro isn't just some weapon. I know it. He's just like you, isn't he? He has some sort of power."

"I told you.." Oso glared at him. "We're different.."

"How so?"

"My powers.. aren't etched into.. my soul.." Oso fiddled with his fingers, summoning a small ball of light. He held it delicately in his hands, eyeing it as it floated. "..My soul.. is like yours." The ball of light glowed brighter. "Very human.. as my powers.. are just borrowed.. nothing more, nothing less.."

"They're Kami's, aren't they?"

Oso didn't answer. Good enough, thought Osomatsu. He knew he was right anyway. "..They're.. easy enough to control.. the powers, I mean.." With a snap of his fingers, the ball of light disappeared. "Considering.. they're just.. borrowed and all.."

"So Choro was born with them? Born with his, um.. powers?" The sooner Osomatsu tried to digest everything, the better he may be able to understand Oso. It didn't matter how weird it seemed to be, Osomatsu thought. He had already been exposed to enough weirdness to last a lifetime.

"..See? So smart.. if you listen well.." Oso snorted. "Choro's soul.. is very very different.. from ours.. especially from mine.."

Osomatsu frowned, floating close to Oso. "But he's still very much human, isn't he? Even with his weird magical bullshit.."

The other nuzzled his face on the rainbow scarf, nearly forgetting that it didn't belong to him. "..No.. not human at all." He murmured. "I said so.. didn't I..? That Choro.. if there was anything.. similar to him.. it would be.. an angel.. but that's kinda ironic.. isn't it, Osomatsu-niisan? Especially when.. he's nothing but dangerous.."

They were floating next to each other now, but their backs were turned against one another. While Oso had a serious, somewhat annoyed expression on his face, Osomatsu's looked almost sad and pitying. "I don't believe you. I don't want to believe anything you're saying. Choro can't be some weapon Kamimatsu created." Osomatsu looked at his feet. "I talked to him. His eyes.. they sparkle whenever he talks about something he's passionate about. He was happy while he was watching anime. He loved the food Kara made." He glanced at Oso, and thankfully, Oso was nice enough to look at him straight in the eye. "Doesn't that make him human enough? The fact that he's able to feel and enjoy what it means to be alive here with us?"

"He's made by Kamimatsu." Oso was trying his best to speak straight without falling into a state of silence. His eyes darkened once he mentioned Kamimatsu's name again, and his mind was filled with ugly memories that Oso would have preferred to have been erased. He shouldn't have been involved with this if it weren't for Kamimatsu. "..That alone is enough.. he's dangerous.. and we shouldn't treat.. this matter.. so lightly.." He said, floating away. "This conversation is over-"

"He's not dangerous. I know it, Oso." Osomatsu closed his eyes. "Sure, he may be weird, and he does carry a sword around, but.. Ichi does that too, doesn't he? And Todo! He's violent too. But Ichi and Todo have soft sides." He floated to Oso. "Is there a reason why you think of Choro like that?"

"I said this conversation is over." Oso floated away from Osomatsu, his anger now evident. "..And if you refuse.. to believe the truth.. I can't help you with that."

"He's not dangerous." Osomatsu refused to be swayed, even tho Oso looked like he was ready to blow Osomatsu up. "I know me more than you do, Oso. And I know that I'm right."

"..How do you know that."

"Big brother is always right." Osomatsu grinned. "Choro isn't dangerous. Did you see how excited he got when he got his sweater? He's like an excitable puppy! As you said, he's an angel."

"An angel of death." Oso spat venomously.

Osomatsu's grin slowly faltered and his eye twitched. "Seriously? What's wrong with you?" He frowned, looking at Oso's face. "Don't you like him?"

"Obviously, I don't."

"But why?" Osomatsu didn't know if it was Choro's oddball behavior or something else entirely. Sure, he may have been a pompous asshole.. but in Osomatsu's opinion, he wasn't really too much of a bad guy. "I didn't like Todo or Ichi first, to be honest. I mean.. they kinda scared me. And I didn't like how they acted. But you can see them now, right? I understand why they're like that."

"..You won't understand.. why I'd hate him.."

"It's because you won't tell me!" Osomatsu cried. "Oso, please. If you're gonna hate Choro, your own fucking brother, at least give me a reason!"

"I don't need a reason." Oso countered. "And.. even if I did.. have one.. I don't need.. to tell you.."

"Then your opinion is entirely worthless to me." Osomatsu told him flatly. He didn't know Oso would be so stubborn at all, and Osomatsu didn't have the energy to argue anymore. He was tired after witnessing everything, and all he wanted was to go back to Kara's apartment. "I can't accept other people's view on things unless I know why they see it that way."

"Whoever said I needed you to validate my opinion." Oso scoffed. "He's the worst mistake.. I ever made-"

Oso suddenly felt the collar of his hoodie being grabbed, and he was facing against Osomatsu, whose eyes were burning with rage. But he had such a calm look on his face, and it only made him more intimidating. "Look, Oso." He hissed through gritted teeth, voice low. "I consider you a brother, but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna tell you off for being an asshole to Choro, who's technically your brother too."

"He's not." Oso snarled. "I could accept it.. if it were the Suujis.. Todo.. or Kara.." He pushed Osomatsu away from him. "If.. he weren't.. in the way.. you could have.. gone home.."

Osomatsu froze.

 _Choro.. is he involved with this-?_

"Injected or not.. you wouldn't be able.. to get home.. as long as.. that anomaly.. is around.." Oso clenched his fists. "He.. the damage he's done.. just by existing.. I can't do anything.. to send you home.. until he's out.. of the picture.."

"Oso, are you suggesting that-?"

"I'm not suggesting.. nor implying anything.." Oso looked at him darkly. "..I'm.. straight-up telling you.. that we should just.. kill him.."

"You what?!"

Oso wasn't even fazed. "Heh.. don't raise your voice.. or you'll end up.. hoarse.. like me-"

"You don't say those things about your brother and expect to get away with it. Don't even try to change the topic." Osomatsu was trying his best to control his anger before he accidentally lost his temper and hurt Oso. He didn't want to make the same mistake again. "Give me a good reason why you hate Choro."

"No." Oso turned away. "I don't have to."

"Oso, I'll-"

"I don't have to.. not right now.." He turned back to Osomatsu. "..Because.. I'm running out.. of time.."

"What-"

"..I'll see you.. some other time.. other me.." Oso pressed his palm against Osomatsu's face. "It's.. time to wake up.. now.."

* * *

Osomatsu's eyes snapped open once he felt something cold on his nose.

 _Snow?_

He scrambled to his feet, accidentally smacking a potted plant that was on the edge of a balcony, causing it to fall and crash downstairs. Osomatsu would have panicked, as the small pot was one of Kara's beloved plants, and he was sure that the blue-eyed cavalier wouldn't take it so lightly to see one of his precious plants on the floor.

But then Osomatsu's feet felt cold.

 _Fucking hell, where did my slippers go?!_

He went back inside the apartment and shut the window again. The cold was getting harsher and harsher every day, Osomatsu thought bitterly. Anyone could die in this weather! He wondered if the heater was providing enough warmth for the two brothers in the bedroom with him, as they seemed to be cuddling close to each other like two kittens left alone-

 _Wait._

He could see Lonely- no, Choro, squirming on the bed, but it did nothing to wake Jyushi, who was hugging a pillow and was sleeping soundly, compared to the other male.

Was Choro whimpering?

Osomatsu walked over to the bed, brushing the snow off his clothes. He went beside Choro, pulled a chair, and sat as he stroked the other's hair. He kinda missed Choro, especially after seeing what he went through. It made Osomatsu pity him more.

Ah. Was Choro having a nightmare? It was best to keep stroking then. It always calmed his brothers down whenever Osomatsu patted them like cats.

 _Poor dude. He hasn't gotten any decent sleep since the death of his parents-_

"Daddy.."

Osomatsu stopped stroking his hair. After a few seconds, he resumed, his eyes softening. "You're dreaming about Hiroto, lil' guy?" His mind drifted back to Hiroto's corpse, and the sickening crunching sound Hiroto's arm made when Choro stepped on it was stuck in Osomatsu's head like a catchy tune. Except Osomatsu wished he hadn't heard it in the first place. "I'm sorry. Hiroto is-"

Choro arched his back, and he made a strangled cry. "S-Stay back..!"

 _Oh no. Is he dreaming about Kamimatsu?_

"Buddy," Osomatsu lightly shook his side. "Come on, buddy. Wake up. It's just a bad dream-"

"D-Don't touch me-!"

"Choro. Choro, ssssshhhhh, it's Osomatsu-niisan. Wake up, please."

Choro was now sobbing in his sleep. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and his squirming only got worse. God, how was Jyushi able to sleep through this? "D-Daddy.. p-please.. don't hurt my daddy-!" He tossed his head to the side. "I-I'm sorry, p-please, let me go, let me go, it hurts, it hurts-!"

Osomatsu gripped his shoulder, lightly shaking him. "Wake up. Snap out of it Choro, none of that is real." He stood up from his seat and sat next to Choro on the bed, pulling the other's head on his lap. "Ssssshhh.. calm down, buddy."

Choro suddenly wrapped his arms around Osomatsu's waist. "It hurts..!" His cry was muffled. "P-Please make it stop-!"

"I'll make it stop." Osomatsu assured him. "Nothing there can hurt you. Nii-san promised, right? That he would protect you. Nothing there can hurt you, 'cuz Nii-san is here to protect you. Fight back, buddy."

Choro's eyes snapped open, and he pulled away from Osomatsu, gasping for air as his head lay on Osomatsu's lap. "A-Ah..?"

He looked down at his face. "Choro-"

Choro frantically sat up, pushing Osomatsu away. "N-No! Stay back!"

Osomatsu blinked in confusion. Still, he moved a bit and outstretched his hand towards Choro. "Hey, calm down, it's just me-"

"No!" Choro screamed. "D-Don't touch me!"

"Choro-"

"Don't hurt me, please!"

"Hurt"?

Choro covered himself by hugging his knees close to his chest and burying his face, sobbing. His entire body was shaking, and Osomatsu could hear a string of apologies, accompanied by sobs.

Jyushi shifted next to Choro, sitting up and yawning. Osomatsu feared it was Akumatsu possessing Jyushi's body again, but much to his relief, Jyushi possessed his normal, yellow eyes. "What's going on?" He cocked his head to the side. His attention shifted from Osomatsu to Choro, and he seemed to have understood immediately what was going on. "Choro-niisan?" He glanced at Osomatsu. "What happened..? Did you two fight?"

"Ah, we didn't. He had a nightmare." Osomatsu explained.

"I see.." Jyushi muttered, covering his mouth with his sleeves. "..What do we do?"

"I.." Osomatsu looked down. "I don't know."

Jyushi made a humming noise, obviously not content with Osomatsu's answer. After a few seconds, the younger male crawled from his spot right next to Choro, wrapping his big sleeves around the other. Choro didn't react, but once he did, his shoulders started to shake again. Jyushi nuzzled his face against the other's arm, his eyes drooping. "It's gonna be okay, Choro-niisan." He slurred, as if he was a drunk person, but it was obvious that Jyushi was falling back to sleep.

Osomatsu moved next to them, and Choro didn't push him away this time. Following Jyushi's action, he wrapped his arms around the other's trembling body, his arms resting on top of Jyushi's. "Don't cry, Choro. We won't hurt you."

"We won't hurt you at all." Jyushi mirrored Osomatsu's words, nuzzling Choro's arm more. The youngest's eyes were drooping, and Osomatsu kinda found his willingness to stay awake for Choro's sake cute. "Bad dreams are bad. But they're just dreams. They're not real, unless you make them real."

"And where'd you learn that, little guy?" Osomatsu asked, an amused grin on his face.

Jyushi shrugged, yawning. "Somewhere.. I can't remember. Oh well." He hummed. "I'll try to remember in the morning.."

 _He's so relaxed. If only he was like this normally.._

Choro looked up, his eyes meeting Osomatsu's. "P-Pine.." He sniffled. "T-This is so humiliating, Pine. I n-never thought I'd get another bad dream.. and with you all as well-!"

"It's fine buddy." He rested his head on Choro's head. "It's okay. Cry if you want, but.. Onii-chan is gonna take good care of you."

"P-Promise..?" His voice sounded so small and unsure.

Osomatsu smiled. "Yeah. Promise."


	152. Chapter 152: Definition of Love

When Todo woke up, the first thing Kara told him was to fix the bed they shared. No problem, since he knew what to expect from Kara. So he made sure the bed was clean, as well as the floor, and sorted out the pillows. He'd rarely keep his room clean, but Kara had scolded him for being a mess (him, and not the room apparently) last night, so he tidied it up a bit, even if it meant just kicking the dirtied clothes around. And, to be honest, he actually liked how his room looked when it was nice and tidy. He just didn't feel like cleaning it before, because honestly, cleaning was boring, and the yakuza group took most of Todo's time.

Kara somehow made it, cleaning, interesting. Todo was really thankful to have a friend like Kara. He didn't really deserve him, he thought. As soon as Kara came in, he furrowed his brows in irritation and practically demanded that Todo clean his room. So they spent two hours fixing everything while talking about what they found in Todo's hellish room.

He had to admit, his room looked better than it did in the past few years, and a lot of the broken accessories and rubble from the spot that he often punched and kicked had been gathered and tossed somewhere else, probably with the rest of the clutter from his room. It was nice to see his small collection of toys clean and sitting on one shelf. Maybe he should continue collecting those toys once this is over.

 _I haven't been able to do my own things once Osomatsu arrived.._

To be honest, Todo didn't have a set "daily routine", unlike Kara. He used to work at Sutabaa only for a short amount of time, so he had to get up early. When that failed, he was brought into the yakuza group, full-time, as if it was a job. And of course, Osomatsu freed him from that, and right now, Todo didn't really know what to do. For now, they had to keep it easy, despite all the weird things happening to them.

He remembered his next task though. Kara had to leave for groceries and get breakfast ready as soon as he got back. And Kara was a very quick chef, so.. he'd be done in a few minutes. Todo knew that waking up minutes before lunch wasn't a wise idea. His appetite would be non-existent as soon as he woke up. That means a lot of food would go to waste if the other three didn't wake up soon.

That's right. He had to wake up the others, so they can freshen up and enjoy their meal to the fullest, since they'll already be fully awake by the time Kara gets back to cook their breakfast.

 _Eight o'clock in the morning. Kara says he'll be back before nine. Yeah, time to wake up._

Kara didn't entrust him with much chores, except for simple instructions. Todo's anger issues made it hard for Kara to get anything done, and obviously, Todo felt really guilty about that. But thankfully, he hasn't lost his temper much recently. Heck, as soon as they got here, none of their furniture ended up missing a certain part! Everything was as they left it, in perfect condition.

He could tell Kara was pleased that no piece of furniture had to be replaced, and the wall Osomatsu punched yesterday didn't count.

 _Am I learning how to control my emotions..?_

Todo hoped so. He really hoped he was changing for the best, as Todo hated having to explain to Kara that he was on the verge of destroying another table or sofa. He needed to learn how to handle his anger well.. before he hurts anyone he loves again.

Love.

How silly. Todo hated that word with a passion. What was the purpose of such a thing when Todo couldn't feel it? Was love something that Fuyu and Yuki displayed to one another? Something that was blooming between Hana and Chibita? Should Todo even be using that word to describe the feeling he felt for Kara and Osomatsu?

What is love anyway? Is it a feeling? An experience? An emotion? One's look on love varies from person to person. Such a small word holds such a deep meaning, one that cannot be explained in words. A fondness of such special moments shared with another individual. And an attraction towards that one person, with a want to be together with them. Always and forever.

It made Todo want to gag.

Such a strong word with such various meanings, from platonic to romantic. Yet, such, a sweet-sounding word holds such destruction, similar to a beautiful rose with thorns. Love, is in fact, a force that cannot be defined by mere words. Truly, it can only be defined through actions.

But Todo didn't really believe in something he couldn't see or feel.

 _What does it really feel like..? Is it a nice feeling?_

Todo was curious about that word. But at the same time, he didn't want to put too much thought into it. He knew what certain gestures people showed to one another whenever they were "in love", such as hand holding and looking at each other in the eyes in a way that made Todo want to gag.

Then what did he feel towards Kara and the rest then? He didn't want to hug them all the time or look at them for too long. And he considered them as family, even though they weren't related. Was it love or not?

 _Love is love, and that's the only thing most people say when asked about what love is. I don't fucking know.. have I even experienced that before unknowingly.. have I ever been loved-_

He froze, feeling something disgusting crawl up his spine the more he thought about it.

He closed his eyes.

 _Okay, Todo.. when you think of the word love.. what comes to mind.._

He gave it a few seconds.

..Definitely not hand-holding, nor cheesy picnics under sakura trees.

What came to mind was a dark storage room, tattered baseballs, and the disgusting stench of sweaty baseball uniforms.

 _Never mind. I don't wanna think about that again._

He sighed, leaving his bedroom. It was too early for this, and he had better things to do. He knocked on Kara's bedroom door exactly three times, before leaning against the door. "Osomatsu? It's Todo. If you're not awake, well.. I'm coming in."

He turned the knob and pushed the door open.

 _..Ah._

He didn't expect to see the other three cuddling on the bed, legs tangled with one another.

 _Oh god, I think I'm gonna vomit-_

Osomatsu was between the two, snoring loudly and drooling, and not even ashamed of it. Both arms were occupied and around the bodies of his two younger siblings, with Jyushi on his left, and Choro on his right. Jyushi was curled up against Osomatsu's body, while Choro's head was on the eldest Matsu's chest. Thankfully, Jyushi and Choro were mostly quiet, but weird noises accompanied Osomatsu's snores, and it freaked the pink-eyed devil out. Mainly because he didn't know what they were.

Were those noises from his mouth- was that a bubble on Osomatsu's nose? Made entirely out of snot?

 _That's it, I'm gonna hurl-_

Osomatsu made a loud snore, and suddenly, the bubble from his nose popped. Todo screamed internally at how disgusting it was, and he died a bit inside when Osomatsu removed the arm he had around Jyushi to wipe the snot off his nose. "Eh, ah, wha-? Oh! G'morning, Tot-"

"Don't you fucking touch me with those disgusting hands!" He screeched. "Clean them, you idiot!"

"Eh?" Osomatsu looked at his own hand. "Oh, this?" Without hesitation, he wiped it on his pajama top. Todo cringed at the sight, and Osomatsu chuckled at how easily disgusted the other was. "Come on, don't be such a drama queen, Tater Tot-" He felt something move beside him.

Jyushi sat up first, stretching his arms and yawning. "Morning already..?"

Osomatsu glanced at the clock. "Yup. Rise and shine, little buddy." He chuckled, patting Jyushi's hair with the same hand he wiped on his shirt. Todo was going to faint on the spot. He turned to his right side, seeing Choro hold onto the side of his shirt. Like the other, he patted his hair gently. "C'mon, Choro. Time to wake up."

"Five more minutes.." He murmured.

"No five more minutes, Choochoo. You're gonna sleep through the entire day if we don't wake you up right now." Osomatsu told him, patting his shoulder. Choro whined and pushed him away again, burying his face on a pillow. "Rise and shine, I'm sure you'd love to do some early morning stretches with Tater Tot."

"I don't do morning stretches." Todo frowned. "And who the hell is Choochoo-?"

Osomatsu then stood up, stretching his arms with a goofy grin on his face. "What? Do some daily exercise, Tater Tot! Gotta build up 'em muscle, right?" He turned to Jyushi and Choro. "You two should do some too! It feels hella good, especially if you're not tied to a baseball bat!" He chuckled.

Todo raised an eyebrow. "Whatever. You three, go freshen up. Kara'll be home in a few minutes."

"He left?" Jyushi cocked his head to the side. "Where did Kara-niisan go?"

"Just the grocery store. He cooked a bit too much last night and ran out of ingredients." Todo told the other. "..Do you need help standing up?"

Jyushi nodded. "Please. My legs hurt a bit.."

Todo didn't hesitate to approach him and help Jyushi slip his feet onto the fuzzy white slippers. Choro, however, still had his head buried in a pillow, and didn't seem to plan on getting up soon. "Oi, Osomatsu." He turned to the eldest, who was apparently trying to do sit-ups on his own. "Go wake him up. I'll help Jyushi to the bathroom."

"Alright then." Osomatsu gave him a thumbs up. "Go ahead, Todo. I'll wake up sleepyhead."

"You should." I'll kill you if he doesn't eat all the food Kara cooks for him later, Todo added mentally. He lifted Jyushi with one arm, and unsurprisingly, the younger male wasn't too heavy. "Let's ask Ichi to get you your cane and wheelchair soon, alright?"

"Okay, Todo-niisan."

The two of them left the bedroom, closing the door. And once they did, Osomatsu sat on the floor, cross-legged. "Don't wanna talk about your nightmare, Choro?"

There was a moment of silence, before Choro removed his head from under the pillow, peeking at Osomatsu. There seemed to be a tinge of sadness in his eyes. "Why are you calling me by that name so freely..?"

 _To prove to Oso you're human too. You're not an angel of death or whatever. You're our brother._

"I don't really see why not." Osomatsu shrugged. "Come here."

Choro sat up, his face full of confusion. "What.. what are you planning, Pine..?"

"Look," Osomatsu outstretched his arms. Choro kept his eyes on him, prompting Osomatsu to make a soft smile. "From now on, you'll call me 'Osomatsu-niisan'. I won't reply to anything you say unless you call me by that name. Understood?"

* * *

Todo picked up one of the black headbands that he found in the cabinet, and put it on Jyushi's head, combing his hair upwards with it. He had so many of the same item that Todo didn't even realize how weird it would be for him to wear something different entirely. Maybe it was just his fashion sense, or he had none, hence why he wore nearly the same thing everyday.

But didn't all of them wear the same thing? Why did it even matter at this point.

Eh, whatever. He had bigger things to worry about. And for the first time in awhile, Todo felt like he had a job to do. "Wear this. This is so your hair doesn't get wet. You can take a bath after we get breakfast, since it's still kinda cold." He told him. "Now where the fuck is the basin.."

Jyushi glanced at the mirror, poking at his own forehead, and then proceeding to trace on it as if he was drawing something. Todo had found a big enough stool for Jyushi to sit on, and currently, the yellow-eyed male was faced against the mirror, while Todo was looking around the bathroom cabinets. "It's big!"

"Guess you store a lot of things in that head of yours." Todo said distractedly. "Strange, the basin's not here.."

"I'll wash my face with my hands then, Nii-san." Jyushi smiled at him brightly. "I'll just fold my sleeves-"

"Hold on, I'll do it for you." Todo closed the cabinet and walked over to Jyushi. "I don't get why your sleeves are so big. I mean, yeah, you bite your nails a lot.."

"I kinda like it." Jyushi giggled. "It's really really fun to flap around! Here, watch!" He demonstrated by moving his arm and flapping one of his sleeves. Todo just watched him, knowing Jyushi would appreciate it if someone payed attention to his fun rather than disregarding it. "See? Very fun-!"

The sleeve accidentally smacked Todo on the face, causing him to stumble back. "Ow!"

"Oh my-!" Jyushi squeaked. Immediately, his eyes welled with tears, fearing that Todo was going to get angry at him. He flapped his sleeves around frantically. "Aaaaahhhh, I didn't mean it! I-I'm so sorry, T-Todo-niisan-!"

"No no no no no! Don't you cry! I'm fine!" He assured him, rubbing his cheek. "Just got a bit.. surprised there, nothing new."

"Are you sure?" Jyushi grabbed Todo's face with his sleeves, squishing his cheeks. "I might have hurt you!" He stretched Todo's face, before squishing it again. "Are you really really sure?! It must hurt-!"

"Um, ah, Jyushi. My face-" Instead of listening, Jyushi rolled Todo's cheeks like clay, as if he was trying to massage the other. "Um, please, don't touch me like that-"

Jyushi leaned a bit, giving Todo a kiss on the cheek.

 _Eh..? EHHHHHH?!_

He put a hand on his own cheek again, his face flushing red once he felt it sink in. And by "it", he meant the kiss. "W-What?! What was that?!"

"It's a kiss, Todo-niisan!" Jyushi giggled at Todo's reaction, pressing his sleeves close to his mouth. "My mama used to kiss any part of me that hurts! So I hope your cheek doesn't hurt anymore!"

"N-Not that!" Jyushi swore he saw steam coming out of Todo's head, except it wasn't out of anger. Rather, he made the supposedly tough Katsuna Todo melt with a single kiss on the cheek. He pointed his finger at Jyushi and waved his arm around, trying to calm himself. "W-Why would you do that?! I-Isn't kissing reserved for couples only?!"

Jyushi blinked. "Eh? Who told you that?"

Once Todo calmed down, he put his arm down. "E-Eh..? Isn't kissing.. a thing only couples do..? Because it's a way.. to convey their love..?"

"No?" Jyushi looked so lost, but not as lost as Todo. "Kissing is either romantic or platonic! The kiss I gave you is platonic!" He explained. "But yup! It's mostly a way to convey love, or to soothe others! Kissing people's hands is also a way to show respect, like what some people do to princesses or queens, or female nobles!" His smile remained on his face, and it became brighter when he saw Todo's face switch from horrified and confused to somewhat interested. "Kissing people where it hurts stops the owie! Does your cheek still hurt?"

"N-No.. not really.."

"Then the kiss worked!" He giggled. "Don't worry, Todo-niisan! I love you lots 'cause you're my brother! I don't want my brother to get hurt, so I'll be sure to always kiss you where it hurts!"

 _Except I'm not your brother-_

"Um, it's.. Fine.." He stuttered, wiping the kiss off his cheek. While he certainly didn't mind getting affection from Jyushi..

Something about that kiss reminded him of something. Something that he preferred to stay at the deepest pits of hell.

 _"Katsuna-kun, you really are adorable, you know? Hehe. You know, cute things get a reward."_

"Todo-niisan?"

 _"Ah. You don't want a kiss? I see.."_

"Nii-san?"

Todo snapped back to reality. "Oh, uh, what were you saying?"

"Are you still confused?" He asked. "Because, in short, platonic love and romantic love are really different! But at the same time.. they both have the same impact on people." He smiled at him again. "I'm sure you value Kara-niisan a lot right?"

"Yeah?"

"And you don't feel romantic love?"

Todo looked down, shifting his feet. "I just.. feel like he's my brother.." It was weird, admitting this all to Jyushi, who had the mentality of a child. "I don't know. I don't think I felt love before. Ever. And.." His voice was a bit more quiet now. "I don't think I ever want to.."

 _But.. I know for a fact that.. what happened years ago.. wasn't love.._

"But that's where you're wrong." Jyushi clapped his hands together. "Because you love Kara-niisan! Platonically, just like a brother!" He giggled. "I love all of you, just like brothers too! But maybe one day," His smile softened, and he looked at his own sleeve-clad hands. "I'll be able to feel what romantic love feels like."

 _Love.. platonic love.. so all this time.._

"Anyway!" Jyushi outstretched his arms. "I have to freshen up! Right, Todo-niisan?"

Todo looked at Jyushi's face, before chuckling. "Alright. Come here, Todo-niisan will help."


	153. Chapter 153: Broken Pedestal

Kara double-checked his groceries to see if he had everything he needed for three meals, as well as some leftovers for tomorrow. It was difficult to carry four bags of food, and his arms honestly weren't feeling so good. Maybe he should have stretched a bit or even drank milk, as doing jobs on an empty stomach.. was honestly the most idiotic thing Kara has ever done. What was worse that he only brought the money for the food, so calling a cab was out of the question. And wasn't the elevator at the apartment broken too? That meant he had to use the stairs then, but that also meant he had to pass by his drunkard neighbors.

 _Today just isn't my day, I guess.._

He sighed.

No use complaining. He signed up to take care of both Choro and Jyushi, and he already decided to take care of Todo long ago, so there's that. But Osomatsu is his guest who also happened to be his older brother. He had to cook for him too, especially with how the latter has suffered so much in the past few days.

But damn, his shoulders hurt. Maybe it was because Ichi threw him against the fucking marble floor, or something else entirely. He couldn't make that too obvious though. He didn't want to make the others worry about him, especially since it was just a minor problem compared to theirs.

 _Plus, they're all going through something at the moment. I can't be a burden to them.._

Osomatsu was definitely stressed and homesick, Todo had a bit of an emotional problem recently, Jyushi had no memories and was scared, and Choro well.. he needed to eat a lot, and also find a proper home soon enough. There was no way Kara could fit them all in one apartment all at once. Or he could, with a little more adjustments. And maybe a bigger bed.

But still.. a small apartment wasn't right for four people to live in. They all needed space and privacy too.

His shoulders gave in, and he dropped two of the bags. Of course, many people passed by and even glanced at Kara trying to pick them up, but payed no mind to him and continued their day with no guilt whatsoever. Kara muttered curses and tried to lift the other two bags, but when he did, his shoulders started to sting. He bit his lip, trying to endure the pain, even though it felt like claws were trying to rip his arm off.

 _You need to be back before nine thirty, Kara-!_

"Hey, hey! You okay there, pal? You look like you need help!"

Kara turned around tiredly, wondering who was calling out to him. Before he could process anything, someone had already lifted two of the bags for him, and another one was holding onto his arm, gently squeezing it.

The smaller one looked at him worriedly. "You look so out of it, dude! Do you want me to get you some fruit juice? Did you even eat anything today?" Kara honestly felt like an idiot for thinking he could get shit done without eating anything at all, not even a small rice ball. "Oh shit, do you want some food? I'll get 'cha some, buddy, no need to pay me back."

The bigger one nodded in agreement, carrying two of the bags with one arm almost effortlessly. "Yeah, you look like you need something to eat and drink- wait, isn't this Kyabarie Kara-san? From high school?"

Kara blinked, looking at the two people on his sides.

Futsumaru.. and Kusosuke! That's right! Before the world "reset".. they found Choro for us!

Kara didn't know how they slipped out of his mind so easily. He was probably worried for Todo so much that he forgot about meeting those two again. And the last time he actually saw them was back at high school!

"Oh wow! It is you!" Futsumaru smiled. "Well, it's been awhile, Kyabarie-san! We haven't seen you two since graduation!"

 _Two..?_

"You mean Todo and I?" He asked.

He didn't even seem to notice that Kusosuke grabbed the other two bags and carried it for him. Futsumaru seemed to be walking him to a hot dog stand, but he was chatting Kara up. "Yeah! We've been busy in college and all! How're you two going? Going to college too? Which one?" He took out a wallet from his small bag, looking through the bills. "Alright, do you want it with or without ketchup?"

"Um, with. No mustard or unnecessary toppings, please, it's kind of gross.." He meekly replied. "It's fine, though. You can have it, as I need to be home before-"

"Why're you carrying so many bags though, Kyabarie-san?" Kusosuke asked. "Are these raw meat? And spices? Veggies too!"

"Oh! P-Please be careful with those, one bag has three cartons of eggs!"

"Why would you need three cartons? That's like 36 eggs, you know." Futsumaru raised an eyebrow, paying the vendor. "I don't think you can make a big enough omelette and eat it all in one sitting."

 _I can and I will, watch me-_

"Ah, I'm making it for some guests of mine. And Todo as well." He explained, moving his arm around. He flinched a bit when it didn't stop any pain, and instead, it added more to it. "Argh, fuck.. this hurts.." Futsumaru and Kusosuke looked at him with horrified expressions. "Oh, uh.. Y-yes..?"

"..I didn't know Kyabarie Kara-san cursed." Futsumaru said in awe.

"Same." Kusosuke nodded once again in agreement. "You seemed too much of a mom friend to me back then! As in, perfect role model!"

Kara frowned. He never considered himself what people called a "mom friend", and he definitely didn't think of himself as a "perfect role model". And just because he didn't have a tendency to curse? That shouldn't give people the idea that he was "perfect" or anything."I have to disagree with that. I'm not a role model, just a very average person.. back then, and even up 'til now."

"Right." Futsumaru seemingly rolled his eyes as he handed Kara his hotdog. "Anyway, are you in college then? What course are you taking?"

"I.. don't go to college." Kara chuckled nervously.

"Oh! So you work then?" Kusosuke asked, rummaging through one of the grocery bags. "Is it somewhere around here? A café? I heard Sutabaa has a growing competition! That one café called Golden Hearts, and it isn't owned by that pesky Flag Corporation."

"I don't work either." He took a little bite out of his hotdog, internally cringing as he did so. Ick. It was greasy. Upon seeing Futsumaru and Kusosuke's questioning looks, he sighed. "I helped Todo find a job months ago. He got fired, but we'll manage." He assured them. "And I volunteer at different places.. maybe once I save enough, I'll start a small business."

"In what?"

"Baking." He replied with a small smile. "I'm quite proud of my culinary skills. I'm sure starting a small business won't be so bad."

"Yeah, but it'd be hard!" Kusosuke exclaimed opening a pack of cookies. Kara noticed it was the same pack of cookies that he brought earlier, but payed no mind to it. "I mean, if you get successful enough, Flag Corporation's gonna buy it from you! And half the things you do there.. they'll be in complete charge of it!"

 _Oh yeah. Ichi kinda has control over the city due to how influential Flag Corporation really is._

"Hm." He could talk to Ichi about it if he decided to go through with the entire thing. "Anyway, you two are..?"

"Oh!" Futsumaru puffed his chest with pride. "Aspiring journalists, ya see! Our current assignment is to look for an interesting story! We both take pictures and write the entire thing!"

Kusosuke sighed. "Our current problem is.. we don't have a topic. And we have a deadline."

"Yeah. Hopefully something interesting will happen soon." Futsumaru shook his head. "Any interesting happened to you lately?"

 _I met my brother from another dimension, apparently Todo is also my little brother in that dimension, my brothers are also the famous Suuji Brothers who own Flag Corporation, and my other brother is apparently an Akatsuka Nightingale that no one knows about, and his arch enemy happened to be a murderer which people also didn't talk about- did I mention that the manor that burned down was partially that murderer's fault and he got blown to bits by a "godly" brother? And that I got thrown around in a hotel by a megalomaniac with a katana? Or that the same "god"-like entity possessed one of my brothers and forced him to kill us?_

"Nope." Kara shrugged, ignoring the events from last night. "Nothing interesting."

"I see." Kusosuke sighed. "We're gonna have to try harder."

"Alright.." Futsumaru turned to Kara, who seemed to be trying to eat the hotdog without biting into the greasy part of the bread. "Well, with that said.. how're you holding up? You live with Katsuna-san, right?" He then crossed his arms.

In Futsumaru's opinion, Todo really didn't deserve to have Kara as a friend. Kara would have been a popular student back then if he just backed away from Todo, but those two were always together. Just like brothers. Not like it was Futsumaru's business, but he didn't really like Todo. But in all honesty, besides Kara, who actually liked Katsuna Todo?

 _He's a horrible person. He hurts people. He pushes them away, even when they try to help.. maybe Kyabarie-san is meek because of him.. if only he hadn't met him, maybe Kyabarie-san would have gotten a decent job by now.. instead of having to take care of him like he's incapable of doing it._

"Yeah, I live with him." Kara pulled the hotdog away from his face. "Todo's doing just.. perfectly fine.." It was best to leave out the part that Kara caught Todo in the bathroom doing something he shouldn't. "He still has a bit of anger issues, but he kinda started collecting these weird toys!"

"Uh-huh." Futsumaru nodded absentmindedly.

Just as Kusosuke finished eating the entire pack of cookies, he pointed at Kara's bitten, greasy hotdog. "So, you're gonna eat that or..?"

Kara gave him the hotdog without hesitation, continuing to talk about Todo and his collection. As he continued, Futsumaru noticed that his eyes were sparkling, and he was practically radiating an aura of happiness. "They're called Nendoroids! They're very cute, so I didn't expect Todo to be interested in anything cute and small and so delicate-looking! He loves them a lot!"

"Mhm." He sighed. This isn't really what he expected from the calm-looking Kyabarie Kara. He always seemed to cool and collected back at high school. He was like one of those students who just seemed so.. untouchable, especially with someone like Todo as his friend. Futsumaru always thought it was Todo who dragged Kara around.. but the way Kara said it, it was like the opposite.

 _Would it be too much to say that I don't think I can idolize him anymore?_

Futsumaru really didn't expect him to be.. well, so loving of someone who didn't deserve it.

"They're like small anime characters with adorable and bright hairstyles-"

"Okay, okay, um, how about you Kyabarie-san?"

Kara blinked, calming down. "Oh? What about me?"

"I mean, how is life going for you?"

 _Life? Hm, how is it going for me..? Well.. these two obviously don't know about Choro or the Suujis, and especially not about Osomatsu, so.._

To be honest, Kara didn't really have anything interesting going on for him, unless his brothers counted. What else was there to talk about then? He couldn't just say that he's been whisked off to some sort of goose chase. "Oh, life is going well for Todo and I-!"

"How about you alone?" Futsumaru interrupted again. He refused to believe that Kyabarie Kara had been doing nothing all this time aside from.. babysitting Katsuna Todo, his punk-ish, edgy friend who caused so much trouble back then!

 _This is why I hate punks.._

Kara paused. "Um.. it's great? Especially since I have Todo by my side-!"

Before Futsumaru could interrupt again and explain how he didn't want to hear Todo's name for the nth time, a limo suddenly parked just behind Kara, and it rudely interrupted him by honking very loudly.

Kara turned around. "W-What-?!"

And the window rolled down, revealing Ichi.

"Ichi-?!"

"Kyabarie." His name rolled off Ichi's tongue smoothly. He wasn't even looking at him! He was looking at the wine glass he was twirling! However, Ichi tilted the sunglasses a bit and gave Kara a look- were those his actual glasses underneath those shades?

"Y-You-"

Ichi glared. "Kyabarie." He repeated.

 _H-He.. he doesn't want me to say his name. That's right. Ichi is infamous around Akatsuka._

Well, even so.. Kara was utterly embarrassed, and he never felt such a thing before with any of his friends, not even Todo! Kara would have been less embarrassed if Ichi wasn't wearing those.. horrendous sunglasses. Not like Kara had the nerve to talk about who should and shouldn't wear them, but honestly.. they didn't match someone who looked so professional like Ichi.

Kara coughed awkwardly. "Uh, er, so-"

"Suuji Ichi!" Kusosuke exclaimed, dropping the hotdog. "It's the president of Flag Corporation!"

Ichi glanced at Kusosuke, and then Futsumaru, and he was pretty sure Ichi also glanced at the poor hotdog vendor, causing the latter to faint out of fear. Ichi's eyes were definitely piercing enough, even with the shades on. "Tsk." He clicked his tongue in annoyance, opening the door.

Is he wearing a fur coat- is that a cat.

Ichi either didn't care or didn't know, but there was, in fact, an old gray cat on his lap, chubby and had bushy white eyebrows. "Don't just stand there, Kyabarie. Hop in."

The cat made a gruff meow, as if he also wanted to be a part of this conversation.

Kara looked dumbfounded. "Ah-?"

"Everyone's awake by now. You have breakfast to prepare, do you not?"

 _Oh.. oh right, I forgot._

All of a sudden, two men in black hopped out of the limo and picked up Kara's grocery bags, before lightly nudging his side. What made this scene even weirder was that the two men had exactly the same haircut and uniform as the rest of the males in Flag Corporation, obviously not counting Yuki or Dekapan. And they even wore the same shades. "Mr. Suuji is not a patient man, Mr. Kyabarie. Let's leave now."

Kara glanced at the shocked Futsumaru and Kusosuke awkwardly. "Um, I guess.. I'll see you two around..?"

"Oh yeah! Sure thing!" Kusosuke waved his hand dismissively while Futsumaru stood there in shock. "Aw, don't mind him! We'll see ya again some other time, 'kay?"

Kara nodded, before he climbed in with the assistance of Ichi's employees.

Once Kara got to sit properly, he glanced at Ichi, not daring to ask about his outfit for the day. Instead, he decided to question the amount of shopping bags and boxes at the seats, as well as the gray cat. "You, uh, went shopping early in the morning?"

"You did so too, you know. I didn't even expect to drive by you, and in front of a hotdog stand, no less." Ichi replied, taking off his shades. He had his normal glasses on, thankfully. "But they're not for me. They're for Kodoku."

"For Choro?"

"Yeah. He has no clothes besides that sweater. I thought I should get him some." He took a sip from his wine glass. "And if Jyushi's staying with you for awhile 'til I find a new house for us both.. those are his toys."

"Oh."

Both remained silent for a moment, before Kara decided to speak up again.

"Ichi?"

"Yeah?"

"I thought you didn't like cats?"

"I don't."

"Then who-"

"I forgot to mention but," He sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing his forehead temple in irritation. "I met up with Hijirisawa-san last night. He told me to take a break for now, so I decided to go and check up on you all."

"And the cat-?"

"It's his. He wanted me to babysit his fatass cat." He sighed again, glancing at the cat sitting on his lap. "Say hi to Kyabarie, Grandpa."

Grandpa cat only made a gruff meow in reply.


End file.
